Excited For Anathem, Neal Stephenson's Latest Novel? I Sure Am.

I just read 11 pages from Neal Stephenson’s new book, Anathem (click through to read them yourself via PDF at Amazon 🙂 ) and it’s as funny and fascinating as you would expect from Stephenson. On the heels of two* straight novels based on an augmented version of our world’s history Stephenson here takes a different approach, crafting a story based on a world fully of his own imagining. Based on the sample I saw he’s adept at world building, presenting a scenario familiar enough to be accessible but different enough to drive that page turning impulse that makes this kind of fiction so much fun to read.

And really, at 960 pages it better be fun to read 🙂

While there likely won’t be any Shaftoes or Waterhouses and Enoch Root won’t be anywhere to be found, Stephenson writes with such intelligence and creativity I’m betting I won’t miss them too much.

It comes out in just a couple of weeks so if you’ve got any other books on your plate, you better clear some room. If it makes you feel any better, I’m grinding through Pynchon’s Against the Day (another roach killer) so unless your book is tipping in at over 1000 pages you’ve got it easier than I do in trying to get the nightstand clear…

*four? seven? I think of the Baroque Cycle as one enormous book, but I devoured that thing like a New York Strip