Neal Stephenson

Stephenson is a geek. And he writes about geeks. His books often take wild turns, and he sometimes loses control of his story. You won't find a cardboard 19th century hero swashbuckling his way across the galaxy to save the day and win the girl, but rather smart, curious people fascinated by the world around them as the universe throws them a curveball.

Snow Crash, probably his best known book, is a dystopian satire of 1990's America that coined the term metaverse. My personal favorites are Cryptonomicon, with it's parallel World War II and present-day storylines, and the three volume / eight book Baroque Cycle, an historical novel set in the Enlightenment that's still somehow science fiction.

Stand-Alone Novels

The Baroque Cycle

Originally published as three hardcover volumes each around 900 pages long and later as eight paperbacks, The Baroque Cycle is one very long novel set in the late 1600s to early 1700s, centered in Europe but spanning the world. It's an historical novel about the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution, but, somehow, it's also a science fiction novel about a society in transition, economics and the nature of knowledge. I eagerly dove into each volume as it was published. It's a very long story, and after spending so many delightful hours in this strange and wonderful world, I felt sad when I turned the last page and there was no more. I don't often re-read novels, but this one I will pick up again sometime.

The "Dodge" Books

Reamde is a modern day thriller that weaves in subplots around cybercrime and online gaming. It's a good action story that I'd happily recommend. Fall; or, Dodge in Hell is a loosely connected sequel centered around mind uploading. It has it's moments, but I'd only recommend it if you really love Stephenson.

Bomb Light

Bomb Light is a new series. Marketing copy describes it as "an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age." I greatly enjoyed Stephenson's historicals Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle, so I'm looking forward to this one.