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Coco's Reviews > Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon
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I'm shocked by the critical acclaim this book received in the sci-fi category but I suppose even a turd can float. Two stars is really pushing it. Maybe a star for the number of laughs I got per 100 pages. This is the work of a technically inept egomaniac. He does have some technical background (he drops Unix hints and anagrams the name of a supposed deity who dies and then later comes back w/ no explanation??) However, it's not enough “savoir faire” for any of the content to make sense. It might sound dangerous to some but just plain stupid to computer geeks such as myself. It's obvious that this is not his first book by the way that the author is allowed to recklessly abandon the main plot (or any of the 4 sporadic narratives) for 70-100 page tangents. If he hired a first yr EE student to clarify some basic principles, snipped about 500 pages and got some ritalin, this book might be tolerable. Like many technical books or movies, I was utterly disappointed.
Why did I continue? First, it was a gift and I would feel ungrateful if I didn't give it a fair chance. Secondly, there are many alternating plots that the reader would naturally be led to believe that the lives of these men parallel each other in a different time and place. If you like mysteries, you can almost imagine how these people are related. This would have made the book entirely more interesting. But then nothing. I finished the book and whipped it across the room. Later, I skimmed the last half of this 900+ PAGE SLEEPER to see if there was an overlooked morsel of evidence that made all these separate lives connected which would have made all of the silent pain and suffering from that book worth something. Nothing. Exactly what I got from the book: nothing.
Why did I continue? First, it was a gift and I would feel ungrateful if I didn't give it a fair chance. Secondly, there are many alternating plots that the reader would naturally be led to believe that the lives of these men parallel each other in a different time and place. If you like mysteries, you can almost imagine how these people are related. This would have made the book entirely more interesting. But then nothing. I finished the book and whipped it across the room. Later, I skimmed the last half of this 900+ PAGE SLEEPER to see if there was an overlooked morsel of evidence that made all these separate lives connected which would have made all of the silent pain and suffering from that book worth something. Nothing. Exactly what I got from the book: nothing.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
January 1, 2006
–
Finished Reading
February 25, 2008
– Shelved
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Delirious
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rated it 2 stars
Jan 14, 2009 10:14AM
Amen. Just a frustrating and drawn out excercise in futility. I was very positive when I picked up this book but it successfully crushed my enthusiasm about a quarter of the way through. Excellent review
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Your second paragraph nails it. I was waiting for some sort of twist or payoff or excitement and was just left flat.
I get a feeling that we were reading two entirely different books. :)
I always find it intensely gratifying when my opinion of something is validated not by a good review, but by a terrible one. I had to check that savoir faire didn't have a second secret meaning I wasn't aware of. Then I had to do the same for "dangerous". And the coup de grace: Somehow missing the highly obvious component that links all the main characters! Unforgivable!
@Tamck, he didn't get that far.
Man, I hated reading this book. It took me years, because I had to stop at a certain point because I was tired/disgusted. Thanks for agreeing with me. The high rating is perplexing.
I agree. This book was written by someone showing off his vocabulary (actually the fact he had a dictionary close). No cohesive plot, rambling descriptions, cartoon characters. This author but he will tell you how the watch is made.
Ritalin for attention to what matters, and cut the book in HALF...amen!
I think parts of the book are diving too deep into nerdy topics which don't really add to the story. If you are interested in those topics (as I was) you really love the book. If you don't care about those topics, I can easily see that the book could be a pain. This is one of those books I would not recommend to just anyone.
Thumbs up, this book is a turd. Really unappealing writing style combined with a plastic plot with false depth
Here's the thing: I loved Snow Crash. Loved it! But like many others here, I really struggled with this one. Just not my cup of tea. I had to take multiple runs at it, eventually getting through it. I was sure there would be a payoff, and it didn't get there for me. Other books that took multiple runs at it, like Russell Hoban's "Ridley Walker," left me thankful that I finished it. Not this one.
In so much agreeance with Coco Prato's review, and all the above commenters. Like others, I was also sold on the massive rating score. I really wanted to love this book, but it more than tested my patience. Just so much incoherence and nothingness ...
I read this only partially the first time, but after finishing System of the World gave it another shot. I liked it much better after reading the "sequels". I am not super computer savvy so some of that went over my head but I liked the alternate take on World War II. And such great humor throughout the book.
