Joined:
Nov 2023
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1225
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USA
Posted: 6/28/2024 8:25:36 PM EDT
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I managed to force myself through "Book 1" and just hit the midpoint where it becomes labeled "Book 2". For those who read it a while ago, El just murdered Sophia and they both got scanned into the simulation. The real-world struggles were boring enough, but I found the Ye Olde Norse Saga verbiage of the virtual-world stuff, with Edgog "spake"-ing and the new pantheon stuff to be jaw-grindingly cringeworthy. And it didn't really help when he shoehorned some "trans" lunatic in, even if heshe is just a minor footnote so far with brief mentions at only two points, probably done at the insistence of the publisher to cater to their DEI department. Then again, Stephenson seems to have gone whole-hog leftist with the "heartland USA" being a warzone of gun nuts and religious retards literally crucifying heretics, while Seattle is briefly portrayed as more of a shining spotless utopia. But politics aside, I just find the "this family foundation is suing the other family foundation and there's legal griping about someone's will and his end-of-life directives" and the "saga-esque" stuff just boring to tears. Is there any point in reading further? Back in the 1990s I used to jump on every Stephenson book and read it through in a few hours, but post-Cryptonomicon (my favorite novel) they all drag out forever. |
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Not that I can tell. Unless endless pages devoted to the "life" of the deceased as it learns to drift around in a virtual world endlessly with nothing much happening. And in Neal Stephenson style, all of it overly wordy. Stephenson has gone from being at the top of my list of favorite authors, to me cringing every time I buy his latest, knowing it may be unreadable. |
Joined:
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USA
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I was extremely disappointed with Fall. Dodge's world was just terrible reading, and the real-life parts can be interesting but are always cut off by time jumps. Plus this is Neal in the full throes of TDS in my opinion, very one-sided political forecasts that are not of the same quality as his other worldbuilding. Compared to other books where he is more fairly criticizing the excesses of both sides (cryptonomicon, Termination Shock) After years I am trying it again via audiobook. Getting through the Ameristan section right now, which means the Dodge parts are about to start. In general I am always interested in the differences in reading and audiobook, thus my try to appreciate Fall more via audiobook. Seveneves is one of my favorite books, both reading and audiobook, but I am most affected by different parts of it in the different presentations. After Termination Shock I'm back in the Neal fan camp, but I don't pre-order a hardback each time now. |
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"On the bright side, the money we saved by not going to Mars in the 1970s, we spent on welfare and public schools." - @MorlockP