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Cryptonomicon

Avon

List price: $8.99
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Average customer rating: 4 stars

5 Stars for Cryptonomicon

The Cryptonomicon is a story told in two parts. Each part separated by history. These two parts are developed separately but intertwined within the story, each part supplying a critical piece. Each storyline is extremely engaging in and of itself, while still managing to contribute greatly to the overall theme. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Certainly a book "I can't put down"!

900 pg book filled with very interesting side notes

I did not like the style of this book. Each chapter did leave me feeling tantalized and somewhat experienced.
I thought I was ejnoying myself, as it turns out - I really wasn't. After about 50 pages, I found myself cringing with doubt every other chapter. Is it just a dream sequence - or is it a time jump?
Getting to the heart of the story is allot like deciphering a code that you did not agree to look at.
If you enjoy that sort of thing, and want to read a 900 pg book filled with very interesting side notes, and the author holds the plot over your head like a bully's game of keep away, then dive in!

unique style

The author has a unique writing style; often dispensing background information in pithy and vulgar many-page rant-lets. Highly enjoyable as long as you don't mind some gruffness.

Virtually all characters have humorous elements, but with equal depth. The plot is advanced via at least three different threads in alternating chapters. To the authors credit, all of the threads are engaging.

Computer science content is remarkably plausible (read: well researched and presented by an expert), with almost no hand-waving. Can't comment on same for historical accuracy.

An impressive novel

Before Crypotnomicon I had never read any of Neal Stephenson's novels. Throughout the book I was impressed as the wild array of story lines coming from different times and many different characters slowly wove together, so I was impressed by the quality of the writing and the technical side of it.

The only shortcoming was, in my opinion, the ending. For a novel of this breadth, the climax should be pretty extraordinary and satisfying, after having built for so long. Instead the final bit left me feeling a little hollow.

That said, some might say that it's not in the destination but how you get there. Crytonomicon exceeds in that aspect. It's worth reading just for the ride. Both the technical and the human sides of the story will keep you reading (and wanting more) right through the end.

Good read and an intellectual challenge

Cryptonomicon
As a former college math major, the math and mathematic cryptography portions were intriquing but it is not necessary to understand them to appreciate the book. In fact, perhaps half way through I became engrossed in the story and just brushed through the math portions. I have recommended the book to friends who would be baffled by the term "cube root" and they loved it.

One of the few books that address the mental effect on a Japanese soldier of the years long grind as they suffered continuous defeats at the hands of a people they felt were in all ways their inferior.

The interweave of modern and WWII characters and issues is superb.