However, things decayed rapidly when the book reached the half-way point, and the unnecessary and monstrously tacky underwater sex cult appeared. As much as I was tempted to abandon the book at that point, I slogged through the second half because I still wanted to see how things turned out for characters for whom I had high hopes.

In the end, I wished that I had given up in the middle. The ending doesn't resolve much of anything that I cared about, and didn't seem like a sensible place to stop. My initial reaction was, "Where are the last 50 pages?" I felt cheated and betrayed. I'd been drawn in by an emotional and fascinating story, only to be fed garbage at the end.

Since I liked almost all of Snow Crash and Zodiac, I was surprised and disappointed by what happened to The Diamond Age. What's worse, I have serious reservations about reading Cryptonomicon, or any subsequent books by Neal Stephenson. I'll have to read a lot of reviews ahead of time, I suppose.

In the end, I have to recommend Snow Crash or Zodiac instead. Maybe you'll love this book - a lot of other people here certainly did. For me, though, this was a big disappointment.


Sci-fi Book of the Decade, Nanotech in 21st Century Shanghai   January 9, 1997
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

In the genre of literature that is well over a decade into its Renaissance, this is an important book among important books -- an importance that by definition will not confined to the boundaries of the science fiction world. With The Diamond Age, Or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, a remarkably mature Neal Stephenson offers us a vision of our own future, one all too recognizable and believable. Technology and culture collide, race ceases to matter as a means of predicting (or affecting) human behavior, nanotechnology redefines the word "make," while reshaping our daily lives, and the world's peoples, no longer able to distinguish each other by skin color, group themselves into phyles based on shared cultural and moral values, historical tradition, and dress. It's an around-the-corner mid-twenty-first century greater Shanghai. A young thete girl named Nell is destined to become one of the shapers of an even newer, wondrous future when a fantastically sophisticated "primer," a powerful computer in the shape of a book designed to educate young Victorian ladies -- as well as encourage subversion -- unintentionally falls into her hands. The Primer was designed by nanotech engineer John Hackworth (Stephenson's penchant for a nom de pun for his protagonist is slaked once again), an intuitive genius unaware of the extent of his own talents. Nell's life, and the entire world, will never be the same. A hauntingly beautiful book, The Diamond Age exhibits a respectable understanding of Chinese culture, demonstrates in a most original fashion the indispensablity of an ever-present mother in raising a psychologically healthy child (as well as the crucial importance of psychologically healthy children to the future of mankind), and provides insight into questions of law and justice in cultural as well as advanced technological contexts. All of these themes are cradled within a masterfully woven plot, elevated by a brilliant, yet subtle sense of humor. Trascending the argument about how much books like William Gibson's Neuromancer and Nancy Kress' Beggars in Spain either predicted or shaped the near-future they described, The Diamond Age not only shows us, but prepares us for what is in store. Fans of Stephenson's previous novel, Snow Crash, will be both shocked and delighted. A must-read for sci-fi lovers, newcomers to the genre, and armchair social/moral theorists


Better than Snow Crash...   April 17, 2002
 16 out of 20 found this review helpful

... In my opinion, The Diamond Age provides characters that are richer, more human and that the readers can understand and relate to better. Take Nell for example. I felt bad for her when people treated her unfairly, and cheered her on along her quest to free her brother. And Harv, Nell's brother, what brother wouldn't want to protect, teach and provide for a younger sister when all they've got is one another? John Hackworth is touted as a nonotechnological genius, but I thought that for him being a good father was more important than inventing some grand device. Lord Finkle-McGraw I can picture as the benevolent-yet-mischievous grandfather every person would love to have. I could go on and describe each and every character in this book and someone they remind me of in my life, but I won't :).

The Diamond Age envisions an extreme and futuristic world where all facets of life revolve around nanotechnology. This future world isn't one happy world. In fact, most of it is downright depressing. People are differentiated depending on what phyle they belong to. Beggars and thetes (people who don't belong to a phyle) line the streets. There is no privacy out in the open. Everything is watched. Punishment in the form of caning exists. Death by remote control is possible.

It is, however, an incredible world as well. Almost any object from clothing and food to entire floating cities can be created using a device called a Matter Compiler (MC for short) that obtains its source of materials (atoms) from Feeds (think of these as huge pipes that tunnel through major cities).

This is the world that Nell, the main character and a thete, grows up in. Her life would've been inconsequential and she ignorant were it not for a book (entitled A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer) her brother gave to her. This book, the Primer, is a wonder of nanotechnology and advanced enough to adapt itself to Nell's surroundings and circumstances in life. It teaches her everything from reading to self-defense. The Primer is not merely a device though. It also enables ractives (interactive movies) to be shown. From interacting with the Primer... Exciting stuff!

The many plot twists are sure to captivate readers from beginning to end. Perhaps even make the reader want to reread portions of the book to see how brilliantly the plot comes together. "Wow!" was what I said as I put down this book. I'm sure you will too.

LEAP rating (each out of 5):
============================
L (Language) - 4.5 (incredible descriptions of Stephenson's vision of the future)
E (Erotica) - 2 (some abuse)
A (Action) - 3 (nanotechnology plays a big role in the action)
P (Plot) - 5 (so many sub-plots that dovetail to a cataclysmic ending)


Terrific... but the sum does not equal the parts   September 17, 2004
 14 out of 23 found this review helpful

A very good book, it does not replace China Mieville 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.

(...)


One of the best writers working today in ANY genre   December 22, 2004
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

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.