Oct 09 2008
Finished Anathem
Just finished Stephenson’s Anathem this week. Initial impressions: I definitely liked it a lot, though it may not end up being my favourite Stephenson (still probably Cryptonomicon followed by the Baroque trilogy). It is a fun easter-egg hunt of the major philosophical and intellectual milestones of western civilization.
- What other modern writer (SF or otherwise) can you think of who could turn such a description into an engaging work of fiction?
- I probably didn’t recognize half as many references as I would like to believe I would have (or want to admit not to spotting).
I’m sure the prime audience for Stephenson is heavily skewed to computer & tech geeks, all of who probably saw the Turing test, Penrose tiles and Godel “parallels” (among many others) as well. I won’t give away any spoilers, because the twist/reveal comes about 3/4 of the way into the book that finally puts this weird game into some kind of understandable perspective. Oh and as an academic, I found the concept of the cross between a University and a Monastary in the Concents quite fascinating.
Capsule review: Will definitely be a must read for any Stephenson fan, and probably any fan of SF will greatly enjoy if they (as usual for Stephenson) have a large appetite for chunky, complex novels. Those not usually interested in the genre, should probably read Cryptonomicon first to determine your taste for Stephenson before plowing into Anathem.