Even when this edition was the current edition it felt... flimsy and uninformative. It's 9/10ths design and 1/10th ActionScript dev. And not that you Even when this edition was the current edition it felt... flimsy and uninformative. It's 9/10ths design and 1/10th ActionScript dev. And not that you could cover much in that 1/10th but even that much felt weak. The pages are big and glossy and have a good layout. But it's the kind of book that a "graphic-designer-cum-web-designer" puts on his shelf to convince prospective clients that he knows what he's doing.
Designers get inspiration from all around then. And if you want information about Flash development itself, go with something by Colin Moock....more
I go back and forth with whether I liked this book or whether I liked this book a lot. With the exception of Stephenson's endings, I tend to find his I go back and forth with whether I liked this book or whether I liked this book a lot. With the exception of Stephenson's endings, I tend to find his werks very strong overall; these are compelling reads with digestible but thought-provoking questions and scenarios and some rather scintillating characters that are one part Jungian archetype and two parts original. Diamond Age shares those qualities with the rest of his body of work and yet somehow seems a bit... deficient?
It's clear that Diamond Age is the successor to the Snow Crash world, each critical variable accelerated along every axis. And that's where its strengths emerge; it's a bit more of a long-form treatment of the subject matter, takes a more delicate approach (e.g., Nell's story), and goes unafraid into some areas where you felt he might have tip-toed in some previous werk. But at the same time, when you put this one down, the classic Stephensonian termination shock gets a bit hyperbolic. There's a lot of slack-jawed: "But... What next?"
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re-read 16th July, 2011: If my notes are correct, this is my third time reading this novel. Which is quite a bit for a re-read (but not many for a Stephenson novel). Notably different this time around is that this is my first re-read of it since my son was born. That sort of thing probably winds up having an effect on how you read anything. This time around, it seemed to make all my feelings much more palpable. I was a lot more sympathetic to Hackworth, but also found myself cursing him that much more; I felt a more paternal interest in Nell, but also cringed that much more at her penultimate tribulations...
And/but just as before: I'm left thrashing between that 3-and-4-star range. The first half resonates even more strongly as time goes on; but something in that second half... I have a hard time making it all click. And it isn't just the Stephensonian loose ends. It's... Elizabeth drops out of the narrative all together, but not without these oblique and ominous references to CryptNet ("but she was never a major character"?); Fiona accepts a casted role with Dramatis Personae, but then what? (and/but/see also: D.P. seems inserted into the story briefly for the sole purpose of un-re-hijacking Fiona); if Nell knew there was so much danger in Pudong, why did she stay? (just to advance the plot?); &c.
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Further reading: � "Steampunk Appreciations: Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age - Steampunk’s 22nd-Century Sourcebook" at Tor.com () � (at accrediedonlinecolleges.com which -- yeah, doesn't seem like a legit website, but seemed like a legit-enough list)...more
If I were stranded on a desert island, was told to start a webdev company there, and could only have one book, this would be the one. Comprehensive guIf I were stranded on a desert island, was told to start a webdev company there, and could only have one book, this would be the one. Comprehensive guide on HTML, good CSS and JavaScript supplements, and plenty of excellent supporting text to either learn the subject or refresh your memory when you're feelin' a bit rusty....more
50 pages felt like 500. I couldn't get into it, not my style, not my subject matter. Though I'll admit there was a certain sexiness to her prose. Perh50 pages felt like 500. I couldn't get into it, not my style, not my subject matter. Though I'll admit there was a certain sexiness to her prose. Perhaps we'll revisit some time....more
A wholly remarkable book in almost every way. Süskind executes this novel flawlessly. He zeroes in on perhaps the most potent and yet most ignored senA wholly remarkable book in almost every way. Süskind executes this novel flawlessly. He zeroes in on perhaps the most potent and yet most ignored senses experienced by human kind: smell. He zeroes in on that sense and writes through that experience almost exclusively. It never tires, it never feels gimmicky. Utterly gripping, utterly original; simply amazing....more
A good way to think of this book: a treatise for kids that grew up in the GUI and getting them to understand the importance of proper syntax. On the sA good way to think of this book: a treatise for kids that grew up in the GUI and getting them to understand the importance of proper syntax. On the shell. Because that's where the hotness is at....more
Though Snow Crash will probably remain my all-time favorite Neal Stephenson novel, Cryptonomicon might take the crown as his best.[�:] As I write Though Snow Crash will probably remain my all-time favorite Neal Stephenson novel, Cryptonomicon might take the crown as his best.[�:] As I write this review, I wrapping up my third reading of this novel.
BRIEF ASIDE REGARDING THE TIMING OF THIS THIRD READING: It is probably worth noting my mental state when I cracked the spine on this one for the third time. Stephenson's Anathem had just come out and I could not quite bring myself to drop the cash on the hardcover. But I was overwhelmed with the urge to read some Stephenson. Given the the brutalizing that the U.S. economy was taking (according to the news) right about this time, it therefore seemed apropos to read something that involved economics, crypto, currency, libertarianism (and flaws of same), and safety/security.
END OF ASIDE AND RETURN TO REVIEW THAT IS REALLY MORE LIKE A BUNCH OF RANDOM DISCONNECTED OBSERVATIONS:Cryptonomicon manages to do a good job of not feeling terribly dated even nine years after its release. The cutting-edge laptops in the narrative still seem pretty fancy; the issues all continue to feel pertinent and relevant; the only thing that seems to set it in a particular time is an off-hand reference to "the Power Rangers" pretty late in the story.
Anyway.
It holds together well all these years later and is a great exemplar of Stephenson's hyperbolic style and how well he wields that style for explanatory power as well as humor.
What Stephenson does masterfully here is to create an interesting story for nerds (esp. crypto nerds) that has a thinly veiled coming-of-age sub-text lathered onto a character that we (at first) don't think needs any maturation.
I am talking (of course) about Randy.
If you don't figure this out by the time you get to the "Pulse" chapter then you have some explaining to do. We (the readers, the nerds) are thinking that Randy is a grown-up because we (1; as grown-ups) identify with him at the outset and (2) he has all the trappings of a grown-up such as (a) a beard, (b) a girlfriend of 10 years, (c) a business plan, etc. But the Randy we start with is little more than a bearded child running away from his commitments (i.e., his career as a university sysadmin and his relationship with Charlene (though, given the circumstances described in the prose, citing the latter is probably not fair to Randy) to play with his friends (e.g., Avi, Tom Howard) and their toys (e.g., high-tech laptops, GPS receivers). We get the first hint that this late-stage coming-of-age is going on when Randy shaves off his beard to discover a grown-ups face underneath. From there it's a pretty steady sleight-of-hand unfolding through the narrative which is really quite rewarding. (Hence taking the crown as Stephenson's best.)
Granted, there's so much more going on in the novel than just Randy; we could also consider Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, Bobby Shaftoe, Goto Dengo, or Enoch Root[�:]. But Randy is probably the best place to center.
------ � = At the time of this writing, there is a pretty broad swath of Stephenson unread by Y.T., namely all three in the Baroque Cycle and the brand new Anathem.
� = Root in particular fascinates me because (if what I've heard is true an he does in fact appear in Stephenson's Baroque Cycle) he seems to share a few traits in common with Tolkien's Gandalf (doubly interesting because Stephenson's Randy calls Root a "Wizard" in the Tolkien sense), Weis/Hickman's Fizban, Arthur Miller's "Old Jew", etc. I'm thinking that there is a whole taxonomy of characters to explore here of which Root is one.
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