Cryptonomicon

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Cryptonomicon is a novel that is a mix between a historical fiction and techno-thriller by Neal Stephenson. The story jumps between two primary stories, one of WWII cryptography and espionage, the other of late-1990s entrepreneurs trying to become both extremely wealthy, and change the world by introducing a new electronic crypto-currency. There are several other characters with back-stories that converge on the primary stories.

Review

Good

  • The story is extremely engrossing, and telling the two stories at once is a great way at keeping everything fresh.
  • I found practically all of the characters very interesting. The ones I liked, I really liked, the ones I hated, I really hated. Even the villains were quite human and
  • There are plenty of moments when you want to cheer from a victory, cry from something heart-breaking, and laugh out loud from a clever joke.
  • I enjoyed the numerous detailed forays into technology and math.

Bad

  • Stephenson's use of jumping back and forth between plot lines effectively keeps suspense, while also teasing the reader with premature information. However, the disjointed chapters require the reader to infer a fair amount information and often becomes confusing.
  • While I love Stephenson's writing style, he does tend to go on and on about unrelated topics.
  • The ease at which Van Eck phreaking is implemented is far too easy to create.

Ugly

  • Nothing really. This book is amazing.

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