3/5 stars

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Holy cow, that book was long! Don’t get me wrong…I don’t mind long books at all. Dumas, Tolkien, King, Sanderson–seriously, the longer the better. It’s just that Cryptonomicon FELT longer than any other, although it’s actually shorter. Not even a full 1000 pages.

Why did it feel so long? Because it’s easily the single most complex story I’ve ever read! And while that fact itself actually had some endearing qualities, it was still often a chore to read. If it hadn’t been for the great reviews and the recommendation from Hugh Howie, I probably would have given up on it 300 pages in.

Consider: Three different story lines. Two different time periods. Non-chronological flashbacks. 150-ish different characters. Complex scientific and mathematical topics. Pages of computer programming details. Code breaking instructions. War lingo. Use of the dictionary on every page. Abstract geographies. History lessons. Real people from history mixed with fictional people from the story. Lots of pages.

Get the idea?

If that sounds interesting to you, please, by all means, you should read this book. But if any of that sounds remotely mundane to you, you’d be better off reading something else. Hugh Howie maybe?

Adults only. Military people swear a lot. And are immoral. A lot. Don’t say you weren’t warned.