Rating: 
Summary: Impressive
Review: Plenty has been said about the ending, the cool nanotech, and the philosophical lessons in the book, but one thing that struck me as a person of Chinese heritage is his knowledge and precision in his painting of the Chinese behavior, culture, and landscape. Many times Neal surprised me by reminding me of the nuiance in behavior or history that is distinctively Chinese; a few times he taught me things I never knew. The Confusian judical system, the Fists that were based on the Boxer Revolution, and even the painting of a sidewalk beggar all are painfully accurate and completely convincing. Impeccable details and research all lead to a great backdrop for this fascinating story
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, Compelling look at the Future.
Review: Unlike His previous work, 'Snow Crash', which, a fun but not so believeable romp through the near future, The Diamond Age is a very compelling look at what the world may be like in not so many years. Aside from the lustrous background the characters are very life like and involving. The prose is polished and the story moves along at a very satisfying pace.
The story is about a special book made to teach a young girl everything she needs to know. The book ends up in the hands of three very different girls and has three very different results.
Nell is the girl that the book has the largest affect on. Born to poverty, her miscreant brother finds and gives the book to her. The book teaches her to read and how to survive in her world. When she has to flee that world the book helps her learn to solve the puzzles of the world at large. Soon Nell is moving in the elite circles of the Neo-Victorian society.
Larger forces in the world are clashing and rush Nell and the other characters in the book into the memorable climax.
This is one of my favorite books and I recomend it to everyone
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as Snow Crash
Review: I was very disappointed with this book.
Neil Stephenson has written some truly great novels, Zodac for one, Snowcrash for another. This one, however, left a bad taste in my mouth. The characters were not terribly well developed, but, I thought the world itself, the atmosphere, was wonderful. The ending just left me hanging and wondering where the other half of the book went. Perhaps he's planning a sequal. If he is, then I'll change my rating to about an 8, if he does not, then, I'm afraid I'll have to leave it at a five.
I suggest go read Zodiac. It's a thriller, and a lot of fun.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite more of the same from Snow Crash authour.
Review: Having read Stephenson's fantastic Snow Crash, I immediately ran to the book store and grabbed this, his second novel. At first, I found it such a departure from the rollicking pace of Snow Crash that I stopped reading it and went on to other books. But when I returned to it about a month later I couldn't put it down.
Being Stephenson's view of a society where nanotechnology is the norm, it's based in a further future than the first book. Here, society has balkanized itself into closed sects. The Victorians, for instance, live in an idealized hybrid of Victorian surroundings meshed with high-technology. When a little girl from the wrong side of the tracks comes into posession of the fantastical 'Young Woman's Primer', with moving pictures and live narration from paid actors, she slowly evolves from a street urchin into a revolutionary freedom fighter.
Maybe my initial distaste was coloured by the fact that I had just read the much different Snow Crash. But I'm definately glad I gave it a second chance, because Stephenson develops an even more complete, more futuristic world here. The characters are equally interesting, and the plot has the same meandering quality that keeps you on your toes throughout. However, the book weakens a bit towards the end, where the existentialism goes into overdrive.
All told, however, Stephenson continues to give us engaging concepts on where we might be going as a society
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant mind goes awry...
Review: In this case, I mean Neil Stephenson's mind! :^) When I read this book for the first time, I was stuck. I couldn't put it down, but it irritated me in so many little ways that I had a major dilemma. It was not all sweetness and light. It was not a romping adventure in CyberSpace, as some editors and critics would like you to think. It was a very provocative conduit for a lot of thinking, and for that I am very grateful to Neil Stephenson. This book is about the power of the mind, and the power of attachments. It is definitely worth the read. Buy it
Rating:
Summary: Cyber cool
Review: I did not think I'd like this book. I read the first couple chapters slowly ...over a few weeks...until I was able to recognize the book's potential for great reading. This book is science fiction: with elements of mystery, erotica, thriller, romance, commentary, and good ol' fashioned story telling.
The plot eventually weaves together a number of seemingly dissimilar plot threads and keeps you byting your nails to the very end. (I had to chew plenty of gum to keep from devouring my nuckles.)
Interactive books, nanochips, virtual reality made possible by live actors, crumbling governments, limitless resources, rich and poor, victorian and thoroughly modern, the richness of the book is unbelievable.
If you wish to invest your time to read a quality book, this is it. Get ready to discard your old notions of story and future! Fans of cyberpunk writer Gibson will enjoy this book a great deal.
Rating: 
Summary: Tripe of nearly the worst sort
Review: Another long, wandering tale, poorly thought out and very unimaginative. The clumsy ending just confirms the reader's worst fears. However the future turns out, it definitely WON'T be anything like this "cyberpunk meets The Sand Pebbles". The author has heard of molecular nanotechnology, but can't see past the simplest, most obvious implications. The rest of the book is the same: name dropping, but no real information or knowledge to prop up the boring characters in their uninteresting lives. The author can't even define hypocrisy, which may explain how he had the gall to foist this rag on an already suffering public
Rating:
Summary: Great book. Highly recommended
Review: I agree with what people have said about the ending. I feltvaguely disappointed but it worked all right logically --
I still say it is a work of genius and have given it the full 10 points, it is the sheer quality of the writing which earns it this, as people up there have pointed out, it refutes the idea of SF as not-literature and builds up great human characters with moving, real relationships, while dazzling with inventiveness.
The book is scientifically important because it was the first I had really heard of nanotechnology which is closer than we think. Drexler and Merkle are real people -- go and check 'em out on the web!
Would like to see some words from Neal S. himself here. The book is an extension of the Net and he always seems a wired character. So here we are at the great amazon.com.
Cheers
Martin
Rating:
Summary: Ditto
Review: An excellently written book...but the ending was clearly the work of some overzealous editor who truncated Stephenson's story in some misguided attempt to keep the number of pages down.
I applaud the excellent and engaging characters with which Stephenson builds his story, and the vivid and accurate society he builds for them. With 20 pages left, I was completely enthralled and dying to find out how the author was going to wrap up the numerous of fillaments of the plot. With five pages left, I realized that the story would not be resolved, and was quite disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: The best modern science fiction novel I've ever read!
Review: If you like science fiction, you must read The Diamond Age. I tend to prefer pre-"cyberpunk" stuff myself (all that decadence gets a bit tiresome for a lover of beauty such as myself), but I will long remember TDA as one of my all-time favorite novels. As a political and moral conservative, I was intrigued by the prominence of the neo-Victorian phyle and can't help but wonder if Steaphenson isn't trying to say something about contemporary hedonistic mores and the harm they may bring to the societies which embrace them. Libertarian sci-fi fans of the Heinlein/Van Vogt/L. Neil Smith variety may find reason here to rejoice
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