Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

Executive Summary: This book starts out quite strong, but as it goes on it becomes essentially two interconnected stories and I liked one of those stories a lot more than the other. 3.5 stars.Audiobook: Malcolm Hillgartner did a solid job with the narration. I checked and he's the same narrator as [b:Reamde 10552338 Reamde Neal Stephenson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1305993115s/10552338.jpg 15458989] so I appreciate the continuity. He does some voices, but nothing that really blew me away. Audio is a good option, but not really a must listen.Full ReviewNeal Stephenson has been one of my favorite authors since I first picked up [b:Snow Crash 40651883 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530057753s/40651883.jpg 493634] in college. I've enjoyed just about every one of his books. He has a writing style that tends to meander at times, and is prone to tangents. I always seem to find this just as entertaining as the main plot. This book didn't seem to have any major tangents, but it did follow his other typical pattern of telling multiple connected stories in one book.This book is a loose sequel to [b:Reamde 10552338 Reamde Neal Stephenson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1305993115s/10552338.jpg 15458989] and shares characters and history with [b:Cryptonomicon 816 Cryptonomicon Neal Stephenson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327931476s/816.jpg 1166797]. If you haven't read those books, you can probably read this stand alone, but of the two Reamde would be the better one to have read as some the characters at the center of the plot for this book were also at the center of that.I enjoyed Reamde and the start of this book as it feels much the same. However by the end of the book more time is spent inside the simulation and less out in the real world. Things feel far more like a fantasy book rather than sci-fi. Now I love a good fantasy story, and that makes up the majority of the books I read, but I found this one to be far less enjoyable than the sci-fi story that preceded it.Overall I found this book good, but not great. I'll happily pick up his next book and more than likely enjoy it. If you've enjoyed most of his past works, you'll probably enjoy this. If you haven't ready any of his work, there are better books to start with.