We had a Stephenson thread a couple of months ago, but Quicksilver is to be published tomorrow. NYtimes wrote a review, quoted partially below: So. Anyone read it yet (don't spoil the book, please)? And yes, I misspelled his first name in the thread title. I'm looking forward to this, as well as his follow up due in April.
It was so good in fact, I kept wondering when they were going to announce making it into a movie, secretly glad that no one had as they'd surely ruin it with Keanu Reeves playing Randy.
Got it yesterday, hopefully I can start it tonight. One thing, in hardcover it's heavy. Nearly 1000 pages, rough cut on the edges. I like the maps on the inside.
I've bought this book and have been stuck on page 90 for a while. I've finished a few other books since I've bought this one. I guess you could say it starts out kinda slow. I ripped through cryptonomicon, but this one has yet to hold my attention.
so for the uninformed among us, what was cryptonomicon about and why was/is it so good? just curious.
It's hard to describe. The plot switches between WW II and modern day, has to do with encryption and missing Japanese gold. But what made it fun to read was that every so often the author diverges into the actual math behind the stuff the characters are doing. I enjoyed this, and I'm a geek, so if you're a geek you may enjoy it too. You can read the first few chapters online at http://www.cryptonomicon.com/text.html -- I read this one afternoon at work and bought a copy on my way home from work that night. If the excerpt does not appeal to you, then don't bother.