Stephenson in his primeJanuary 3, 2009 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I thought the Baroque Cycle couldn't be matched in terms of emotional engagement and depth, but Stephenson has somehow done it again.
This book makes me sad that it is not a trilogy.
Bottom line: Another classic by the best author alive today.
Difficult, But BrilliantJanuary 3, 2009 Stephenson is certainly one of the more ambitious modern writers, if not the most popular. While in the Baroque Trilogy he largely struggled, with a meandering plot that was beyong the reach of any but the most dedicated reader, here he finds success with a challenging, yet rewarding work of fiction.
I won't pretend that the philosophy changed my life, but it presents a variety of subjects from geometry to astrophysics, to the morality of nuclear weapons in an an interesting way. Yes, it starts slowly, taking nearly 300 pages to really get into the plot, but the author creates such an interesting in-depth world that the reader becomes engrossed for the last 600 pages. At time you do feel that he really could use an editor, much like his earlier work, but you still have to admire the ambition of an author who is willing to challenge, not pander to, his audience.
Another Stephenson Natural Philosophy Masterpiece.January 2, 2009 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Neal Stephenson's works illicit complaints that they are very esoteric and difficult to understand. I find that they have multiple layers like an onion that the reader must peel away to discover the tasty meat that lies within. `Anathem' is no different. As `Snowcrash' gave us a peak at Virtual Worlds, and `The Baroque Cycle' rendered a glimpse into the birth of the Scientific Era, this newest work like `Cryptomonicon' before it introduces us to the world of Mathematics albeit from the point of view of the aliens of the Earth like planet Arbre.
Arbre is several hundred years post a nuclear war that nearly destroyed the world. Much like in `A Canticle for Leibowicz' science has become a religion that has been shut in within the walls of monasteries and cloisters. Once every ten years the doors of the monasteries open and the general public is allowed in and the monks are allowed out to mingle and reassure one another that all is well.
Though now Arbre has returned to a 21st Century technological state science is generally frowned upon by the Secular authorities except when someone is needed to solve a problem then they summon someone or a group of people from the mathic Monasteries.
The Mathic Communities themselves try to shade themselves from secular things. Atheism and aesthetics are much esteemed. If someone breaks the rules they can be given an Anathem and kicked out of the Math becoming `dead' to its members hence the title of the book.
In the story a group of young novices under the tutelage of Fraa Orolo an Astronomer set about to find what kind of interplanetary phenomenon he had been investigating when he was suddenly the victim of an Anathem and is kicked out of the monastery. What they discover puts both their order and the entire world of Arbre at risk.
Like his previous works, `Anathem' in addition to being a satisfying adventure is a book that teaches the reader something. In this case it's Geometry, Physics, Philosophy, and Anthropology. Much like Plato's dialogs this book has characters debating the nature of things such as quantum physics or deism. It is not a book that can be read quickly and be enjoyed but if you take your time and savor what has been written you will enjoy yourself and may actually learn something new.
AmazingDecember 25, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
i'm a huge neal stephenson fan, but i have to say this book redefined him for me.. i can draw a line between all of his prior works and cryptonomicon, and another one after the baroque cycle and this.
great read.
AmazingDecember 25, 2008 Only Stephenson could mix A Canticle for Leibowitz with modern speculative fiction to create a masterpiece like this. It's a marked departure from his earlier work and I can only hope that his future books are as finely crafted as this one.
