I think it's quite possible that I'm going to have a completely different response to this book in another month. I keep going back and forth about whether or not Stephenson could have achieved his story with less verbage. Where I enjoyed every last page of the Baroque Cycle, I think this book could have told its story more concisely.

As an exercise in world creation, it's phenomenal, but as a result, the characters suffer. Fraa Erasmas is no Bobby Shaftoe or Hiro Protagonist. There are occ... (show more)

I think it's quite possible that I'm going to have a completely different response to this book in another month. I keep going back and forth about whether or not Stephenson could have achieved his story with less verbage. Where I enjoyed every last page of the Baroque Cycle, I think this book could have told its story more concisely.

As an exercise in world creation, it's phenomenal, but as a result, the characters suffer. Fraa Erasmas is no Bobby Shaftoe or Hiro Protagonist. There are occasional flashes of Stephenson's witty prose and dialog, but amidst the details and language of the alternate world he's created, those flashes are jarringly disorienting -- inappropriate to what he's trying to achieve.

What has he achieved? I'm still uncertain. I came to the end feeling like the payoff was missing. I may need a quiet week in a concent myself to meditate on what it all meant. (show less)