The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer
Ratings210
Average rating4
Fun and entertaining. Victorian-ish nanotech. It was sort of like steampunk but with neither steam nor punk. It's also heavy on low-level computer science topics, which have a special place in my heart.
After 2 hours of reading, did not get a sense of a plot. Just world building and some characters engaging in daily routines. There is this guy that robs people, and gets caught. Nothing exceptional about it. Also a young girl and his brother, interacting with the technological aspects of this futuristic world.
The writing is heavy on sci-fi slangs that denotes precisely the kind of book I don´t like to read. If the story is no interesting enough, this detracts me from reading the book.
Read: 10%, 2:00/18:30 hours
The Diamond Age pulls you into a wonderful world of new lingo, social strata and devices. The story starts out with few different story lines that inevitably weave together. It is set in a possible future in which country states have become obsolete because of a digital currency. Prophecies of cryptocurrencies and 3d-printer in a book that was first published in 1995.
The book has some great words and wonderful phrasing. Sentences are straightforward and not needlessly complicated. There is a colorful cast of characters and a very interesting world this is a part of.
The only thing that really bummed me out was that it ended rather quickly.
Diamond Age is science fiction with both personal stories and global and political events. Some of it was good. There were many entertaining scenes, characters, bits of dialogue, and so on. I loved the idea of the Primer itself: a book designed by a concerned grandfather, hoping to teach his granddaughter to think independently and dare to go outside the customs of their society. The Primer is both a storyteller and an interactive video game, designed to bond with its reader and become a surrogate parent/teacher. A device raising a child, rather than the child's family, is still relevant.
The story of how the Primer gets into the hands of Nell is also notable. If the goal was to teach a privileged young lady how to be subversive, this goal became subverted because it lands in the hands of a poor and “tribeless” little girl. (Though the nitpicker part of me wonders why Hackworth didn't try simply asking Finkle-McGraw for a copy of the book for his daughter.)
There were a lot of detailed digressions–descriptions of history and technology that didn't serve the plot or feed my imagination for the world Stephenson created. It made the book a chore to read at times. The young heroine, Nell, was an underdog and I do like to root for a good underdog. But she was a bit too passive to hold my interest or inspire admiration. A lot more things happen to her than happen because of her actions. Other characters, Harv and Judge Fang for instance, piqued my interest more than Nell but alas they vanish after the first half.
There aren't really antagonists as such. Instead there are two powerful old men, Dr. X and Finkle-McGraw, who pull most of the strings and cause the conflicts that occur. They are ambiguous in terms of whether what they want is for the greater good or serving their own ends. They're nowhere to be found when all the shit hits the fan toward the end and I'm not sure what the point of that was.
Perhaps his best book? Better than [b:Snow Crash 40651883 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530057753l/40651883.SX50.jpg 493634]? Maybe. I love the way he uses [a:Philip K. Dick 4764 Philip K. Dick https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg] like future slang in this book. The stories from the illustrated primer are great. Nell is an absolutely absorbing character in a coming of age tale. Molecular nanotechnology is omnipresent in the novel's world, with Stephenson extrapolating nanotechnology use and implementation in a variety of astounding ways including the integration of nanotechnology with artificial intelligence. The book deals with issues of social class, ethnicity, the effect of stories and education on the development of human personality, and the nature of artificial intelligence. Many of the technological advances are speculative but many are reasonable extrapolations of existing technology such as smart paper.If you are a little confused by all the nanotech in this novel then a good introduction to nanotechnology can be found in the book [b:Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology 83596 Engines of Creation The Coming Era of Nanotechnology K. Eric Drexler https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320504490l/83596.SY75.jpg 80705] by [a:K. Eric Drexler 599584 K. Eric Drexler https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1365796028p2/599584.jpg].The ending is a bit rushed. Thanks Neal!
Executive Summary: While there are some parts I liked, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other books I've read by Mr. Stephenson.Audio book: This book was one that was recommended to me by a few people when I was looking for a new audiobook to listen to. At first I was wondering why, but it eventually became apparent. Jennifer Wiltsie does a few voices and accents. Her voice for Nell is especially good. This is definitely one that works well in audio.Full ReviewI have really enjoyed both of the books by Mr. Stephenson I've read. [b:Snow Crash 830 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385214698s/830.jpg 493634] is on my favorites list. [b:Cryptonomicon 816 Cryptonomicon (Cryptonomicon, #1) Neal Stephenson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327931476s/816.jpg 1166797] while a bit slow in places was very enjoyable.This book took me a bit to warm up to, and unlike the other two books, I didn't enjoy the tangents and side stories nearly as much.The concept of the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer was really cool. Most of the stuff that directly involved it I really enjoyed. I liked the nested stories. As someone who knows the magic of a good book, the idea of a smart book that not only adapts to the reader, but teaches them is a fantastic idea.Unfortunately I found most of the rest of the surrounding story and subplots far less interesting and sometimes downright confusing. The other disappointing thing for me was the general lack of humor that I greatly enjoyed in his other books. I was a bit surprised to find everything so serious all the time.To me this is a book that falls short of its potential. It seems like it was split down the middle among my friends who either gave it 5 stars or 3 stars. I'm sad to say I'm joining in on the 3 stars side, but that doesn't mean you won't find this a 5 star book.
This was good. It is a cyber punk book so you don't really know what is going on for a long while until the threads start pulling together. There is some disjointedness around the time progression but I just gave up trying to figure it out.
The two books of his just kind of ended. There wasn't a great resolution. I think he is doing it on purpose but I would be nice to have some resolution. It was a good ride though.
(4.5 out of 5 stars)
My time with this book started out interesting. I was first introduced to this book in a speculative fiction class I took in college, where we had to read it quickly, so I carved out large chunks of time to power through this book in a few days. My initial thoughts on the book were not super great, overall a “meh” experience. The setting was very interesting, but I didn't find any of the characters or conflicts compelling when I first read it. To me, it seemed more like Stephenson had simply made a glittery playground for his named creations to play around with.
It wasn't until later in the year, when we began re-reading sections and discussing it more thoroughly that I started to form an interest in it. After the class, instead of returning it, I kept it so I could re-read it again. It's amazing how different of an opinion you can have after re-reading a book. It makes me wonder what happened before that made my brain click different this time.
The world-building is definitely unique and makes for a very compelling setting. It takes place in a future where nanotechnology has become integrated into all aspects of life. Limitless resources are now available to the general public. You would think that this would cause the Earth to become a utopia, with everyone finally having free access to everything that they could ever need. The truth, in reality, is that there is still poverty and also rampant pollution. Society has stratified itself into “claves” based on different things (communism, religion, etc.), and those without claves are known as “thetes” are the most vulnerable of citizens.
It's not only in the technology that the world has changed. Different cultures and territories have since been created too. Neo-Victorian culture has since become popular and widespread, and China has multiple new territories, some of them still parts of China and others becoming more independent from the mainland culture.
The world-building is very fulfilled, and exotic while still being grounded, and easy to make comparisons to our current society and how it might progress to this point. The conflict of this story is compelling and rich; Stephenson dives into many questions that he explores through this new near-future Earth. It's not just about technology, but also the question of a stratified society, classism, and western values vs. eastern values. All of these conflicts make the world-building even richer. Citizens in the world do not deal with just one issue that eclipses the entire story (“the big bad empire is coming to conquer us”, “war is bad and we should feel bad”).
The characters are equally diverse and intriguing. There are many of them that get focused on in this novel. Usually, I'm wary of books that jump around to multiple viewpoints. I find myself either really liking it or really hating it. I'm happy to say this book falls in the former category. Most of the characters are legitimately interesting to read about, and they're all used to further the world-building and major conflicts that are explored in this story. Watching step-by-step the process that Nell develops through being taught by the Primer while simultaneously seeing Hackworth come to terms with the consequences of his actions when he illegally copied the Primer for his own daughter was exciting to read. Even the beginning chapter with Bud, a character who is only in a single chapter, set the tone for the story and still managed to be an intriguing character to read about.
Now, onto the cons...
This one, I will admit, is more subjective. I am very much the kind of person who is very hard to please with loose ends. Yes, I've heard all of the arguments supporting them. Real life is full of loose ends. You don't always get answers. You're not owed answers. I agree...but it doesn't make it any easier for me to accept. I at least like to have enough to where I feel like I can be wondering in a satisfied manner. Miranda's storyline, without any spoilers, ends so abruptly to me that I wonder what the point of the ending is when the beginning is so fascinating.
And the ending, as is the case in many books, leaves a lot to be desired for me. Every time I come up to it, I leave with the same disappointing feeling of “That's it. The book's ended, and there's nothing more.” Endings are probably the hardest thing to do in anything, whether it be in books or essays, or movies, so I try not to be too hard on them. I'm not the kind of person who believes that an ending should ruin an entire experience. After all, it's about the journey, not the destination. I think it's because I like this book so much that I wish there was a more satisfying end to me.
All in all, I really enjoy this book and it's one of my favorites. It's honestly made me more interested in Stephenson's other book and ignited a greater desire to read more science fiction books like this. Less “space travel” and more “what's happening on Earth 100 years in the future.” I've got a few more Stephenson books on my reading list now!
This is my second book from Neal Stephenson and I liked it much more than the first one, Snowcrash. But still I can't help myself that it feels a bit unbaked.
While the basic idea is really great and it starts of very well, it then seems to loose course, drive a long on many paths and at the end gets rushed to a finish that is inconclusive in a view pages.
Still I quite enjoyed this book, but I can't really give it more than three stars. Thought I will read other books from him, because in a basic they are really very enjoy full reads.
I really like it when sci-fi writers try to imagine the impact a technology would have on society. This book is glimpse into several different people's life in a post-scarcity world. It centers on the tale of a girl coming by a very special book and how it shapes that girl's life.
The book had some very fascinating ideas about what shifts society would take given trivial creation of people's basic needs. I enjoyed the snapshots of different parts of the world and cultures trying to come to grips with all the upheaval that this brings.
I have recently read Stephenson's previous book - Snow crash, and boy did it age badly. This is not the case with Diamond Age however. This novel dives into a kind of post-cyberpunk world where nanotechnology is omnipresent and in fact defines how people live in almost every aspect. From goods distribution to law enforcement, from judicial system to transportation and political organisation.
The first part of the story is an extensive info dump building the setting. To be honest it was probably my least favourite part as it was pretty dry and not engaging. Afterwards the story starts following the primer and its 3 main users. Although theoretically the book is about that primer and the great majority of the plot is connected to it, I saw it is a mere excuse to venture into topics like self-determination, state as a convoluted oppressive system, etc. All of it is mixed with quite a lot of techno-babble and actually pretty well done. I enjoyed how the author envisions social and political repercussions of technology. And these topics I see as definitely the strongest points of the book. The plot itself isn't bad, but nothing extraordinary either. Especially the way we approach the end is disappointing. After reading this one I am excited to grab another of Stephenson's books and dive into the world of his crazy ideas.