Cryptonomicon

by Neal Stephenson

Paperback, 928 pages

English language

Published May 3, 2000 by William Morrow Paperbacks.

ISBN:: 978-0-380-78862-0

(198 reviews)

Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods—World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty—we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."

All of this secrecy …

All of this secrecy resonates in the present-day story line, in which the grandchildren of the WWII heroes—inimitable programming geek Randy Waterhouse and the lovely and powerful Amy Shaftoe—team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. To top off the paranoiac tone of the book, the mysterious Enoch Root, key member of Detachment 2702 and the Societas Eruditorum, pops up with an unbreakable encryption scheme left over from WWII to befuddle the 1990s protagonists with conspiratorial ties.

5 editions

Kibrika reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

If this is what historical fiction is, I might be into historical fiction. I really, really loved this book.
This book might have had a bit of an advantage because just before it I read a book with the title "[b:The Algebraist|12009|The Algebraist|Iain M. Banks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388530602l/12009.SX50.jpg|2465248]" that had no trace of mathematics in it. Then I started reading this book, which by title sounds like some fantasy book, but instead it starts with actual mathematicians talking actual mathematics. And obviously not the textbook kind that's hard to follow in audio form, the interesting kind.
My main complaint about this book is that because I'm not very good at history (or geography), I might take away some incorrect ideas about what happened in WWII. Or maybe about Philippines. If you know a cool video explaining the actual history behind this books events, point me to it.
In any case, I …

essteeyou reviewed Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Absolutely incredible! If I didn't have so many other books to read I would quite possibly jump straight back in and listen to this again.

This story has been my companion through the entire COVID-19 outbreak up to this point, and it has been a welcome escape from reality. I think I will always remember this book alongside this pandemic. I only wish the book was longer so it could see me through to the other side of this mess.

tiegz reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Epic weaving of historical fiction. Definitely some fun parallels to Bitcoin that predate it (a digital currency, cryptography, a circle of people operating under a Japanese psuedonym, etc).

mattmerk reviewed Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Let me start by saying I hated MOBY DICK. I started out loving it, but then Melville turned half the book into some kind of encyclopedia entry anthology about sea life, some of it mammalian, all of it referred to as "fish". And so this is how I felt about CRYPTONOMICON. I love books about stories, and sure, there's a story in there, but it is buried under so much high brow scene building that I got bored fast. If I had to break it up into percentages, I'd say 25% of the book was story, 50% scene building (using math, which I like and even use in my own work), and 25% characterization. Both CRYPTONOMICON and MOBY DICK are popular books that could be called classics at this point and I will remain happily in the minority of readers, possibly just one reader, who didn't enjoy either.

By the …

Enno reviewed Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It took me two attempts to finish this behemoth of a book, but it was so worth it.

pithypants reviewed Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I've tried to get into this book three times, and every time I've failed, despite enjoying some of Stephenson's other books. I think I've figured out what doesn't work for me: I don't CARE about any of the characters. If you're going to ask me to commit to giving up 50 hours of my life to read 1000 pages, I need to find the characters compelling - and I don't. The plotlines are interesting, but when I bailed (about 1/3 of the way through the book), none was so compelling that I felt I needed to stick it out to learn what happened. So after spending 15 hours with a book and feeling like it was just an acquaintance and not a friend, I decided to bail. There's a lot to like about Stephenson, but I think he'd benefit from a more heavy-handed editor.

Ika Makimaki reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I honestly wanted to like this book more... but found it a bit underwhelming.
It is a great introduction to cryptography and a decent historical thriller, but for some reason it never sucked me into it as did for example [b:Seveneves|22816087|Seveneves|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449142000s/22816087.jpg|42299347][b:Seveneves|22816087|Seveneves|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449142000s/22816087.jpg|42299347], by the same author.
I felt it was a bit too long and didn't really connect with any of the characters. What I did like though, was the historical context and the way it weaves together with modern day history and its tie ins with encryption and the challenges and opportunities it presents.
Not my favourite but a nice read indeed.

Mark Anderson reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Neal Stephenson is able to balance the high flight cryptic genius of Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" with the gripping sense of a spy thriller ala David Grisham, which in and of itself is a pretty neat feat. Towards the end of the book, I did feel like some momentum was lost and I had less of those moments where I was completely enthralled by wondrous mathematical genius and more moments where I was questioning the need for inclusion of slightly cheesy action/romance plot material. But overall, this is a brilliant book on cryptanalysis that scatters its narratives through a web of time and a cast of interesting characters. Quite enjoyable. I'm looking forward to reading more of Stephenson's books.

chrisamaphone reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

i'm wavering between one star and two. parts of it had fantastic writing, but i felt like the story was going nowhere and stopped reading a few hundred pages in. there was nothing really pulling me in.

Curtis reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It's the sci-fi equivalent of the lambada.

unsquare reviewed Cryptonomicon, tome 3 by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Cryptonomicon, tome 3 ' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It had been a few years since I'd read anything by Stephenson, so I'd forgotten what a hilarious writer he is. This a rip-roaring adventure tale, set both during World War II and modern times, and it was a hell of a lot of fun to read. This book has actually been on my shelf for a pretty long time, thoroughly untouched because of the sheer length. However, I'm glad I finally got up the nerve to crack it open and read it, because even at 1000+ pages it was a brisk and entertaining read. I'm sure I could have finished it weeks ago if not for all of the time I spent getting read to move at the start of the month. Highly recommended, easily in my top 10 for the year even this early on.