#anathem

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

Have you read Anathem by Neal Stephenson (2008)?

yes

no

I didn't finish it

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onMay 9

[otatma]

Stephenson's Anathem (2008) is slept on for many reasons, but high on that list is a bit early in the first reel where a dude describes himself using the phrase "attention surplus disorder"

[brat-tamer-nicki]

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematician...

Finally some good fucking food. Just started the audiobook and I'm already so invested please please pleeease stay good I need a win 🙏🏻

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Anathem | Author: Neal Stephenson | Publisher: Subterranean Press (2020)

[nikarodrigues]

Anathem

I just finished reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson, and it was hard. And I don't say this as a form of criticism, but as a satisfaction of overcoming a challenge. I don't believe I understood all the philosophical and scientific discussions - Dialog - throughout the reading; on the contrary, there were some things I gave up trying to understand in order to maintain my sanity and be able to move forward. This is a book that requires attention to detail, engagement and patience.

"People have a need to feel that they are part of some sustainable project. Something that will go on without them. It creates a feeling of stability. I believe that the need for that kind of stability is as basic and as desperate as some of the other, more obvious needs."

It's a thousand pages that mix alternative history, close encounters of the third kind, utopian fantasy of futuristic science fiction, multiple religions and philosophical treatise, all highly detailed and not at all obvious. But I'm happy to have finished this challenge and to have understood, at least in part, the Narrative.

Illustration by Patrick Arrasmith

“Nothing is more important than that you see and love the beauty that is right in front of you, or else you will have no defense against the ugliness that will hem you in and come at you in so many ways.”

Diagrams by Fraa Erasmas in Calca 1: Cutting the Cake

A book that combines levels of reality, space travel, monks, tiling, math nerds and a giant icosahedron in orbit.

[thebyrchentwigges]

Reading Neal Stephenson - where to begin

Chatting with a friend last night, Neal Stephenson and his 30+ years of influential sci fi novels came up. And we agreed that, as with getting started reading Terry Pratchett, a guide to starting with Stephenson might be helpful.

Here's my "if you like X in your media/fandom, try this book" guide to Stephenson.

All of Stephenson's works are longreads - some are dense and massive. 20th Century Takes On The Genders pop up, usually balanced by Stephenson's foundation respect for women. I've noted a few warnings where these reader challenges come up.

Gritty, action-packed sci-fi

You like The Matrix, Mad Max, that meme about Toledo Killswitch.

Try: Snow Crash

Still a banger! Vivid and sarcastic characters are making their way in a dystopic U.S.A. Delivering pizzas, scrounging skateboard courier jobs, trying to save humanity from toxic data and from fundamentalists abusing the power of language. Today, the role of capitalism-gone-wild in the story seems more prescient than the Metaverse, though both are presented as equally dystopic. I hear there's a TV show in the works.

Sci-fi with fairy-tale/historical tropes

You like: steampunk, Six of Crows, Fables, Sandman.

Try: The Diamond Age: Or A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer

A data-and-nanobot-heavy dystopia may be a little redeemed when a fairytale-themed education package winds up outside of its elite. Is it possible for a book to be spicy and dispassionate at the same time? If it is, it’s The Diamond Age. This tale is part of why steampunk was cool for over a decade, and it’s got the colonial awareness a lot of later steampunk lacked. Warning for sexual violence and assault.

Also consider: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O, with co-author Nicole Galland and magical overlap.

Academia-core, worldbuilding, gentle demi protagonists

You like: Becky Chambers and Ursula LeGuin, Star Wars, Dune, and A Canticle for Liebowitz.

Try: Anathem

This book is both loved and hated. It’s a deep favorite of mine and IMHO the sleeper in Stephenson’s bibliography. This story's math monks are here for friendship and mentoring and found family and human curiosity – and saving a couple of worlds. Longread warning: it’s 900 pages and one of the themes in the book is differing perspectives on long-term time.

Gritty, action-packed wartime and history

You like: the Marvel universe – specifically, its fandom – and spy movie tropes.

Try: Cryptonomicon

When this came out it blended history (WWII) and the future (late ‘90s programming) in a hunt for WWII gold – now both narrative streams are history. Another galloping read by Stephenson standards. Warning: the weakest female character representation in this bibliography.

Deep history nerdery

You like: pirate movies and Our Flag Means Death and Pratchett’s Making Money.

Try: The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World.

In the same ‘verse as Cryptonomicon, in mostly the 18th century. A handful of intellectuals and adventurers ride the tides of conflict, heresy, politics, and currency, with acres of swashbuckling along the way. I lost an entire month of my life to devouring these three tomes. Eliza/Jack 4eva! Longread warning: this makes Anathem look short. The Silmarillion is an accessible standard narrative compared to this. And, also, warning for sexual violence and assault.

Hopepunk and romances

You’re old-school-fandom enough to respect a good Mary Sue.

Try: Termination Shock

Solar engineering to try and undo climate change, subtle international warfare, and deepfakes undoing royalty are the three plot streams here. Also, will a dispossessed aristocrat find love and passion again? Very accessible for Stephenson.

Hard queer sci fi

You like: The Locked Tomb series and fandom.

Try: Seveneves

Moon’s broken! And that means the end of life on Earth as we know it. After a series of “space is hard” misadventures, it's up to the parthenogenetic space queers to preserve humanity. Another one that is loved or hated. I don’t love - but other Tumblerites give it a five-star rating.

Good luck!

[azures-grace]

Dear like, 3 people who have read Anathem.

I hope you have an epic day, man

[7narwen]

My map for Russian edition of «Anathem» by Neal Stephenson. More references and details on my behance.