Cryptonomicon

electronic resource

English language

Published April 29, 2003 by HarperCollins.

ISBN:
978-0-06-057550-2
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4 stars (2 reviews)

E-book extras: "Stephensonia/Cryptonomica": ONE: "Cryptonomicon Cypher-FAQ" (Neal addresses "Frequently Anticipated Questions" and other fascinating facts); TWO: "Mother Earth Motherboard" (Neal's landmark nonfiction account of, among other techno-feats, the laying of the longest telecommunications cable on earth); THREE: "Press Conference": Neal answers "Why write about crypto?" and other penetrating questions.The smash New York Times bestseller and cult classic is at last a special-features-loaded e-book. Dashing between World War II and the present day, Cryptonomicon is an epic adventure of codemakers and codebreakers; soldiers, hackers, spies, pirates, lovers, prisoners; power, secrets, conspiracies, great escapes -- and a buried fortune in gold."Engrossing … insightful ... fascinating and often hysterical... Cryptonomicon is really three novels in one, featuring healthy portions of World War II adventure, cryptography, and high-tech finance, with treasure hunting thrown in for good measure... But that's only half of it." —USA Today "Hell of a read." —WiredNeal Stephenson (Snow Crash; The …

16 editions

Review of 'Cryptonomicon' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Short review - switching between two eras, this book tells a story of codes (making, breaking, and what they all imply). Nuggets of truth are wrapped in two stories with many crossovers. Neal Stephenson's humor was a welcome sight. Good qualities aside, this book is too long. I am not implying it could have been broken into two books easily - the story is too interconnected for that - but editing could have tightened things up considerably. Only 15 years old, the "current day" story shows too much age. Finally, there was way too much focus on ejaculation. 3½ stars.

Amendment - now that I have read a bit about the Baroque Cycle, I see that this book is a mostly required lead-in. Will be tackling those in the near future.

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4 stars