BOOKS THE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD
“Stephenson (Cryptonomicon) is not afraid to spend as much time as it takes to explore everything that interests him, whether it’s the geometry of cake cutting or the particulars of a 1000-year-old collection of assorted garden furniture. In less skilled hands this might be tedious, but here the layers of world building are the foundation for an enthralling tale that, even at over 900 pages, is over almost too soon. For some fans, this may be a welcome return to sf after his epic historical trilogy, “The Baroque Cycle,” but readers with an interest in science and philosophy will also enjoy it-there are dozens of famous ideas and theorems half-hidden throughout the novel. Highly recommended.”
“Don’t think the clever Stephenson doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing — spinning a massive novel out of our present-day anxieties, which is what science fiction and fantasy writers always do, really, or at least the good ones do it. Incredibly admirable. Stephenson has reached Stephen King and J.K. Rowling territory.”
“Writing with a fountain pen in the basement of his Mount Baker home, Stephenson produces mind-blowing, thousand-page novels, usually centered on humble, good-hearted intellectuals caught in storms of technological, social and historical change. Academics have compared Stephenson with Thomas Pynchon and William Gibson, although ANATHEM adds JK Rowling and Isaac Asimov to the mix.”
“Clever and intricate...truly ingenious...it’s brilliance is undeniable.”
“A masterpiece...mind-bogglingly ambitious...readers will delight in puzzling out the historical antecedents in philosophy, science, mathematics, and art that Stephenson riffs on with his customary quicklsilver genius...it’s one of the most thought-provoking novels I’ve ever read, and also one of the most engaging.”
“Reading Anathem is a humbling experience.”
“A sprawling disquisition…[a] logophilic treat for those who like their alternate worlds big, parodic and ironic.”
“Stephenson’s expansive storytelling echoes Walter Miller’s classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, the space operas of Larry Niven and the cultural meditations of Douglas Hofstadter – a heady mix of antecedents that makes for long stretches of dazzling entertainment.”
“Stephenson has quickly established himself as an A-list writer of epic-length fantasy…The novel is beautifully written (fans of Adam Roberts’ ornately written science fiction will see some similarities), and, even though it runs to nearly 1,000 pages, it feels somehow too short, as though we’re made to leave this carefully constructed world and return to our own before we’re quite ready. A magnificent achievement.”