I think his last solid ending was in Zodiac, but that's a completely different style of book.

Diamond Age's ending grew on me. Snow Crash's made me roll my eyes the second or third time I read it.

Snow Crash's made me roll my eyes the second or third time I read it.

With a character named Hiro Protagonist it doesn't seem fair to expect depth of characterization. (Not that that's the only thing worth an eyeroll.)

So I'll pimp Pat Cadigan's Synners one more time. One of the best written cyberpunk novels with (by far) the best and most complex characterization in a cyberpunk novel. Also her hard science is well researched.

With a character named Hiro Protagonist it doesn't seem fair to expect depth of characterization. (Not that that's the only thing worth an eyeroll.)

That's not what made me roll my eyes, though. It's sort of like all his loose threads unspun whilst attempting to tie together, as did the writing.

That's not what made me roll my eyes, though. It's sort of like all his loose threads unspun whilst attempting to tie together, as did the writing.

It was problematic.

Btw, I'm sending you my Kubrick figure Robin..

Oooh, Synners. I need to reread that.

I'm afraid I just like Neal Stephenson, uncritically, although Quicksilver has been staring at me accusingly since Christmas. I'm afraid my wrists will give out before I finish reading it. I should probably reread Cryptomicon too, because I first read it when I had a fever and it's all jumbled with these long nightmares about having to solve codes.

For SF Spider Robinson is one of my faves, his Callahan series especially. Who doesn't love a good story about barflies who encounter time travellers, killer robots from outer space, aliens, talking dogs, vampires, the internet manifested as a sentient being... (I could go on), oh yeah, and end up saving the world every once in a while. The mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous is one reason why I always go back.

I'm afraid I just like Neal Stephenson, uncritically, although Quicksilver has been staring at me accusingly since Christmas.

Me too, except I haven't even bought Quicksilver yet. (My "hardback vs paperback" rule for authors is entirely dependent on which format I first bought them in, so that they fit nicely together on the bookshelf.* And unfortunately for Neal, I first read Snow Crash in mass market paperback, so QS's just gonna have to wait.)

*Yes, this rule does ignore the fact that I've been out of bookshelf space and stacking things on the floor for over a year now, unemployed and therefore unable to buy new shelves even as I continue to buy books. But at least the floor-stacks look nice.

I saw Steven Brust's latest in the bookstore the other day and was intrigued. From the back cover, it looked a bit like a cross between Firefly and Hitchhiker's Guide. I've never read any Brust, though, and am too poor to buy it at the moment anyway. A definite library request item.

Also, my father loaned me Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which I'm really looking forward to. Didn't someone else here read it recently?

My problem with buying Quicksilver in paperback is the size of the thing. The paperback of Cryptonomicon was roughly the dimensions of a brick.

I loved Cryptonomicon, despite the fact that Stephenson couldn't write a solid ending if his life depended on it. It was just too much fun, and I'm so looking forward to Quicksilver. I found O Jerusalem to be the straw that broke my camel's back, and won't be reading Laurie King anymore.

Anyone else board read William Gibson's Pattern Recognition? Despite the technical inaccuracies (he seems to think you can easily email vid files!), I thought he really nailed the social dynamics of an international posting board full of obsessed focussed, occasionally anonymous, individuals. It ended badly, but I enjoyed a lot of it, and read it quickly.

Next up is probably a reread of Lirael, since I finally picked up Abhorsen in paperback.