Comments on: Azeroth and Anathem

By: matoko_chan

matoko_chan — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:26:29 +0000

Yup..at first, given the form of the narrative as socratic dialogs, i could read about 30 pages, and then I would go fish or grind in the World [of Warcraft] and digest what I read.
Later, the narrative morphs into more of a scifi pageturner, and I could drink great 100 page draughts of that at a time.
But the back story, the language, definitions and historical matrix are sort of neccessary to really get the book.
I agree about the clever punning.

By: Fledgling Otaku

Fledgling Otaku — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:39:24 +0000

ok, this book is supremely bloggable. i might have to re-read it after I’m done, and take notes.

am now about halfway in, and finding it much easier to read, but still missing a lot of explication about historical chronology and the various orders. I wish there was a copy of The Lineage (in dowel form) to reference. plus i am just unable to visualize the robe, chord and sphere, though I find their correspondnce to line (distance), plane (area), and sphere (volume) significant. by manipulating these three things, avouts are just performing topological deformations on them; these are teh building blocks of geometry.

The main appeal is the vocabulary. they verge on being puns, obviously on purpose. i could devote entire blog posts to each term in the glossary.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:05:43 +0000

I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that Stephenson apparently has a very specific appeal to a very specific type of person, and outside that segment, people just don’t get him. Fortunately, I’m in that segment. Strangely, it’s difficult to tell if someone falls into that segment or not. I’ve recommended Cryptonomicon to several people who ended up not especially liking it…

Glad you’re enjoying Anathem Fledge! Things speed up a lot once you get outside the monastery (which I agree is somewhat difficult to visualize)… And once you get the hang of the vocab, it’s smoother sailing…

By: Mitch H.

Mitch H. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:29:21 +0000

I’ve given up pushing Stephenson on my geek friends after yet another failure with Anathem. He’s pretty polarizing. The gonzo style and loose respect for factual detail tends to enrage a certain class of pedantics, among whom, apparently, are a number of my friends.

By: Andy Janes

Andy Janes — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:44:57 +0000

have been reading that book today coincidentally, up to page 432- once you get into in is a real page turner.

By: Fledgling Otaku

Fledgling Otaku — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:57:05 +0000

I’m actually about 50 pages in I am using the glossary, and thus far teh hardest part was visualizing the monastery. I kind of wish hed included a map, but given teh philosophy of the monks, i can see why he didnt

its really an amazing book so far. I dunno if I could multitask it as an audiobook though – its really forcing my attention and slowing me down from my usual pace. Maybe thats just bec of the frst 50 pages of vocab, though

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:22:55 +0000

Good luck with Anathem! The first 50 pages or so are a bit of a slog due to all the new vocabulary and whatnot, but it’s not that bad and once you get used to it, things proceed nicely…

You make an interesting point about Revenge of the Nerds, though I do think it deserves some credit for being among the first to posit that nerds aren’t all that bad. That being said, my favorite of the 80s geek comedies remains Real Genius (when I first saw that movie, I attempted to build a laser in my backyard, but a flashlight and a magnifying glass do not a laser make).

By: Aaron Davies

Aaron Davies — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:44:36 +0000

Get hold of the Anathem audiobook and listen to it while playing. Best of both worlds. (Seriously, that’s what I do while I’m grinding dailies.)