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Anathem (2008)

by Neal Stephenson(Favorite Author)

4.16 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0061474096 (ISBN13: 9780061474095)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

William Morrow & Company

review 1: I will say up front this book is a very difficult read especially at the beginning. Many authors -- even the best among fine wordsmiths -- will compress time within a book the further along it goes to get it to move faster. They take their time creating the world their characters inhabit but slowly increase their pace as the reader moves through the pages. Mr. Stephenson instead kept the story at a consistent pace throughout: a very slow one. I am typically a person who will toss aside a book after reading a few pages if it didn't catch my interest, so this shouldn't be a book I would thoroughly enjoy as I do this particular one. This is a work of science fiction, but it is deeply grounded in science fact. It is not for someone who is uneducated in our knowledge of science... more today as it pulls no punches in hitting you constantly in the face with hard science. All principles laid out in the story have correlations to ones in our own world. I almost didn't read the entire book. I was referred to this book by a friend whose opinion I completely trust. He told me the book was an extremely satisfying yet difficult book to read. I plowed through. He's quite correct, and today I am somewhat saddened that I am finished.The story begins in what amounts to a monastery where the inhabitants study science and mathematics instead of theology as is the case in our world. The author doesn't gloss over conversations in this book, and when reading the first part of the book especially you are faced with deep discussions over topics that are confusing but are completely realistic to what would be discussed in such a setting. All of these conversations are also relevant to the overall story of the book. The narrator of the story certainly isn't aware of this either, but you learn as he learns. Adding to this confusion there is a small dictionary's worth of terms to remember as you are reading. The book isn't broken up into chapters but instead into parts each with their own subsections which are themselves separated by what are explained as excerpts of a dictionary used within the fictional setting in the novel. This is quite tedious at first, but within time you get used to it and actually begin to remember these terms without having to consult the glossary. I found this alluring from the beginning due to my own amateur fascination with linguistics, but I can see where many wouldn't like this approach. The effect for those who keep at it is a world that feels as real as Earth.I would have to say this is one of the best books I have ever read. You see the author's fascination with the subject matter used within the novel from the very beginning. It is, however, a hard read and isn't for people who are satisfied with laser beams and technobabble that permeate much of the genre.
review 2: Massive in scope and intellectually ambitious, one can hardly believe this book was written by one person. I've personally never witnessed such inventiveness and imagination in a book, and it serves directly to build a whole world filled with it's own epistemological giants, ideas, thinkers, religious and scientific history, and all in all complete planetary existence.It is indeed a hard read, and it often asks you to refer to the glossary, but it also rewards you every time you do. Stephenson eventually explains every bit of information you might not understand, but not in a condescending kind of way. Instead, you learn of the world directly through the plot.The most rewarding part is definitely the last couple of hundred pages, where the entire multi-universe theorism comes into full view of the reader, and settles the first 400 to 500 pages of dialog, character speculation and theoretic polemics, thus making you feel really fucking awesome and puts you in awe of the writers aforementioned imagination and skill. All in all, definitely a read for anyone with any interest in philosophy and/or science fiction. If you keep up and sleep on this book (more than once) it will become one of your favorites. less

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