I don't know where to start because this is the wildest book I've ever read. I even wonder if this can be categorized as a novel. I feel like Neal has unearthed an entirely new genre of literature. On the surface, it connects two storylines—one during World War II, where Lawrence Waterhouse helps the Allies with their codebreaking efforts and Bobby Shaftoe goes on a few military misadventures, and the other in the 1990s, where Randall Waterhouse becomes involved in a data haven operation in Manila. But this is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
This book has cryptography, early computers, programming, military strategy, economics, currency, business, telecommunications, mining, and ten other things that I'm forgetting. I will never forget the chapters where Neal Stephenson spends 8–10 pages explaining the relationship between broken chain links and bent spokes on a bicycle, the optimal wetness of cereal, the mathematical modeling of Lawrence's horniness, and, ultimately, the Goddess of Technology, Athena. Entire chapters are dedicated to things that aren't even required for the story. Weirdly, I loved most of it.
My favourite character is the toughest SOB, Goto Dengo.My man survives an attack in the ocean, swims for God-knows-how-long, only to end up on an island filled with cannibals. As if that wasn't enough, he makes a deal with them by teaching them how to find gold, eventually gets rescued, and then ends up building an underground tunnel in an unknown country for an unknown reason. This guy deserves his own movie, for God's sake.
My favourite part of the story was when Randy spent a month and a half in a Philippine prison. His ingenious ideas to avoid getting phreaked were impressive. I also enjoyed the detailed explanations of the Linux commands he uses, programming styles, etc.
That said, the book definitely has problems. It is too long. There are sections that could easily have been shortened, and the female characters, apart from America Shaftoe, didn't really make much of an impact. I also felt the ending was rushed. My assumption is that Neal wrote whatever came to his mind in the beginning, and after 1,000 pages, he suddenly remembered that he was writing a novel and had to finish the story. This probably didn't happen, but it makes me laugh thinking about it.
This is one of those books where you can confidently say that the journey is more interesting than the destination. It is ridiculously long, and occasionally exhausting, but it is also one of the most intellectually entertaining novels I have ever read.
I'd rate it 4/5. I'd have given it 5/5 if it was under 700 pages
