Joao Trindade reviewed Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Review of 'Anathem' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Liked the world which Neal Stephenson created.
Good, but not great, book!
Ungekürztes Hörbuch
Deutsch language
Published Nov. 22, 2013 by Der Hörverlag.
Der Planet Arbre im Jahr 3689. Seit seinem achten Lebensjahr lebt Erasmas, genannt Raz, im Konzent Saunt Edhar, einer klosterähnlichen Gemeinschaft von Wissenschaftlern, Philosophen und Mathematikern. Die Aufgabe dieser Gemeinschaft ist es, hinter den jahrtausendealten Mauern Wissen zu bewahren und es vor den schädlichen Einflüssen der säkularen Welt zu beschützen. Denn während das Leben im Konzent nach strengen Ritualen und uralten Traditionen verläuft, so ist die Geschichte jenseits dieser abgeschlossenen Welt durch Chaos und Veränderung geprägt: Auf Blütezeiten folgten Zusammenbrüche, auf finsteres Mittelalter Erneuerung; Kriege und Klimawandel zerstörten die bestehende Ordnung.
Als Raz mit 18 seine erste Apert bevorsteht - eine Woche, in der beide Welten in Kontakt treten und Austausch pflegen - bereitet er sich mit seinen Mitschwestern und -brüdern darauf vor, den Konzent zu verlassen und sich in die säkulare Welt vorzuwagen. Aber dort muss er entdecken, dass außerarbrische Kräfte den Planeten bedrohen. Und mit einem Mal lastet …
Der Planet Arbre im Jahr 3689. Seit seinem achten Lebensjahr lebt Erasmas, genannt Raz, im Konzent Saunt Edhar, einer klosterähnlichen Gemeinschaft von Wissenschaftlern, Philosophen und Mathematikern. Die Aufgabe dieser Gemeinschaft ist es, hinter den jahrtausendealten Mauern Wissen zu bewahren und es vor den schädlichen Einflüssen der säkularen Welt zu beschützen. Denn während das Leben im Konzent nach strengen Ritualen und uralten Traditionen verläuft, so ist die Geschichte jenseits dieser abgeschlossenen Welt durch Chaos und Veränderung geprägt: Auf Blütezeiten folgten Zusammenbrüche, auf finsteres Mittelalter Erneuerung; Kriege und Klimawandel zerstörten die bestehende Ordnung.
Als Raz mit 18 seine erste Apert bevorsteht - eine Woche, in der beide Welten in Kontakt treten und Austausch pflegen - bereitet er sich mit seinen Mitschwestern und -brüdern darauf vor, den Konzent zu verlassen und sich in die säkulare Welt vorzuwagen. Aber dort muss er entdecken, dass außerarbrische Kräfte den Planeten bedrohen. Und mit einem Mal lastet eine hohe Verantwortung auf Raz' Schultern, denn er wird für die schwierige Aufgabe auserwählt, die Zerstörung des Planeten zu verhindern...
Liked the world which Neal Stephenson created.
Good, but not great, book!
I haven't read much philosophy so the philosophical parts of the book were fresh to me. I really enjoyed them. I found my mind constantly wandering on these subjects and had to re-read pages. The fantasy world was also well developed and interesting. The first part of the book, up to Bly's Butte, was really to my taste. I'd recommend closing the book at that point though, having absorbed most of the enjoyment already.
What would you miss out this way? A long (in miles and pages) trek through the Arctic with lots of action and characters that have minimal impact in the end. Elaboration of the fantasy physics, that I felt was a bit shaky. (Anyway, this makes for good conversation material.) An interesting but perhaps too long scene in space. An ending that is also good for a conversation, but that did not feel like a good closure. …
I haven't read much philosophy so the philosophical parts of the book were fresh to me. I really enjoyed them. I found my mind constantly wandering on these subjects and had to re-read pages. The fantasy world was also well developed and interesting. The first part of the book, up to Bly's Butte, was really to my taste. I'd recommend closing the book at that point though, having absorbed most of the enjoyment already.
What would you miss out this way? A long (in miles and pages) trek through the Arctic with lots of action and characters that have minimal impact in the end. Elaboration of the fantasy physics, that I felt was a bit shaky. (Anyway, this makes for good conversation material.) An interesting but perhaps too long scene in space. An ending that is also good for a conversation, but that did not feel like a good closure.
While I am not sure these later pages were worth it I had a lot of fun with the book. It can be read as a mystical description of scientists' culture of any age. When people around me are enthusiastically discussing the finer details of the Linux kernel at lunch, I feel like these are the characters and dialogs that Anathem idolises.
If you've met me, and you know me, I may have already recommended this book to you. I've read it three times, and I imagine I will read it 20 more before I die. There will never be a sequel, which means all we have is rereading.
This book was a little slow going at first, but once you get into the language and world of the "concent," you're fully immersed. And just when you think you've fully acclimated to that new universe, that's when things start to really get good, as the plot expands beyond the walls of the concent and into the wider world (and cosmos) beyond.
The story itself serves as an allegory of the nature of Stephenson's best writing--a perfect blend of the cerebral and plot driven pulp. The playful "dialogs" of these intellectual monks as they figure out the meaning of the universe is like of a band of vegan Berkeley students out on a quest to design an art car for Burning Man. It's all great fun, while hinting at something substantially and mystically deeper.
This was an excellent book. I love the setting and the language in this world. I think I read it more to learn about this society than for any plot or characters. Here's a more in-depth review: strakul.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-review-anathem-by-neal-stephenson.html
When they make the film of this, the overlapping-outcome, parallel-universe fight scenes will be mind-blowing.
I've had a hard time with some of the other Neal Stephenson books I've tried, but for some reason this one was right up my alley. I disagree with most of his thoughts on metaphysics as presented, but the overall narrative was able to keep me interested much more than I expected. I went into this book expecting to probably set it aside (as I have done with some of Stephenson's other works). I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself staying up late to see where the story would go next.
Really happy with this book. It covered a ton of ground, but it moved along well and I found myself engaged throughout. If I was only better at reading long novels in general I would have finished it a long time ago.
Now onto Gibson's "Zero History", though at some point I'd like to circle back around and finish the Baroque Cycle (I've only finished Quicksilver)
I believe I've read every book that Neal Stephenson has written, but I have to say this one is my least favorite. It's densely written, full of invented words, and quite technical - which don't make it a bad book, but do make it a slow and weighty read. The world's scenario is interesting, though rather far-fetched, but Stephenson insists on working in some very odd theories about science and reality that make for a rather odd (and for me unsatisfying) ending.
It only took me three tries to get through this book, compared to seven for Quicksilver, so that's an improvement right there. I found this a fun fast nerdy read (for 950 pages), and with an actual logical ending (yay!) But it does bog down in talky bits quite a lot in the middle, and the conceit of a parallel universe with different names for familiar objects and events feels precious. A decent book but not Stephenson's best.
I don't really understand how Neal Stephenson is a bestselling New York Times author. Is there really that large of an audience for a 900+ page book that sandwiches a narrative of Greek philosophy, quantum mechanics and astronomy with a time line at the beginning and an ending of 50 pages of glossary and mathematical problems?
That's not to say I didn't like Anathem, although, having said that, in large part I liked it because I had the time to memorize entries from the glossary (you grow out of needing it around page 400 or so), to look up quantum mechanics, google philosophers and work out a proof of the Pythagorean theorem. This is a book to be read on vacation.
I loved Anathem. It's one of the few books that really begins on a small scale and then gradually scales up to epic scale problems, while entertaining the reader …
I don't really understand how Neal Stephenson is a bestselling New York Times author. Is there really that large of an audience for a 900+ page book that sandwiches a narrative of Greek philosophy, quantum mechanics and astronomy with a time line at the beginning and an ending of 50 pages of glossary and mathematical problems?
That's not to say I didn't like Anathem, although, having said that, in large part I liked it because I had the time to memorize entries from the glossary (you grow out of needing it around page 400 or so), to look up quantum mechanics, google philosophers and work out a proof of the Pythagorean theorem. This is a book to be read on vacation.
I loved Anathem. It's one of the few books that really begins on a small scale and then gradually scales up to epic scale problems, while entertaining the reader along the way. Similarly, it is one of the few books in which the author tries to posit scientific and philosophic hypotheses while still remaining an entertaining work of fiction and without becoming preachy or (unlike many of Stephenson's other works) an unreadable information dump. His science is entertaining and while it is bettered by outside knowledge, he explains his points in such detail that outside knowledge is not necessary. Stephenson is respectful of quantum mechanics, in contrast to myriad "science" fiction novels that throw around Everett and quantum mechanics as excuses for all manner of convenient magic.
That's not to say that I had no complaints: whole sections of the book drag, particularly because they seem to be rehashing what the reader already has either been told explicitly or intuited and many plans made by characters seem to ultimately go nowhere. More grievous is the closing arc, which has an unfinished feel. After 850 pages of having every action described to the minute detail, the last few pages feel like they're in outline form. Time jumps, plots are dropped, key points are ultimately only intimated and never explained outright. All of these are fine narrative devices but are in stark contrast to the rest of the book and therefore feel unfinished.
Too many books packed into one, and (for the most part) a tedious slog at that. It just feels like Stephenson is trying so hard, to show how smart and well-read and clever he is, that the story has to take distant second place to the author. I could go on for pages about what I liked, disliked, paused to reflect on, and/or rolled my eyes at... but there’s no need. I’m glad I read this; I’m glad it’s over; and I’m unlikely ever to read his books again. Move along.
fun story though it goes into VERY ODD places. Makes the story feel kind of meandering. Also you have to be comfortable with about 30 new words that Neal invents, which can be hard to follow.
its a classically complex story and its mind-boggling how neal gets the storylines and histories to interweave. my favorite parts are explanations of quantum physics and parallel universes, which is a central theme of the book.
This was a good thought provoking book. Like most Neal Stephenson books it was long but It held together really well and felt very coherent and interesting rather than meandering like some other long-winded books. I enjoyed it and I think that I will read it again.