I haven't read Cryptonomicon. Which makes it quite unbeleivable when I say that his Baroque Cycle is much better.
But it is.And being, so I understand it, a prequel of sorts to Cryptonomicon, the Cycle might be worth the investment. Though at something over 3,000 pages (and what appears to be eight point font sizing) the greater investment is the time to get through it.
That said, I still prefer Lawrence Norfolk. He's got a classical bent (in fact he's got a degree in classics), rather than Stephenson's Enlightenment fetish, and technically I think he's the better writer.
[...]The trick to attack-free discussion is to avoid personality and attitude as much as possible and focus instead on the issue. But this is extremely difficult when the opposition insists on telling you exactly what you think, even if you don't actually think it, a problem which afflicts both sides at times and of which I declare myself guilty.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Yost" <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 8:29 PM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The Strident Voice of Defeat
>>I'm sure we could whittle away the relevant facts enough to get to the heartwood.For example, Simon and I, though we often disagree completely, seem to have enough mutual good will and patience to sustain reasonable threads free of personal attack.Or maybe it's because we both like Neil Stephenson? (Hey, Simon, _Cryptonomicon_ turned out to be a good summer read. His characters are lacking, but his imagination makes up for it.)------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
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