Are any of you reading Neal Stephenson's new book? My brother gave it to me Saturday night and I am now over 100 pages in to the over 900 page book. It has religion, sci-fi and some politics all rolled into one presentation. Perfect for me but I wonder if all of you guys would like it. In it Math equals Catholocism to baseline it; I am thinking of you here Wolf.
So far I am not picking up the normal Stephenson voice. The one that says, "I am badass, you know I am badass, soak in the awe of my badassery." This books says something more like, "Heh, I made this world up between the time my right foot hit the floor and my left foot in the floor when I got up this morning." It is not as good as his other stuff which only means it is six times better than other writer's current works. I can't tell if he has a trigger to pull later in the story or if he is just enjoying telling the story. Is he commenting all along or is he setting up something big?
I'm about thirty pages into the book. I feel more at sea reading this one than I did reading the Baroque cycle. Mostly because the world he's imagined is so foreign. I think he's still showing off -- the fact that he can keep all these intricate details straight.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually having a harder time connecting with characters and really differentiating them. I'm just seeing a bunch of monks in my head right now.
That's funny. I'm just seeing a bunch of monks in my head, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not reading the book, though. Maybe I should go lie down with a damp towel over my eyes.