
Anathem
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Narrated by:
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Oliver Wyman
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Tavia Gilbert
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William Dufris
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Neal Stephenson
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By:
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Neal Stephenson
Fraa Erasmus 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 "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, bloody violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet always the avout have managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming out of necessity more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. Erasmus, however, 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 fras and suurs prepare to venture outside the concent's gates - opening them wide at the same time to welcome the curious "extras" in.
During his first Apert as a fra, Erasmus 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 perilous brink of cataclysmic change.
Powerful unforeseen forces threaten 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, Raz's colleagues, teachers, and friends are all called forth from the safety of the concent in hopes of warding off global disaster.
Suddenly burdened with a worlds-shattering responsibility, Erasmus finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of everything - as he sets out on an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous, inhospitable corners of an unfamiliar planet...and far beyond.
©2008 Neal Stephenson (P)2008 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















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Stephenson's Best Work
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Captivating sci-fi; good telling.
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Obviously, I belong to the former camp, so read accordingly.
Anathem definitely isn’t a reboot to Stephenson’s glib Snow Crash style (for which I’m thankful), but it is, after the Baroque Cycle, a welcome return to writing a self-contained novel with a manageable cast of characters. He imagines a planet called Arbe, home to an ancient, monkish order called the Avout. In the manner of classical Greek philosophers, the Avout have developed and maintained their “Mathic World’s” knowledge of mathematics, science, and philosophy, and have lived apart (or been segregated for mutual safety, depending on the point of view) from the rest of society and most technology, even as outside civilizations have risen, violently collapsed, and risen again over thousands of years. Naturally, there are many factions and suborders, with their own ideologies, rituals, and politics. It’s like the old “school of wizards who live outside the Muggle world” trope, but much nerdier.
Anathem is narrated from the perspective of a young, socially naive Avout named Erasmus, living in an era that’s roughly similar to present-day Earth terms of technology and social order. Erasmus has just spent the past decade of his life walled off from “the saecular” world, but briefly renewed contact with it reveals strange goings-on on Arbe, which set in motion a plot that I won’t give away, except to say that it takes a number of turns over the course of the novel, evolving from mystery to science fiction to adventure to a parallel-universe story that enlists some pretty mind-bending meta-quantum-physical ideas.
The first hundred pages or so of the novel are somewhat confusing, and readers might feel overwhelmed by all the invented names and terminology. But, if you’re patient and pay attention, it’ll all make sense. Fortunately, the story, once it comes to the fore, is interesting, and I grew to like the characters, particularly the brilliant, maddeningly roundabout teacher figure, Orolo; the martial-arts-obsessed oddball, Lio; the lovably irritating kid with Asperger’s Syndrome, Barb; and the humorously at-arms-length narration style of Erasmus himself. For me, watching different minds and philosophies play off each other through dialogue and cleverly-constructed scenes was the joy at the heart of the book, far more than “what happens”. Stephenson does a fine job of getting difficult concepts to make sense. I also enjoyed the intricately constructed action sequences, though these are fewer.
Criticisms? Mainly just the usual one for Stephenson -- i.e. that the geeking out takes precedence over everything else. If you're not onboard for all the idea construction and digressions, the plot doesn't offer any innovations or emotional experiences that haven't been done better in other science fiction novels. Also, I found the world-building a little skewed. We learn a lot about the Avout, but the rest of the cultural/political/geographical reality of Arbe remains vague until needed for the plot in some way -- e.g. "now I will explain the religion of Arbe (which is pretty interesting), so we can ponder that for a chapter before moving on".
Still, I think Anathem will stand as one of Neal Stephenson’s most ingenious novels, if you can embrace the challenge of reading it. It’s got the wit and intellect of Cryptonomicon combined with the humility to perceive the author’s own small place in a vast chain of human thought (even an imagined one). It also proves that he can do appealing characters, too. As both a thinker and a writer, he’s come a long way from the brash, callow cyberpunk who wrote Snow Crash.
On the audiobook experience, this is one of those rare books where I appreciated having both the audio and print editions. The character voices add some personality that doesn’t come across in the text and made the invented terminology less jarring to my brain, but the print edition provides a helpful glossary and is useful for parts that require several reads to make sense. Plus, the chants were a nice touch.
4.5 stars
Ingenious intellectual adventure
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The story starts slow and gets confusing, but if you stay with it and focus, the universe opens to a new dimension. Unlike the typical sci fi with space battle and aliens, Anathem has more behind the scenes to it. There is less battles and more politics and structure to build up their social realm.
The Orth's dictionary at the beginning of each chapter is the best. According to Anathem Wiki, "Bulshytt is a term used to describe words, phrases, or even entire paragraphs which are misleading or empty in meaning."
I need to thank my friend for getting me into Stephenson's materials. Whenever I need some sci fi, I always ask my friend of what I should read and he almost always recommend another title from Neal.
Bulshytt
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Thought provoking, slow at beginning.
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Smarter, Funnier, Snarkier!
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Love his other books. Couldn't get into this one.
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In all, it's a good story that is drug out.
Decent, but tedious for much of the book
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Extraordinary Book!
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Brilliant fugue on quantum consciousness
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