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mystikbunny's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
ghuu's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
featurecreep's review against another edition
4.0
More vocabulary (both real and the made up kind) than an SAT prep course, but it is worth it. Great story.
christopherc's review against another edition
2.0
THE DIAMOND AGE was Neal Stephenson's second major novel, and may be seen as a bridge between his zany SNOW CRASH and the ambitious CRYPTONOMICON and related books. While in SNOW CRASH he imagined a near-future where the nation-state has collapsed and much is centered in virtual communities on the Internet, THE DIAMOND AGE imagines a world about a century later where nanotechnology has come of age.
THE DIAMOND AGE, admits the author, is set in the same universe as SNOW CRASH. The nation-state is still dead, but the franchaise corporations which succeeded it have been succeeded in turn by phyles, or groups of people linked by shared allegiance to a specific culture, regardless of whatever nationality or race they may have originally been born in. In a tribe of Neo-Victorians living off the coast of China, the nanotechnological engineer John Percival Hackworth is commissioned to build a special book, the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, which with a combination of nanotechnological paper and advanced AI will raise a nobleman's girl with strong thinking skills and leadership. Hackworth, in an act of rebellion, makes a second copy for his own daughter, but this falls into the hands of Nell, a girl without a phyle growing up in a very broken home. THE DIAMOND AGE is essentially the story of Nell's journey to womanhood while the society around her disintegrates in a second-coming of the Boxer Rebellion.
While the book started off quite enjoyably, the latter two-thirds of the book drag terribly. The author also tends to let the narrative slip into long back story while events currently unfolding are sketchily narrated. This is not a genre known for producing great literature, but I feel that Stephenson could have tried a bit harder to write solid prose and a captivating narration. As far as the ideas of the work go, some of the nanotechnological developments are interesting and quite plausible, but I found that for a society with such godlike power, it seemed far too close to our own, a sign of the author's lack of imagination.
If you have never read any of his work before, I'd recommend getting ahold of SNOW CRASH, which never fails to excite. Leave THE DIAMOND AGE and his subsequent works unless you are burning with curiosity.
THE DIAMOND AGE, admits the author, is set in the same universe as SNOW CRASH. The nation-state is still dead, but the franchaise corporations which succeeded it have been succeeded in turn by phyles, or groups of people linked by shared allegiance to a specific culture, regardless of whatever nationality or race they may have originally been born in. In a tribe of Neo-Victorians living off the coast of China, the nanotechnological engineer John Percival Hackworth is commissioned to build a special book, the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, which with a combination of nanotechnological paper and advanced AI will raise a nobleman's girl with strong thinking skills and leadership. Hackworth, in an act of rebellion, makes a second copy for his own daughter, but this falls into the hands of Nell, a girl without a phyle growing up in a very broken home. THE DIAMOND AGE is essentially the story of Nell's journey to womanhood while the society around her disintegrates in a second-coming of the Boxer Rebellion.
While the book started off quite enjoyably, the latter two-thirds of the book drag terribly. The author also tends to let the narrative slip into long back story while events currently unfolding are sketchily narrated. This is not a genre known for producing great literature, but I feel that Stephenson could have tried a bit harder to write solid prose and a captivating narration. As far as the ideas of the work go, some of the nanotechnological developments are interesting and quite plausible, but I found that for a society with such godlike power, it seemed far too close to our own, a sign of the author's lack of imagination.
If you have never read any of his work before, I'd recommend getting ahold of SNOW CRASH, which never fails to excite. Leave THE DIAMOND AGE and his subsequent works unless you are burning with curiosity.
victorialmc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
charles_dunham's review against another edition
5.0
This would be one of those idea-heavy sci-fi books with a sprawling "epic" plot and uninteresting characters if it had not been written by Stephenson, who combines a techno-fetishist appeal with memorable characters to good effect. This is an intelligent and believable story of the unintended (and arguably positive) results of a proscribed technology released in to the wild, and it is one of my favorite SF books.
jmarchek's review against another edition
2.0
This book was bizarre to me, so many things at once. First the author goes to incredible lengths to describe an alternate world of the future in Shanghai, so it's kind of sci fi. The focus of the book is the Young Ladies' Illustrated Primer, an interactive future tech book which is made to help Lord Finkle-McGraw's granddaughter rise to her full potential and educate her. However two extra copies are made, one for the creating engineer's daughter and one falls into the hands of a poor abused girl named Nell. I love Nell's interactions with the primer, there's such a fascinating moral fairy telling with quests and adventures within that section. There are parts that I would love to have my daughter read. But then it just get's really weird with orgies, graphic violence, warring factions, and terrible vulgar language (although the author does have an amazing vocabulary - keep your dictionary at the ready!). The plot does surprise you from time to time, but the author skips time, abandons many characters, and leaves with such a bizarre violent ending that I was very disappointed in the end. I think with about 50 pages of editing this could've been an amazing book, but now I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone, certainly not to any sensitive readers.
sienamystic's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, Stephenson. I really liked this book, but just like Snow Crash, I'm not sure about the ending. I may have to think about this one a little more, especially since I was reading the last couple of pages just before running out the door to go to work, but I was a tiny bit less than whelmed. I enjoyed the trip, though.
lexish00's review against another edition
5.0
Really good! I'm generally disappointed by endings ("but what NEXT," I always wonder), but this was still a great ending. A very unique story told in beautiful prose. This is a future that is somewhat believable (though probably not in <100 years) insomuch as the world isn't terrible and it isn't great, it is simply functioning with new technology and cultural norms. The story itself, like I said, was really unique and interesting and honestly kept me wondering throughout what would happen. I could have done with more conversations, expositions, and less fighting (I find fighting boring, personally), but nonetheless it was great.