Anathem

by Neal Stephenson

Mass Market Paperback, 1008 pages

Published Aug. 25, 2009 by Harper.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-147410-1
OCLC Number:: 434467013

(19 reviews)

Anathem, the latest invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle, is a magnificent creation: a work of great scope, intelligence, and imagination that ushers readers into a recognizable — yet strangely inverted — world.Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside "saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet the avout have always managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming out of necessity even more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. And Erasmas has no fear of the outside — the Extramuros — for the last of the terrible times was long, long ago.Now, in celebration of the week-long, once-in-a-decade rite of Apert, the fraas and suurs prepare to venture beyond the concent's gates — at the same time opening them wide to welcome the curious "extras" in. During his first Apert as a fraa, Erasmas eagerly anticipates reconnecting with the landmarks and family he hasn't seen since he was "collected." But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change.Powerful unforeseen forces jeopardize the peaceful stability of mathic life and the established ennui of the Extramuros — a threat that only an unsteady alliance of saecular and avout can oppose — as, one by one, Erasmas and his colleagues, teachers, and friends are summoned forth from the safety of the concent in hopes of warding off global disaster. Suddenly burdened with a staggering responsibility, Erasmas finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world — as he sets out on an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous, inhospitable corners of the planet . . . and beyond.

20 editions

aolfreetrial reviewed Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Anathem' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

I first tried reading Anathem back when it was relatively new, but couldn't get past the first 100 pages or so. Now, having the benefit of a decade more worldly knowledge (such as the history of the Catholic church, Western philosophy, etc.), I've finally finished it and I can say that it was an incredible read.

Is it an collection of philosophy dialogue? Is it an action-adventure novel? Is it actually just Snow Crash presented differently?

Yeah, kind of, but it's also a book that gets exponentially more exciting as it goes on and also says some pretty profound things. (The profound things are, unfortunately, fiction, but it would be a high bar for an action-adventure novel to also truly advance philosophy.)

So if you're considering reading this, just know that you shouldn't worry too much about the made-up words - you'll understand them in due time - and that the crazy stuff starts happening 1/3 of the way through and even crazier stuff 3/4 of the way through.

In writing an action-adventure novel based on philosophy and physics though, I think the author has run into a bit of a conundrum: it's too rigorous for readers wanting a fun read yet not rigorous enough to hold together well when the crazy stuff starts happening. That is, he takes a long time to set up a theoretical foundation for what happens, but as he stretches the theory to advance the story, he stretches a little too far and leaves a lot of holes.

vampyr from outer space reviewed Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Untypisches Buch von Neal Stephenson

5 stars

Untypisches Buch von Neal Stephenson - es spielt nicht auf der Erde sondern auf einer Art Parallelwelt auf der Vieles anders ist. Und es hat eine großteils lineare Handlung. Viel Stephenson-typisches gibt es aber doch: Vor Allem die Detailverliebtheit - er erfindet dafür 3500 Jahre in sich stimmige Kulturgeschichte des Planeten. Ich halte es für ein Meisterwerk - auch wenn ich verstehen warum sich die Begeisterung von so machem Stephenson-Fan eher in Grenzen hält.

Nathan reviewed Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Anathem' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Fantastic book. Felt like a mix of Stephenson's earlier sci-fi (like [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg|493634]) and his more detailed historical stuff (Baroque Cycle). Found it easier to get into and enjoy than the Baroque Cycle.

Ted Tschopp reviewed Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Anathem' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Bad Philosophy, bad science, bad made up English, bad story telling....

SPOILERS BELOW

The best part of this book is the vision of what Time Travel / Time Manipulation looks like from the perspective of those experiencing it.

Conbini reviewed Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Review of 'Anathem' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

a wonderfully weird and ambitious book...

short plot description: we find ourselves on the planet Arbre where after some terrible events in the past scientists have retreated from society and live in monastery-like settlements with minimum contact to the outside. The story is told from the viewpoint of Erasmas, a young student, when events force him and several other members of his settlement to go outside...

my thoughts: a brilliantly constructed book about Big Ideas with some commentary on popular culture but with some flaws. The world-building is the best part, really beautiful, cleverly done, very detailled but not boring (which is quite a feat since about the first 100 pages are more or less one long info dump). The plot is breathtaking in scope and well executed. The characters felt mostly flat and one-dimensional to me, not very believable.
Minor gripes: parts of the book felt like I've read them before (Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" and works by Arthur C. Clarke and Aldous Huxley come to mind) and some plot parts felt tacked on (e.g. the romantic subplots).
But all in all I enjoyed the book very much, the idea of a radical separation between theoritical and practical science is intriguing.

my advice: give this one a try if you are not afraid of doing some thinking while reading, you will not be disappointed.