Kevin Zimmerman (USA: CA) (2006/09/02):
Neal Stephenson couldn't write his way out of a wet paper bag with a chainsaw. This book is awful.
Mikko Saari (Finland) (2006/09/06):
Brilliant book! The plot is simply ingenious, an otherworldly mix of elements. Stephenson's writing is excellent and his sense of humour sharp. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent scifi.
Frostek (United Kingdom) (2006/09/18):
Excellent. The writing style is a little quirky in places, but overall the storyline is fascinating, the characters are intriguing,and there are plenty of cool tech toys for those of you who like that sort of thing.
Kate (USA: OR) (2007/02/03):
I find Neal Stephenson to be one of the most pathetic and despicable science fiction writers ever. Come on now, inventing viral marketing in 1996 (or so)? Don't you mean marketers invented it in 1920?
But in all seriousness, his cyberpunk futures are unoriginal, smug, and incredibly poorly plotted. That said I have read several of his books. Perhaps reading just one could be a pleasant experience (and I would reccommend either this or Neuromancer).
Bertilak de Hautdesert (USA: PA) (2007/07/02):
Once I realized the protagonist's name was Hiro Protagonist I put the book down and never picked it up again. Odd, because I think The Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon are wonderful.
Astarlia (Australia) (2008/02/02):
I didn't think I would need to review this book since it's so universally loved but I'm so surpised that it got such bad reviews from others :( Stephsons writing style is brilliant, when he is writing about the 'cooler' side of sci-fi. He gets a bit bogged down in the technical stuff, but you can just skim through that if it's not what your interested in. The worlds he has created are somewhat predictable - but only because he extropolates his society from what ours is like now - and thinks about a milion tiny details that most people would never have considered. And sure, the main characters name is hiro protagonist - but do you really deny the author his bit of fun? Hiro and his antogonist raven are too of the coolest characters i have ever read about - and i strongly encourage you to read this book. Also if you are interested you can check out my full review of this at http://yareviews.blogspot.com/2008/01/review-snow-crash-diamond-age.html
alm (USA: CO) (2008/02/28):
The main character's name (Hiro Protagonist) turned me off at the start, as did the main-girl-character's name (YT, or Yours Truly). Once I got past the naming quirks, however, I found myself enjoying the story. It isn't the most original cyberpunk novel ever, but it's entertaining and thought-provoking overall.
miketrestman (USA: CA) (2009/01/25):
great book. well written, classic sci-fi adventure story
|
