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We've heard rumors about Neal "Snow Crash" Stephenson's new novel, but nothing more concrete than that it would be called Anathem and it would be a space opera about math and aliens. That would mark a real departure for the novelist, who has dealt only with human histories and futures in his previous works like The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicon. Now Lev Grossman, Time magazine's nerd correspondent, has more details about the plot of Anathem.
Grossman says he's received a notice from the publisher with this catalog copy about the book:
Since childhood, Raz has lived behind the walls of a 3,400-year-old monastery, a sanctuary for scientists, philosophers, and mathematicians—sealed off from the illiterate, irrational, unpredictable "saecular" world that is plagued by recurring cycles of booms and busts, world wars and climate change. Until the day that a higher power, driven by fear, decides that only these cloistered scholars have the abilities to avert an impending catastrophe. And, one by one, Raz and his cohorts are summoned forth without warning into the Unknown.A little bit Ender's Game, a little bit Name of the Rose? You know, that is sort of the perfect combination for Stephenson. But where are the aliens? And the space opera?
The Return of Stephenson [Nerdworld]
Comments
OMG spoilers!!
Aren't the aliens the higher power?
Sooner or later, that guy's gonna write something that's relavent to what's going on in the world today with, like, alagories and stuff.
I've seriously been jonesing since I finished the Baroque Cycle. I've never encountered a writer whose work I adored so much that I considered rereading it purely for enjoyment.
I wonder if this is going to tie-in, in some way, with the baroque cycle/cryptonomicon universe. Like maybe Enoch Root is really from that monastery? Hope he's not pulling a "Highlander 2": Root is really from the planet Zeist ...
Wasn't this synopsis on the first thread mentioning this book?
It sounds like The Royal Society meets Inversions. I hope.
OMG This is great! Can't wait!
@Plague: I don't think so. If it was, I missed it.
Why can't Stephenson write cool books again like the first half of Snow Crash.
@Annalee Newitz:
'Tis.
In a comment from IllyaP- pulled from Amazon.UK
I thought it sounded too familiar.
¿cuál es una "space opera"?
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but there are two things that are necessary for any opera, space or otherwise
- foreign language
- singing
So... this is a little off topic, but is Snow Crash worth reading? I'm just getting my feet wet with SF novels, so I want to make sure I start with all of the best that I've missed up until now. I just finished Ender's Game now I'm moving on to Speaker for the Dead. Should I pick up Snow Crash next?
Oh, great. I was told there would be no math...
@2-7offsuit:
Absolutely, but I'd probably argue more for OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVEN'T READ IT reasons than OMG THIS IS THE MOST INNOVATIVE THING EVER reasons.
Cryptonomicon is probably his most solid work, and I'm apt to even prefer Diamond Age over Snow Crash. When it was written, it was a game changer, but it's a bit outdated and Stephenson has matured leaps and bounds as a writer, IMO.
@2-7offsuit: Yes, emphatically, and don't stop there.
As for Anathem, WANT!
@2-7offsuit: I'm sure we all agree here, yes "Snow Crash" is worth it. It is a wee bit dated but still a great read. He intended it to be a parody of the Cyberpunk school of Science-Fiction (think 1990s; brain-to computer interfaces; amoral characters; everything low-slung, black & gleaming) but it turned out to be better written than most examples of Cyberpunk. (Yeah, Sterling et al.-good, Stephenson-better. Just my humble opinion. So go ahead y'all, gimme yer best shotz)
Stephenson comes from a family with dozens (?) of hard-core academicians, dude just knows Way Too Much. Often his narrative slow down or just grind to a halt completely for some seriously heavy technical stuff. Don't let this intimidate you, even if you don't absorb it all the first time you'll walk away with a chock-full of new knowledge and a realy great plot.
In short sir/madame-- HIGHLY RECOMENDED.
@2-7offsuit: Snow Crash is So worth it! It's the Dune of cyberpunk. Diamond Age is excellent as well.
Here is another vote for Snow Crash being worth a read. Diamond Age was a more complete and well paced story, but Snow Crash just had so much energy and entertainment value, that I can forgive the flaws. The Big U is also an interesting read, but it does feel like a first novel. If you like Stephenson's style, and don't mind some amatuerish parts, I would say pick it up. I'm really not that big of a fan of his later work. It is well written, and solidly plotted, but it didn't connect with me as well as his early stuff.
And for those who do a lot of driving, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are both great audio books. Great readings for each.
and don't forget the great Zodiac. actually, it's pretty forgettable. and not that great. I like Big U better--there's a lot of Neal's "big ideas" in utero--collective unconsciousnesses ala the Drummers in DA, the living groups and what became the burbclaves in SC, drug use, computers, rpg ... there's a lot going on in Big U. Plus, as a native of the Boston area, it's fun to see him playing around with things like BU's horrible dorms, the Citgo sign near Fenway, etc.
Anathem? now please. Though it does sound a little like the back story to Ra's al Ghul.
I hope Root isn't involved. I'd like to see a whole new world from NTS--though I still think that Neal set things up so that Randy Waterhouse created the crash that leads to Hiro and Y.T.'s world.
Sounds like we need a "What are the best books to introduce your n00b friends to sci-fi" article!
That copy has been up on Amazon UK for ages.
How weird--I just finished Snow Crash last night. I agree, the first half is more fun than the last half, but overall it's a great read. Just chockablock with cool ideas. Zodiac was good fun too.
@Plague: Haha that's awesome. io9 readers scooped Time.
@Chris Meredith: I preferred Diamond Age to Snow Crash. FAR preferred it, actually.
Mmm, this also appears to have a bit of Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game- the story of a group of men holed up in Castalia- an academy where they play the game of games- a mathematical and metaphysical language embedded in the intricacies of a game played with glass beads...
I concur with all the recommendations above. Stephenson's Snow Crash was one of (if not THE) best cyberpunk novels ever written. As a Librarian at Champaign Public Library I recommend this novel (and Diamond Age) for readers who are new to the genre. I also mention how I learned to love these even more after reading "About the Author" in the back of Cryptonomicon and finding out Stephenson spent lots of time in growing up in Champaign-Urbana.
Anyone who wants to know more about Stephenson's latest novel should visit the Stephenson Livejournal Community, where I and a few other people have been posting the most up-to-date information concerning Anathem. The url is:
community.livejournal.com/nealstephenson
Having read most of his stuff, for me Stephenson is at his best when he describes things. I find myself reading him over and over and over again just to read him describe things. The Delieverator, the worcestershire sauce description in Diamond Age, pretty much any flashback or delirium that Bobby or Jack Shaftoe has. For me it's almost as if I don't even care what the plot is, I just want to hear him describe something. If he had reason to, he'd even make something as seemingly dull as brushing and flossing your teeth at night worthwhile and interesting.
That said, I think he's tricked us science fiction fans with these last few books of his--Crypto and the Cycle. What he's really doing now is writing wonderful adventure/suspense novels. Enoch is just an trick to make us think he's writing about something otherworldly or fantastic. Subtract the Enoch stuff and Crypto or the Cycle stand on their own as historical/modern day adventure novels, not science fiction or fantasy.
Not that I really mind at all. I'll read him regardless. But since Diamond Age, I don't think he's really written a straight science fiction novel.
Annalee, please try listening to Snow Crash. The reader does voices and adds a level of humor to the piece that almost requires an actor's voice. You may still prefer the the D.A., but I bet you'll also like S.C. better. Y.T. is such a great character.
@corpore-metal:
Stephenson's said in the past that he doesn't think of science fiction in the sense of space, robots, ships, technology. Instead, it's a different perspective for looking at the world, regardless of the setting or time-period. Given that, Cryptonomicon is full of science-fiction stuff (in his definition). It delves into Alan Turing and the creation of computer science related to code breaking. Same with Baroque Cycle (exploring the complex systems of international finance and trade).
Cryptonomicon is an absolute masterpiece, as is Snow Crash, though it's been years since i read that one. I have not been able to get into the Baroque Cycle, though i appreciate the (obviously) years and years of research he did to write it.
I love his big ideas, and the strong "otherworldly" element to his stories which he's able to make very down-to-earth. Even in a "historical" science fiction like Crypto.
Anathem sounds great, can't wait.
The cover for Anathem has been officially released:
[ecx.images-amazon.com]
@Rus:
So you never read anything for fun?@randallnathaniel:
Yeah, me too. I learned a lot from the "Cryptonomicon" also. The historical figures, though fictionalized were written about as they would have acted and were based on facts. There WAS enmity between Hooke and Newton; Newton was a bit of a flake; Newton did have an ego as big as his IQ, etc.
Last but not least, Shaftoe has to be the funniest character ever conceived.
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