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Unbroken Enigma Message

enigma.hoerenberg.com

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Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#31

Post by dharmab »

kkylin wrote: post #27
killion wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the exact same thought. There is no feeling like the frustration of a disappointing ending after being engrossed in a Neal Stephenson book. When they were paper books at least you could throw them across the room. Now that would break my phone.

I haven't been disappointed by the endings of his more recent novels: Cryptonomicon, Anathem, Seveneves. (I did not enjoy time spent on REAMDE, that being the only exception.)

I've devoured several of his books multiple times but could not finish REAMDE.

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#32

Post by robbiep »

mark242 wrote: post #28
anonymousisme wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read it again last year and picked up on a few things that had slipped past my understanding the first time around. I had originally assumed that the present day Enoch Root was the child of Bobby's Nordic girlfriend, but it was obviously not the case upon my second reading. A few web searches revealed the supernatural nature of Root. I always wondered if Stephenson chose the name "Enoch Root" on a dare, or maybe he…

Enoch Root is a pretty interesting guy. You should read the Baroque Cycle series to get a little bit of his backstory.

He's also in Dodge

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#33

Post by robbiep »

kkylin wrote: post #27
killion wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the exact same thought. There is no feeling like the frustration of a disappointing ending after being engrossed in a Neal Stephenson book. When they were paper books at least you could throw them across the room. Now that would break my phone.

I haven't been disappointed by the endings of his more recent novels: Cryptonomicon, Anathem, Seveneves. (I did not enjoy time spent on REAMDE, that being the only exception.)

I read Reamde after Dodge and it made a lot more sense

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#34

Post by comboy »

3001 wrote: post #14
LMYahooTFY wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serendipitous, I'm also about 75% of the way through! It's one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. Perhaps the most. I very highly recommend it, though I imagine much of HN's audience has done so or is at least aware of it.

Please reply your take when you are 99% of the way through

It's .. fine.

To me NS books are not much about the plot though. I'm floored how many things that guy knows and how creatively he connect them.

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#35

Post by wrs »

kkylin wrote: post #27
killion wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the exact same thought. There is no feeling like the frustration of a disappointing ending after being engrossed in a Neal Stephenson book. When they were paper books at least you could throw them across the room. Now that would break my phone.

I haven't been disappointed by the endings of his more recent novels: Cryptonomicon, Anathem, Seveneves. (I did not enjoy time spent on REAMDE, that being the only exception.)

Seveneves was frustrating because he spent hundreds of pages setting up a premise worthy of an entire lifetime’s worth of books and then just...stopped. Any other author would write that book and be set for life. Neal Stephenson has no time for that and just moves on to the next pile of ideas in his notebook.

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#36

Post by kkylin »

dharmab wrote: post #31
kkylin wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't been disappointed by the endings of his more recent novels: Cryptonomicon, Anathem, Seveneves. (I did not enjoy time spent on REAMDE, that being the only exception.)

I've devoured several of his books multiple times but could not finish REAMDE.

Yeah, I kinda forced myself through that one. Not sure it was a good decision.

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#37

Post by kkylin »

robbiep wrote: post #33
kkylin wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't been disappointed by the endings of his more recent novels: Cryptonomicon, Anathem, Seveneves. (I did not enjoy time spent on REAMDE, that being the only exception.)

I read Reamde after Dodge and it made a lot more sense

That's interesting. I haven't read Dodge. Thanks!

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#38

Post by kkylin »

jgon wrote: post #30
kkylin wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't been disappointed by the endings of his more recent novels: Cryptonomicon, Anathem, Seveneves. (I did not enjoy time spent on REAMDE, that being the only exception.)

Of those 3 I was only somewhat happy with Anathem. I couldn't finish REAMDE and Seveneves convinced me that I may not read another one of his books again, unless it debuts to unanimous critical acclaim or something similar. I thought the ending of Cryptonomicon was pretty weak but the rest of the novel leading up to it was so fantastic that I didn't care. Honestly I found the Baroque Cycle to have the best ending of…

Of those three I was initially least interested in reading Anathem. Maybe as a result, I was most pleasantly surprised by it. Agree that none of these compare to the Baroque Cycle.

Re: Unbroken Enigma Message

#39

Post by robbiep »

kkylin wrote: post #37
robbiep wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read Reamde after Dodge and it made a lot more sense

That's interesting. I haven't read Dodge. Thanks!

It's definitely a prequel (REAMDE, that is) but you can actually see the story of Dodge taking shape through it. Having said that, Dodge could have been about 300 pages too long..!
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