Reamde

[Daryn]

So I finished listening to Neal Stephenson's latest book Reamde yesterday. The best way to describe this modern day techno-thriller is to say that it is like a bomb. Not in the sense that it's great, but in the style of storytelling.

The book opens up and introduces the main players. This is akin to lighting the fuse. Then there's an event that happens that triggers the main plot points. This is a lot like the bomb exploding.

After that, the book is basically akin to dealing with the fireball and shrapnel of the explosion. The characters get into some really odd situations, and the whole book turns into a bit of a clusterf... That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, but I felt like the story was chaotic just for the sake of it.

I did enjoy the various cultural clashes between American, British, Chinese, Canadian, etc. Particularly when it comes to the differences in video game culture between them.

Much of the story revolves around an MMO, and there is a lot that goes on both in-game and offline.

To sum it up, if you're looking for a scifi story involving an MMO, the Russian Mafia, Terrorists, Spies, and Gold Farmers, then you can't go wrong with this one. Just be aware that it is a chaotic read.

[Daryn]

Wow, reading this over, I realize I'm not anywhere near as good at doing this sort of thing as Adonisus is. Oh well, still, it's not a bad book.