Anything by Neal Stephenson is good, especially Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. His work is characterized by very detailed, interesting settings.
For sheer scale and mind-bendingness, I haven’t seen anything better than City at the End of Time, by Greg Bear. It’s got a 100 trillion year old civilization with very alien culture, in a disturbingly weird universe.
Stephenson remains one of my favorites, even though I failed at several attempts to enjoy his Baroque Cycle series. Anathem is as good as his pre-Baroque-Cycle work.
I liked the Baroque Cycle, but sometimes it seems like I was the only one who did. Stephenson’s thing of doing science fiction style storytelling in a historical context worked for me both here and in Cryptonomicon.
Anything by Neal Stephenson is good, especially Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. His work is characterized by very detailed, interesting settings.
For sheer scale and mind-bendingness, I haven’t seen anything better than City at the End of Time, by Greg Bear. It’s got a 100 trillion year old civilization with very alien culture, in a disturbingly weird universe.
I’m gonna come out and say that Snow Crash is fun, and fairly short.
Cryptonomicon is indeed a masterpiece; the author’s arrogant and pushy but I like how humanist he is.
Stephenson remains one of my favorites, even though I failed at several attempts to enjoy his Baroque Cycle series. Anathem is as good as his pre-Baroque-Cycle work.
I have not attempted the Baroque Cycle. I enjoyed Anathem, and am hoping to read Cryptonomicon next.
Cryptonomicon was awesome.
I liked the Baroque Cycle, but sometimes it seems like I was the only one who did. Stephenson’s thing of doing science fiction style storytelling in a historical context worked for me both here and in Cryptonomicon.
You’re not the only one. It’s a masterpiece.