Rating: 
Summary: Started out bad and went downhill from there?
Review: Halfway through this boring book I decided to see what the reviewers here at amazon thought of it. Reading the worst reviews I notice that many people thought the book started out strong then got worse in the second half. Since my own experience was that it started out poor, I decided to give up at this point. I seldom give up on a novel. I picked this one up because I'm fascinated with the future of nanotechnology, and while there were some interesting tidbits scattered throughout this book, the plot was so boring that it just wasn't worth it to continue.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling and relevant a decade after it was written
Review: In the near future, widespread deployment of full-strength encryption has eliminated the government's ability to tax--and governments have ceased to exist. Instead, affiliations have sprung up--along racial, philosophical, and interest-based lines. The 'Feed' provides a subsistance living for everyone, but strong rights-management puts a premium on those who can imagine and create new things. As a reaction to the permissive ways of the 20th century, new Victorianism rules over much of the western world--and a reborn Middle Kingdom controls China.
When a neo-Victorian Equity Lord hires John Hackwood to create something unique for his granddaughter--something that will challenge her despite the stuffy environment her parents insist upon, Hackwood decides on a hack--he'll make an unauthorized copy for his own daughter, letting her have the same opportunities normally only available to one of society's elite. But his duplicate, the YOUNG LADY'S ILLUSTRATED PRIMER, falls into the hands of an impoverished girl--Nell.
The YOUNG LADY'S ILLUSTRATED PRIMER is a book, but advanced nanotechnology means that the book can talk, can interact and create new stories to meet the reader's need, can defend itself, can teach, and can create a virtually infinite number of sub-books within itself. It is the complete education--and provides a challenge to Nell. She needs to find the twelve keys that will open the castle and free her brother. The result is certain to be sad, but Nell sets off on her quest, spending her childhood and young adulthood with the book, both creating and being created by it.
Author Neal Stephenson creates a fascinating near-future universe. The neo-Victorian reaction Stephenson sees is certainly a far cry from the ugly and fearful one in America today, but Stephenson's vision does provide some hope. In 1995 when the book was first published, nano-technology was much less known than today but Stephenson's understanding still seems valid.
The philosophical war between the 'feed' and the 'seed' remains a backdrop to the story, but it's a fascinating topic. So is Stephenson's vision of China's future--a decade after THE DIAMOND AGE was written, it is increasingly obvious that China is an awakening giant, as Stephenson had projected.
By combining powerful technology insights, intriguing characters, philosophical conflict, and social dynamics, Stephenson delivers a truly fascinating book. THE DIAMOND AGE remains fresh and relevant more than a decade after it was written.
Rating:
Summary: Really LOVED this book
Review: I am biased - I love this author. That said, I deeply recommend this book to anyone who has even the faintest interest in sci-fi. You won't be disappointed. Mr Stephenson weaves the most interesting stories, with characters you come to truly care about. He really works on his sentences, too. I will sometimes read the same sentence two or three times just because they are so perfect. THere are few authors I can say that about.
You will love following the life of the little girl, with the fantastic book her brother brings her. So many other characters come into play, you wonder how their stories will ever connect, but they do and you dont always see it coming. This book will keep you guessing, keep you enthralled, until the fantastic end. Be prepared for some sleep deprivation - you will just have to stay up late to see what happens. This is one of those books - "okay, just one more chapter and then i have got to go to sleep"
you'll see
go ahead, buy it, you will really enjoy it. with this book, mr stephenson writes with a new level of sophisitication he had not yet reached with Zodiac or Big U. He's playing with the big boys now.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best writers working today in ANY genre
Review: Stephenson is one of those rare, extremely original authors whose work always repays periodic rereading. I first read this epic when it first appeared nearly a decade ago, and I'm sure I'll read it again in another decade. The time is a century or so in the future, when the relative plenty provided by ubiquitous and extremely cheap nanotechnology has brought an end to the Age of Nation-States, which have been replaced by tribal societies based on ethnicity or religion or synthetic affiliations. John Percival Hackworth ("Percival" as in the Grail Quest, "Hackworth" as in a worthy hacker) is an engineering near-genius of the neo-Victorian "phyle" of Atlantis, situated on artificially created land just off the Chinese coast. Lord Finkle-McGraw has engaged him to produce an interactive learning system (to greatly understate the Primer's functions) for his seven-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth. Hackworth also has a young daughter, Fiona, for whom he would do anything, so he endeavors to also make an illegal copy of the Primer for her. Things go awry, of course, and the stolen copy ends up in the hands of Nell (as in "Little Nell," a melodrama heroine), who is a deprived cast-off loved only by her semi-shady brother, Harv. And that's where the book *really* starts, with Nell delving into the world of make-believe (but not really), learning over the next ten years of her life to be not only a Victorian lady but the queen of a new tribe -- which is also created (sort of) by the actions of Hackworth's Primer. But that's only a single plot line in this complicated but never confusing epic of technological imperialism, ancient Chinese destiny, personal fulfillment, and the pending arrival of a post-nanotech world society. Stephenson's characters, as always, are a combination of archetype and off-the-wall originality. His understanding and social application of cutting-edge technology will fascinate you. His descriptive powers will hold your attention and his mastery of the language will excite your admiration. A damn fine piece of work.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Fiction, So-So Science
Review: I enjoy Neal Stephenson's writing a great deal. He's one of the best writers to come on the SF scene for quite some time, at least that I've been exposed to. Snow Crash is one of the most fun books I've ever read. Cryptonomicon, one of the most thorough and complex.
That said, Diamond Age falls somewhat short of the other two works, in my estimation. Relying heavily on the latest version of "magic", nanotechnology, the story is interesting, but didn't grip me the way his other books have. Frankly, nano-tech as a be all and end all for SF is over done. Some of Stephenson's technological ideas are great, others are just silly.
This is a fairly fun book to read. Stephenson has become one of the largest names in the field, and there's a reason for it. The man can write. I recommend Diamond Age to anyone who would like an above average light read.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific... but the sum does not equal the parts
Review: A very good book, it does not replace China Miéville as unchallenged master of steampunk (see Perdido Street Station and The Scar). It is a necessary portion of the Stephenson corpus, but as a work unto itself will not have profound and lasting influence on the genre of speculative fiction. It will, however, exert a great influence on those books dealing specifically with nanotechnology. We said of Snow Crash "it will affect every book about cyberspace for the next generation." We can just as boldly state that The Diamond Age will affect every book about nanotechnology-at least for the large majority of the coming generation. If our review seems overly harsh, it not for lack of affection for a very fine book, but rather expectations that were overly high coming on the heels of Snow Crash.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS:
Stephenson's acute sense of what we call "Divine Laughter" has not slackened an atom. For fans of Stephenson's earlier work, Diamond is not to be missed and the exhilaration, hilarity, and messianic insight into the human condition are all evident here. Furthermore, MIT students or graduates who are fascinated by machines and nanotechnology will be stupefied-or at least as happy as a pile of geeks suddenly granted Tom Cruise magnetism at a Playboy mansion filled with nubile women versed in Star Trek lore. It will even be impressive for that peculiar redneck geek who watches the Discovery Channel and Comedy Central for pearls like Junkyard Wars and Battlebots. Oddly, parents should read Diamond. At its heart, it is a book about parenting and much better than any parenting books written by pediatricians or PhD's granted from tiny island nations.
WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:
For an introduction to Stephenson, begin with Snow Crash. In the end, it is a better and more relevant book. Most readers of discriminating taste will eventually move on to Diamond but it is best to start with Snow Crash. Turbo-feminists-that hardcore breed that seem incapable of enjoying those various facets of life existing outside of their political agenda like, say, common sense-will have many complaints about Diamond. They will be too blind to see that in many senses it is a celebration of the importance of women-but there is no talking to these creatures. People who hate children should not read this book. Adults who have never enjoyed a moment of Dr Seuss or any other children's book in their adult life should also avoid.
(...)
Rating:
Summary: fascinating vision of nanotech-driven future
Review: This book is pleasantly dense with interesting ideas about what the future holds. The title refers to the progression of material-driven stages of human progress -- the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, etc. In "the Diamond Age", matter compilers can easily create diamonds out of raw carbon. Basic foodstuffs and many other material wants can be satisfied by these matter compilers. This has created a world in which no one need starve. However there are still tremendous disparities between rich and poor, because many human comforts such as entertainment and fine food still require the services of other people, which must be bought in hard currency. Networked nano-technology is all-pervasive, with microscopic robots putting these poorer citizens under constant surveillance. Faced with this hyperactive stew of technologies, ancient instincts and traditions run strong. Crime, poverty, and tribal conflict are still rampant in this world. People cling to old ways of thought (a strong Confucian motif runs through the book) to help make human sense of the rapidly changing world. Against this backdrop, a fantastically advanced piece of technology (a sentient child's primer) is stolen, and winds up in the hands of a destitute young waif named Nell. Her resulting world-class education, and what she does with that education, is the binding for the various threads of the story. The book's characters are well-realized for the most part, the writing style is honed and mature, the plot is intricate and engaging. The ending is controversial in its ambiguity, but that does not diminish the power of the book as a whole. In all, a very thought-provoking read.
Rating:
Summary: Stephenson's best.
Review: I have to say that this is Neal Stephenson's best work among what I've read and undoubtedly one of my all-time favorite books. It was simply incredible. I would like to give it more than five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Original
Review: The Diamond Age is the second of Stephenson's books that I've read. I enjoyed it far more that Snow Crash. While Snow Crash got off to a great start, I didn't enjoy the second half at all. I found myself reading it because it was a groundbreaking book, not because I enjoyed it. I read The Diamond Age because it was a fast-paced enjoyable read AND because it was unique and thought-provoking. The Diamond Age is set is a very plausable near future where nanotech has eliminated basic problems, such as starvation, but its created its share of problems as well. Nasty nanotech devices that can track or kill people require sophisticated nanotech defenses. Meanwhile, all nanotech products are provided be a central feed that both controls what can be delivered, what is free and what costs money, and frees peasents from substistence farming and the poor from working to survive. While this world is harldy a utopia -- as there are still massive economic disparities between the rich and poor and a tremendous amount of crime and pollution -- Westerners on the whole seem happy with this arangement. But there are more than a few who are unhappy or restless. The Diamond Age is the story of what happens when a father who wants a better life for his daughter collides with an entire culture that wants change. Throw in an enormous computer made of human bodies, an interactive storybook that tells a story that takes over a decade to read, an army of teenage girls and a few other interesting characters and you have a compelling and fascinating view of the future. When I first finished the book, I thought the ending was abrupt and disappointing. But, as I started to think about the end, I could see everything falling into place. This is the best book I've read in a while and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: must-read for SF fans
Review: I've enjoyed other Stephenson books, but this is by far the most interesting. It still has some adolescent hack-and-slash elements reminiscent of Snow Crash, but the remarkably complex social context Stephenson develops in a world fully immersed in nano-tech is fascinating. The emergence of the transnational organizations as the primary replacement for current concepts of nationalism are wonderfully predicive (given the current influence of shadowy organizations like al Quaeda, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart). Almost equally powerful is Stephenson's handling of the Nell character. His choices of language are very appropriate to her age, and are reminiscent in effectiveness to Frank McCourt's handling of his main character in "Angela's Ashes". Highly recommend this book. There is enough depth here that it warrants more than a single read.
|
