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Peter Tillman's Reviews > Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
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Neal Stephenson has written some great books over the years. This isn’t one of them — but it’s pretty good, except for his total lack of writerly discipline. 885 pages! A good editor would have blue-penciled half of these — including 3/4 or more of the boilerplate fantasy-quest stuff, most of which I skimmed or skipped. Gah.
The techie stuff, as usual, is well-researched, interesting and thought-provoking. Though my WSOD took a serious beating at (basically) all the rich people on the planet lining up for an afterlife in a Medieval/magic MMRPG sim that would go on forever. (view spoiler) I guess that’s the titular hell? Would be for me. Can’t imagine giving up rule of law, sanitation and mod cons forever, even in BitWorld. He does hint that this is changing, at the end.
Aside from the literary bloviation and fantasy-quest yard-goods, the most objectionable thing here was the “Ameristan” stuff, which was pure Coastal Elite condescension, making fun of the hicks from the sticks. OK, satire, but BAD satire. IMO.
So. I did finish it, with some heavy-duty skimming. The good parts were first-rate. But, my God, Neal. “It’s a sin to waste the reader’s time”. Weak 3 stars.
Nature's reviewer liked it more than I did: https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
The techie stuff, as usual, is well-researched, interesting and thought-provoking. Though my WSOD took a serious beating at (basically) all the rich people on the planet lining up for an afterlife in a Medieval/magic MMRPG sim that would go on forever. (view spoiler) I guess that’s the titular hell? Would be for me. Can’t imagine giving up rule of law, sanitation and mod cons forever, even in BitWorld. He does hint that this is changing, at the end.
Aside from the literary bloviation and fantasy-quest yard-goods, the most objectionable thing here was the “Ameristan” stuff, which was pure Coastal Elite condescension, making fun of the hicks from the sticks. OK, satire, but BAD satire. IMO.
So. I did finish it, with some heavy-duty skimming. The good parts were first-rate. But, my God, Neal. “It’s a sin to waste the reader’s time”. Weak 3 stars.
Nature's reviewer liked it more than I did: https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
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Fall; or, Dodge in Hell.
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Reading Progress
May 10, 2019
– Shelved as:
to-read
May 10, 2019
– Shelved
July 14, 2019
–
Started Reading
July 16, 2019
– Shelved as:
at-slo-paso-bg-pa
July 16, 2019
– Shelved as:
fantasy
July 16, 2019
–
Finished Reading
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There was a first-rate 400-500 page book struggling to get out of that 900 pp doorstop. I wish he wouldn't do that....
"A good editor would have blue-penciled half of these — including 3/4 or more of the boilerplate fantasy-quest stuff, "Sadly, publishing fired all the good editors some time back, and replaced them with marketing people. These days, anyone who already has a sales record will not be touched. Anyone who arrives on the scene now doesn't need a meaningful story so much as a tagline that will sell millions. So many of Stephenson's observations about the crumbling of society in this book are spot on. Too bad there are no longer literary editors to bring this book to the zenith it could have been. But that's $$$$.
Peter, the attraction of Neal Stephenson is that he blends science with the fantasy stuff. That’s why he books are so long, and that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. I thought this was a 5 ⭐️ right up there with Seveneves and Reamde. Haven’t read Anatem of Crypto yet but will by the end of the year.
I agree, Peter. Stephenson is making his books too big. It would have been a great computer sci-fi themed book and some separate fantasy adam-eve angelic book. I am skimming too much to my liking and sighing at the too many pages spend at the bitworld.
Michel wrote: "I agree, Peter. Stephenson is making his books too big. It would have been a great computer sci-fi themed book and some separate fantasy adam-eve angelic book. I am skimming too much to my liking a..."Yes. I guess he's too much a Big Name to submit to editing. Not that publishers seem to do much of that for anyone these days.
I miss his crisp & to-the-point essays! Remember the one on submarine cables? A small Masterpiece.
And here it is: https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/
Wow, 1996!
I reckon I'll not use any of my remaining heartbeats on Fall. Too many other good books to read.