Anathem in The Sword and Laser

Sep 09, 2008 Brittany rated it really liked it

Shelves: sciencefiction

Anathem is an astonishing, enormous, intimidating, and intensely enjoyable book. However, it is also the most "science fiction-y" of any book he's written so far, and that may turn some people off. Also, I'm given to understand that some people would prefer not to have to think about polar coordinates, geometric proofs, bubble universes, string theory, or relativity in their pleasure reading. That is, of course, their prerogative. Also, it's long. And at times there are scenes that go on for pag Anathem is an astonishing, enormous, intimidating, and intensely enjoyable book. However, it is also the most "science fiction-y" of any book he's written so far, and that may turn some people off. Also, I'm given to understand that some people would prefer not to have to think about polar coordinates, geometric proofs, bubble universes, string theory, or relativity in their pleasure reading. That is, of course, their prerogative. Also, it's long. And at times there are scenes that go on for pages and pages where people mostly just brainstorm and talk. Some some people may disagree (perhaps even violently) with this review. However, if you DO like these things, and if you also enjoy a romping adventure tale and some good philosophical musings on the nature of consciousness, the universe, and the organization of society, then, my friend, this is a book for you.

A few weeks before the book came out, Stephenson talked about his involvement with the Clock of the Long Now. Anyone who's been interested in the project for the last couple of years knows that this is an effort to make a clock that will last centuries. And its ultimate goal is to get people to think in terms of long timelines, instead of letting our horizons become very short. Stephenson took the idea of that clock, made it many clocks, and then built a civilization around them, in the grand old tradition of science fiction writers taking new technology and then asking "What if?" And, being who and what he is, he does it with a staggering depth of detail, imagination, research, and humor. His characters are as well-developed as we have come to expect (all except one female, Cord, that I thought was startlingly cardboard for a Stephenson heroine.) This book is a testament to Stephenson's flexibility as an author. Erasmus, the main character is quiet, naive, and charmingly rational. Quite the opposite of a Nan or an S.T.

In the grand tradition of world-building epics, this is a book that makes much more sense if one reads the chronology and glossary provided before one tackles the first chapter. And then, admittedly, almost nothing happens for about 200 pages. However, once things get going, they go with a bang. The first third of the book bore an unexpected (and I'm sure unintended) similarity with the Harry Potter books. It takes place in a "mathic" community, which is a world roped off from the rest of us. The protagonists are young (in their late teens and early twenties) and completely free to do all the thinking and studying they desire. This gives them ample opportunity for the investigation of some odd happenings in their lives. And, because this is a Stephenson novel, this leads (naturally) to alien spaceships, parallel universes, time travel, codes, enigmas, adventures, technology that refuses to work properly, and people in disguise. It's wonderful. It's so wonderful that the 890-hardback pages weren't enough. Afterward, my brain felt stretched and aerated, my eyes were tired from all the reading, my arms hurt from trying to hold this heavy book up, and I wished it wasn't over.

I said some of you might not agree with me. It may not be his best work. But I sure loved it. And now I'm having trouble not applying Occam's Razor to everything that comes up in my life. And also a little sorry I don't live with the mathics, where you can expect everyone to make sober judgments based on data ("givens") rather than impressions. And here we are in the middle of an election year. Wouldn't it be nice if nobody made a decision unless they evaluated the evidence personally?

That would, of course, mean that no one could pass judgment on a book until they'd read the whole thing. ...more

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Sep 10, 2008 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sword-and-laser, sci-fi-fantasy, read2008

I have a hard time explaining this book without giving things away that are revealed through the story, but found it much easier to read than Stephenson's Baroque Cycle even though it was still full of math and philosophy and made up words. ...more

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Sep 17, 2008 Tom Merritt rated it it was amazing

A fantastic journey. Stephenson's alternate world is compelling, realistic and interesting. His device of moving you through many different aspects of the world continues his tradition of changing scenery to keep the story compelling while characters maintain their consistency.

Anathem deserves a whole wiki devoted to understanding the rich world Stephenson created. I was slightly let down by the final stage of the story, but not much really. No spoilers so I can't really go into why, but part of ...more

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Apr 24, 2012 travelgirlut rated it liked it

Pretty much everything that happened in this book caught me unawares. It was just so random and bizarre that I only ever saw one thing coming. And the long-winded lectures on quantum theory and other topics got to be a bit much after a while. But I did enjoy the general story line of the book. There were a couple glaring errors that any good editor should have found, which are always annoying in a book. So while this book was entertaining, it in no way entranced me like Stephenson's other books ...more

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Sep 28, 2008 Jlawrence rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-laser

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think I liked, despite its difficulty, the first part of this book best, where Stephenson throws you into strange setting complete with its own lingo/vocabulary and lets you piece together what's going on (with help from the glossary, of course). The similar-to-earth-but-not-earth future, with philosopher-mathematician-monks holed up in clocktower-monastery-like "maths", separated from the semi-degenerate outside world, is fascinating and very well thought-out and intricately constructed.

The I think I liked, despite its difficulty, the first part of this book best, where Stephenson throws you into strange setting complete with its own lingo/vocabulary and lets you piece together what's going on (with help from the glossary, of course). The similar-to-earth-but-not-earth future, with philosopher-mathematician-monks holed up in clocktower-monastery-like "maths", separated from the semi-degenerate outside world, is fascinating and very well thought-out and intricately constructed.

The main plot of the book, though, turned out to be less interesting to me than the initial setting, as the main plot is...

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...a contact story, as in Contact with Alien Civilization(s). The twist is that the aliens come from alternate universes (cosmi) that closely resemble the one in which the book is set (all are slight variations on one another), so the aliens are basically humans...in fact one of the parallel universes is our own. Stephenson concocts a combination of Platonism/Quantum Mechanics/Multiple-worlds theory as an explanation for all this. Overall, I found this aspect of the book nifty, but not must-continue-reading fascinating. For contact stories, I've found A Mote in God's Eye, Childhood's End, and Contact more gripping.

Basically, Stephenson is relying on the ideas presented to draw the reader through the book, since the plot-pacing is wildly uneven, as are the characterizations (though I was unexpectedly moved by Orolo's sacrifice). After grasping the initial setting, I felt much less of a 'wow' factor to the ideas presented as compared with Stephenson's Snowcrash and Cryptonomicon. (He also has an annoying tendency, in trying to lighten the weighty discussions/expositions, to insert glib dialogue/humor that's more awkward than funny).

On the other hand, Stephenson also intends the book as a meditation on the nature/role of rationality, technology and science in society, and there I think it succeeds in thought-provoking ways. ...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Steve Coughlan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi

Stephenson continues to make me happy. like the Baroque Cycle, it's hard to get started... we're learning a new culture and lagnuage while we try to figure out what's going on, and what's going to happen. It's slow and confusing going for a while. Then, suddenly, it all clicks and we're in can't-put-it-down territory. I took me two runs at the Baroque Cycle before it clicked, but thankfully it all happened in one happy read. And I'm thankful for Thanksgiving, that gave me time to read and read a ...more

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Mar 16, 2009 Michael rated it it was amazing

Takes a good 80-90 pages to get going, but I really enjoyed it. Of course, I'm a Stephenson fanboy, so do with that what you will. ...more

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Sep 14, 2008 Chadwick rated it liked it

Big ass doorstop of a book. An overwhelming torrent of ideas and inspirations. Good story, although occasionally the characters are occluded by the concepts for which they serve as mouthpieces. Per usual.

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