I have been wanting to write a review for Neal Stephenson's book Cryptonomicon for awhile now. I think because I have thought about it and referenced it so many times since I finished it. The oddest part is I have a real love hate relationship with the book.
Basically, I was looking for a bit more grown up Michael Crichton type book. I liked Crichton's books, but his latest ones seemed to be written with a little less meat to them (or perhaps I have just grown up). Anyways, I got a ton of recommendations for Neal Stephenson, and heard this book was considered his best by many. I grabbed a copy used on Amazon for $1.40, and was surprised by how large it was when it arrived.
I like a good book, but I don't like a book that I am seriously worried that I might die before completing. Once getting into it though the length wasn't really the issue it was the large collection of side stories. Some are very relevant as you learn later in the book, but many it seems are just asides for the sake of writing another chapter. Overall this was the biggest downside of the book. I found myself frequently reading sections of the book I found boring, while waiting to get back to the interesting parts.
The book has two many story lines going, a historical storyline and a modern story line. I found that I was more interested in the historical story line, which was pretty amazing to tell the truth. The modern story line I liked a bit, but toward the end I found that ever chapter that was set in modern times I was only reading to get back to the next historical chapter. I stopped caring about the modern characters and lost interest in their goals.
The book is hilarious at times and serious at times. I laughed so hard as the book went into detail, including charts, about how men can't concentrate if they haven't had and orgasm in the last two weeks. There was also hilarious asides about antiques, sorting inheritance items, and encrypting messages with a deck of cards. One of the reasons I can't give this book a highly positive review was that the asides bothered me, but also some of my favorite moments and the funniest moments were some of the same random stories. I think overall I enjoyed the book a lot, but thought it was a bit long winded.
So basically I highly recommend reading Cryptonomicon. I think it is the kind of book that if you find yourself not enjoying it, just quit reading it. Really this book isn't the kind of book you have to finish, in fact I would say the ending of the book is pointless. The joy of this book is the journey, not the ending. So pick it up and check it out, it may or may not be something you are really into. History buffs and techno geeks are both easily welcomed into this books world.
I am still looking for some intelligent mildly realistic science fiction, so if you have other recommendations be sure to let me know. Until then I have decided that I will at least read one more Neal Stephenson book, Snowcrash. After that, I am going to read an old Michael Crichton book to mourn his passing.
Currently reading: All Quiet on the Western Front and A Dog Year (both because of my girlfriend)