Quite simply astonishing. Labeled as speculative science fiction, this is actually an all inclusive, wonderful colossus of a read so if you haven't tried sci/fi before, please don't be put off by the genre. The first sentence, so simple and yet so shocking, grabs your attention and plunges you straight into the story. Not too far in the future, the earth learns it’s on the brink of life extinction and there is a comparatively short length of time to prepare. Set in three parts, the first two deal with before and immediately after the crisis, the third book speeds forward to five thousand years later. It feels as though the author has seen the future and is allowing the reader to bear witness to this cataclysmic event in human history. Not only is this story a widescreen mega blockbuster, with great dexterity the author zooms in and concentrates on individuals lives and feelings. The techy and scientific elements are understandable, stimulating and weave through the story making for a fascinating read. Although this is a large book and offers a setting on an epic scale, it doesn't feel as though this should be the final curtain, there is plenty still to offer in this breathtaking and arresting new world. ~ Liz Robinson
The astounding new novel from the master of science fiction. What would happen if the world were ending? When a catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb, it triggers a feverish race against the inevitable. An ambitious plan is devised to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere. But unforeseen dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain...Five thousand years later, their progeny - seven distinct races now three billion strong - embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown, to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth. A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is at once extraordinary and eerily recognizable. He explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.
'He makes reading so much fun it feels like a deadly sin' The New York Times
'Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the 21st century' William Gibson
'[Stephenson is] the hacker Hemingway' Newsweek
Author
About Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson is the author of eight novels, including the cult successes Snowcrash and Cryptonomicon. He has been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award six times, winning with Quicksilver. Four of his last five novels have been number one New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Seattle.
Maxim Jakubowski's view on CRYPTONOMICON... From the author of the major cyberpunk opus SNOW CRASH, a massive tales of conspiracies that span the ages and the globe as wheels within wheels of clandestine espionage and secret history unfurl. Wide screen baroque at its best and what Pynchon would write if he were a science fiction author.
