Neal Stephenson (was Re: Radicalism of reading)

[Chris Sweet]

still lookin 4 the face i had b4 the world was made wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 2 May 1997 Eslacaja at aol.com wrote:
> > see Neal Stephenson's _The Diamond Age_-- sci-fi stuff, but interesting in
> > terms of the way he deals with books, the format of reading.  the book a
> > medum that will not die.  The story centers around an "electronic primer"
> > for a street urchin.  The primer is a real book, has weight, pages to be
> > turned.  It’s just that it’s a constantly updated book.  Just like all the
> > things the bigheads are thinking about doing with newspapers – updated
> > tablets, disappearing ink, etc.  Cuz, let’s face it, reading in this
> > format is shitty.  Click, click.
> 
> Sounds fascinating.  I read _Snow Crash_, which I think is Stephenson's
> first novel.  It was quite imaginative...sort of a comic-epic homage to

It was actually his third. The first was the forgettable "The Big U" and
the second was a decent eco-thriller called "Zodiac."
Stephenson also writes novels with his uncle under the pseudonym
Stephen Bury. The two they have written so far, "Interface" and "The
Cobweb,"
tend to be in the political thriller vein.


> I will look out for _The Diamond Age_, having been thoroughly impressed by
> _Snow Crash_.
> 

It has recently been remaindered so you can probably find it cheap.


-chris