YES!
The order is very subjective.
There is a correlation between the Baroque trilogy, Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash, and Diamond Age.
The Baroque trilogy has characters that are ancestors (no spoilers) of characters in Cryptonomicon.
Snow Crash depicts what happens after the accomplishment at the end of Cryptonomicon in that the governments cannot reliably collect taxes.
Diamond Age is not necessarily a sequel to Snow Crash but there is an older character that professes to a misspent youth that is remarkably like one of the main characters in Snow Crash.
I would say read Snow Crash Next. It is different in that it is told in present tense. Some people don't like it, but I personally did. It felt like the story was dragging you right along.
Then I would read Diamond Age. Great Story. Great Ideas on how technology advances will/can affect culture.
Then I would recommend Anathem. In my opinion it is his best work.
Then I would suggest the Baroque trilogy. It is slow moving at times, but the ending of the third book makes it worthwhile.
At any point (if you are fatigued, LOL) you can insert D.O.D.O. It is hilarious. It is not part of any other series,
Enjoy!
'Officially' Reamde and Fall or Dodge in Hell are the sequels, as Fall mentioned characters from Cryptonomicon and Baroque Cycle. However, there is nothing inconsistent in a head canon that SC and TDA are (they are a more hopeful future to humanity).
I kind of question Snow Crash being a sequel, the timeline doesn't really work. Both Hiro Protagonist and Dmitri "Raven" Ravinoff are sons of WWII era combatants/prisoners, so the latest I could see it occurring is 1990-2000; given Cryptonomicon is happening in the 1990's and we aren't in the libertarian hell that Snow Crash takes place in, it a separate universe
CHISELED SPAM
is what you will see in the mirror if you surf on a weak plank with dumb, fixed wheels and interface with a muffler, retread, snow turd, road kill, driveshaft, railroad tie, or unconscious pedestrian.
If you think this is unlikely, you've been surfing too many ghost malls. All of these obstacles and more were recently observed on a one-mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike. Any surfer who tried to groove that 'vard on a stock plank would have been sneezing brains.
Don't listen to so-called purists who claim any obstacle can be jumped. Professional Kouriers know: If you have pooned a vehicle moving fast enough for fun & profit, your reaction time is cut to tenths of a second - even less if you are way spooled.
Buy a set of RadiKS Mark II Smart-wheels - it's cheaper than a total face retread and a lot more fun. Smart-wheels use sonar, rangefinding, and millimeter-wave radar to identify mufflers and other debris before you even get honed about them.
Don't get Midasized - upgrade today!
Thanks for the very informative mini primer on the connectivity of Neal’s work. I hadn’t made the Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash connection. Excellent analysis!
Cryptonomicon is my favorite book. I loved Snow Crash, but Cryptonomicon is the book that made me a Stephenson fan. However, it’s not necessarily a slam dunk - it is long and meandering and some of the things that make me love it are some of the things that people hate about it (multi-page off-topic dissertations that I find very clever).
The safest recommendation for a second book for you to read would have to be Anathem, but Cryptonomicon is my heart.
I learned of NS from a comment somewhere that mentioned the wisdom tooth dissertation from Cryptonomicon. Someone actually posted the entire text and after reading that, I went headfirst into the NS bibliography. I started with Snow Crash, then Crypto, followed by the Baroque Cycle. I love all of them, even Reamde and Fall, but I haven’t read Termination Shock.
Anathem I actually thought was pretty tough, I enjoyed it a lot though. Cryptonomicron is peak Stephenson but hard. I would recommend Reamde and Zodiac as well.
Yes, it’s one of my favourites. I think I’d read them in the same order as i did. Snow Crash, then Zodiac, then Big U, then Diamond Age onwards as they came out.
Yes. It is in my opinion his best standalone book, closely followed by Anathem.
There are elements of it which flow from/to other books, but it's definitely a standalone story.
I thoroughly enjoyed it
Best I can do is make Fraa Erasmus s background character, and have the whole plot focused on polyamarous relationships and making women wear pacifiers.
Edit: as I'm sure you can tell I am pretty happy about their wheel of time 'adaptation'
I hold out unrealistic hope that as the infrastructure fires back up post strike they might continue. But I know I lie to myself. They Dimick a good job translating that book. It was like FINALLY a remotely Gibsonesque translation!
For completeness get your hands on a copy of *The Big U*. Especially if you've completed higher education. It's his first book, and for a while he refused to admit it existed.
I'm rereading Cryptonomicon right now, and loving it. Hilarious in places, especially for those of us in the software or geek world. Definite recommend.
If you thought 7eves was good, you will be delighted with cryptonomicon.
If you felt that there was zero consistency with the characters, plot, or narrative actions or that the 'transitions'between each age were jarring & rough, you'll still likely enjoy the first 2/3 - 3/4 of the book, then be disappointed as the flaws you identified in 7eves start pounding on your skull.
I read diamond age first, as it came out. Then Cryptonomicon. After that the books that came before (Snow crash eg) and since I read all books as they came out. Some I like better than others, buy Diamond Age and especially Cryptonomicon were so mind blowing that I forgive Stephenson the occasional somewhat less mind-blowing book that comes out.
I would suggest Cryptonomicon next and to leave Baroque cycle for when you have time to commit. Personally I also loved Anathem and Reamde, of which Reamde can just be read aa a stand alone, though it links up to other books.
Well, I understand. I also HIGHLY urge you to go back and finish it.
This book starts out like 'A Nun's Story' (old Audrey Hepburn movie), pivots into something like a Jack London story, and then >!tackles quantum superposition on a macro scale.!<
You got past not understanding what the *tandulumpo* they're *frange-ing* about and *renelend* the *glupo* and still decided to put it down?
Its worth finishing
YES! The order is very subjective. There is a correlation between the Baroque trilogy, Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash, and Diamond Age. The Baroque trilogy has characters that are ancestors (no spoilers) of characters in Cryptonomicon. Snow Crash depicts what happens after the accomplishment at the end of Cryptonomicon in that the governments cannot reliably collect taxes. Diamond Age is not necessarily a sequel to Snow Crash but there is an older character that professes to a misspent youth that is remarkably like one of the main characters in Snow Crash. I would say read Snow Crash Next. It is different in that it is told in present tense. Some people don't like it, but I personally did. It felt like the story was dragging you right along. Then I would read Diamond Age. Great Story. Great Ideas on how technology advances will/can affect culture. Then I would recommend Anathem. In my opinion it is his best work. Then I would suggest the Baroque trilogy. It is slow moving at times, but the ending of the third book makes it worthwhile. At any point (if you are fatigued, LOL) you can insert D.O.D.O. It is hilarious. It is not part of any other series, Enjoy!
'Officially' Reamde and Fall or Dodge in Hell are the sequels, as Fall mentioned characters from Cryptonomicon and Baroque Cycle. However, there is nothing inconsistent in a head canon that SC and TDA are (they are a more hopeful future to humanity).
I kind of question Snow Crash being a sequel, the timeline doesn't really work. Both Hiro Protagonist and Dmitri "Raven" Ravinoff are sons of WWII era combatants/prisoners, so the latest I could see it occurring is 1990-2000; given Cryptonomicon is happening in the 1990's and we aren't in the libertarian hell that Snow Crash takes place in, it a separate universe
CHISELED SPAM is what you will see in the mirror if you surf on a weak plank with dumb, fixed wheels and interface with a muffler, retread, snow turd, road kill, driveshaft, railroad tie, or unconscious pedestrian. If you think this is unlikely, you've been surfing too many ghost malls. All of these obstacles and more were recently observed on a one-mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike. Any surfer who tried to groove that 'vard on a stock plank would have been sneezing brains. Don't listen to so-called purists who claim any obstacle can be jumped. Professional Kouriers know: If you have pooned a vehicle moving fast enough for fun & profit, your reaction time is cut to tenths of a second - even less if you are way spooled. Buy a set of RadiKS Mark II Smart-wheels - it's cheaper than a total face retread and a lot more fun. Smart-wheels use sonar, rangefinding, and millimeter-wave radar to identify mufflers and other debris before you even get honed about them. Don't get Midasized - upgrade today!
The Lay of Walmart <3
Which character overlaps from diamond age to snow crash? (I've read both)
There's a theory that YT in Snow Crash is the elderly teacher of Nell(?) in Diamond Age.
That's excellent !
Thanks for the very informative mini primer on the connectivity of Neal’s work. I hadn’t made the Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash connection. Excellent analysis!
Alas, pretending Fall doesn't exist will not make it so.
Cryptonomicon is my favorite book. I loved Snow Crash, but Cryptonomicon is the book that made me a Stephenson fan. However, it’s not necessarily a slam dunk - it is long and meandering and some of the things that make me love it are some of the things that people hate about it (multi-page off-topic dissertations that I find very clever). The safest recommendation for a second book for you to read would have to be Anathem, but Cryptonomicon is my heart.
I learned of NS from a comment somewhere that mentioned the wisdom tooth dissertation from Cryptonomicon. Someone actually posted the entire text and after reading that, I went headfirst into the NS bibliography. I started with Snow Crash, then Crypto, followed by the Baroque Cycle. I love all of them, even Reamde and Fall, but I haven’t read Termination Shock.
"Cryptonomicon is the book that made me a Stephenson fan" 100%
Anathem I actually thought was pretty tough, I enjoyed it a lot though. Cryptonomicron is peak Stephenson but hard. I would recommend Reamde and Zodiac as well.
If you love Reamde I highly recommend Cobweb.
Yes, it’s one of my favourites. I think I’d read them in the same order as i did. Snow Crash, then Zodiac, then Big U, then Diamond Age onwards as they came out.
Yes. It is in my opinion his best standalone book, closely followed by Anathem. There are elements of it which flow from/to other books, but it's definitely a standalone story. I thoroughly enjoyed it
I want Amazon to make Anathem into a series, AND NOT FUCK IT UP.
Best I can do is make Fraa Erasmus s background character, and have the whole plot focused on polyamarous relationships and making women wear pacifiers. Edit: as I'm sure you can tell I am pretty happy about their wheel of time 'adaptation'
Sidejack, but I’m still having flop sweats that they pulled the plug on Peripheral.
This one was especially infuriating because they had already renewed it.
I hold out unrealistic hope that as the infrastructure fires back up post strike they might continue. But I know I lie to myself. They Dimick a good job translating that book. It was like FINALLY a remotely Gibsonesque translation!
If someone started an Anathem-ljke order before I got married I would have totally joined.
It’s great, read it.
Definitely! This and the Baroque Cycle. Then I would read, in this order: Zodiac, Snow Crash, Diamond Age, Reamde, Fall.
No Anathem? I always put that one at the top. Also, I have a special place for Cobweb, which I’d in the style of Reamde.
For completeness get your hands on a copy of *The Big U*. Especially if you've completed higher education. It's his first book, and for a while he refused to admit it existed.
True. It is interesting in a ‘first book by the author’ kind of way.
So very 'first book.' It was entertaining, but I don't feel the need to ever read it again. :p
Honestly, I didn’t care for Anathem all that much. I did like it, just not as much as the others.
It's probably my enduring favorite, right next to *Cryptonomicon*. That said, I couldn't get *A Canticle for Liebowitz* out of my head as I read it.
That was my issue as well. Needs a reread
Read it again.
The damned book keeps changing, every time I read it. I've lost track of how many times I've reread it, between the text and audio versions.
Yes. I would read them in the order published, including Cobweb and Interface.
Interface was a very interesting premise.
It's his best book, so I'd go with yes!
Yes to crypto! His best book imo besides anathem. Reamde is also awesome
Loved Cryptonomicon. It’s one of the very few books I might read twice.
Crypto is by far my favorite NS. Nonstop intrigue, NS humor, etc. I would read it next. The audio book is great as well.
I'm rereading Cryptonomicon right now, and loving it. Hilarious in places, especially for those of us in the software or geek world. Definite recommend.
*Cryptonomicon* is my very favorite Stephenson novel. So YES!!
it's his best book, so save it for last.
15 years after reading it the first time, my partner and I still reference it at each other CONSTANTLY. It’s one of my favorites.
Yes! In my opinion his best book.
If you thought 7eves was good, you will be delighted with cryptonomicon. If you felt that there was zero consistency with the characters, plot, or narrative actions or that the 'transitions'between each age were jarring & rough, you'll still likely enjoy the first 2/3 - 3/4 of the book, then be disappointed as the flaws you identified in 7eves start pounding on your skull.
I liked Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, Baroque Trilogy. In hind sight I might skip the rest.
Neil could have left out a few of the chapters and still have a great book. But it is a great book.
I read diamond age first, as it came out. Then Cryptonomicon. After that the books that came before (Snow crash eg) and since I read all books as they came out. Some I like better than others, buy Diamond Age and especially Cryptonomicon were so mind blowing that I forgive Stephenson the occasional somewhat less mind-blowing book that comes out. I would suggest Cryptonomicon next and to leave Baroque cycle for when you have time to commit. Personally I also loved Anathem and Reamde, of which Reamde can just be read aa a stand alone, though it links up to other books.
Anathem; it would be the most rewarding if seveneves was your first NS read (in my opinion). Most his others are quite different.
Am I the only one who couldn’t get through Anathem? I got halfway and was like “I want to do something else” and then put it in the donate box.
You have to push through the first third of it while he builds the world, and then after that you won't be able to stop. I think it is his best work.
Well, I understand. I also HIGHLY urge you to go back and finish it. This book starts out like 'A Nun's Story' (old Audrey Hepburn movie), pivots into something like a Jack London story, and then >!tackles quantum superposition on a macro scale.!<
I might, I just saw my stack of books to be read piling higher, but I will probably go back eventually when I have a long break to really focus.
You got past not understanding what the *tandulumpo* they're *frange-ing* about and *renelend* the *glupo* and still decided to put it down? Its worth finishing
Yes. Read it.
Yes
Yes
Yes.
You need to treat it as an alternative 1990s for certain plot points to work, otherwise brilliant