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Seveneves - Neal Stephenson
Posted on 11/2/23 at 11:13 am
Posted on 11/2/23 at 11:13 am
Thoughts on this book? I read it a while back and it was impactful. Felt like I did after watching Schindler's List, though the stories are very different.
4
Posted on 11/2/23 at 1:15 pm to shspanthers
I really love the book. Some aren't crazy about it, but it's one of my favorite Stephenson books, and that's saying a lot.
I think a lot of people are thrown off by 1) the convoluted "hard science" aspects of it and 2) the massive time jump(s).
I think a lot of people are thrown off by 1) the convoluted "hard science" aspects of it and 2) the massive time jump(s).
Posted on 11/2/23 at 1:32 pm to hogfly
My sis read it and said she was cursing me when she had to stop every 15 min to look up the meaning of so many words. 
This post was edited on 11/3/23 at 8:59 am
Posted on 11/2/23 at 2:16 pm to shspanthers
quote:
My sis read it and said he was cursing me when she had to stop every 15 min to look up the meaning of so many words.
Yeah... in college I read David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon for "fun," so I've always really liked Stephenson's style.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 8:46 am to shspanthers
Crazy that you post this; for whatever reason I was thinking about this book this morning while walking the dog.
The story is great. I think the book gets a little bogged down in the technical details though. And its not so much that its too technical, but more of the author's need to explain these details to the reader. Like every time someone throws out a sciencey sounding term, the author stops the story to say something like "What he meant by this is that Delta V is a measure of the impulse per unit of spacecraft mass that is needed to perform a maneuver such as launching from or landing on a planet or moon, or an in-space orbital maneuver."
Other than that small complaint, the book was fantastic. I especially liked reading how human society has re-formed since the Seven Eves started reproducing. And how there are different factions based on the offspring of a particular Eve.
The story is great. I think the book gets a little bogged down in the technical details though. And its not so much that its too technical, but more of the author's need to explain these details to the reader. Like every time someone throws out a sciencey sounding term, the author stops the story to say something like "What he meant by this is that Delta V is a measure of the impulse per unit of spacecraft mass that is needed to perform a maneuver such as launching from or landing on a planet or moon, or an in-space orbital maneuver."
Other than that small complaint, the book was fantastic. I especially liked reading how human society has re-formed since the Seven Eves started reproducing. And how there are different factions based on the offspring of a particular Eve.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 9:20 am to boxcarbarney
quote:
Other than that small complaint, the book was fantastic. I especially liked reading how human society has re-formed since the Seven Eves started reproducing. And how there are different factions based on the offspring of a particular Eve.
I also think the tech on the future earth is some of the coolest of any SciFi book I've ever read. The glider thing is amazing. Evidently Neal Stephenson went deep dive crazy on researching current glider technology in creating it.
This post was edited on 11/3/23 at 9:21 am
Posted on 11/5/23 at 8:57 pm to shspanthers
As I recall, the first part was great but the 2nd part after the time jump was somewhat silly with really ridiculous "evolutionary" changes.
Posted on 11/8/23 at 2:46 pm to shspanthers
One of my favorite books. Sent me on a Stephenson binge. If you liked Seveneves, you might like Justin Cronin's The Ferryman.
Posted on 11/11/23 at 9:40 am to vistajay
quote:
Sent me on a Stephenson binge
I loved Seveneves, so I started reading my way through his earlier works. I absolutely hated Snow crash, The Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon.
All have really cool ideas, but his style in the earlier years is basically '90s Computer Douche. I understand that goes away, but I haven't been able to muster the energy to started anathem or Reamde yet.
Posted on 11/13/23 at 11:30 am to Jay Are
I really liked Reamde. Didn't like Anathem. I love the System of the World books, though, and I think they might be his best in many ways.
Weird that you don't like Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon. Snow Crash, at least, is almost universally beloved as a cyberpunk classic.
Weird that you don't like Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon. Snow Crash, at least, is almost universally beloved as a cyberpunk classic.
Posted on 11/19/23 at 10:13 pm to hogfly
I went into them wanting and expecting to love them. I found the characters aggressively insufferable. That could work if the characters are also interesting and differentiated. I think those really novels all have a mono voice of sorts. All the characters speak and think the same.
And that voice is constantly being for attention and trying to be edgy and cool.
That's nowhere to be found in Seveneves. It's also gone from Tthe Rise and Fall of DODO, which manages to the lighthearted and humorous content much more successfully (imo) than the early stuff.
And that voice is constantly being for attention and trying to be edgy and cool.
That's nowhere to be found in Seveneves. It's also gone from Tthe Rise and Fall of DODO, which manages to the lighthearted and humorous content much more successfully (imo) than the early stuff.
Posted on 11/21/23 at 10:40 pm to Jay Are
Most of Stephenson's work boils down to really smart and funny protagonists doing really hard things. It's usually a blast. The business plan and dwarf/hobbit dinner party analogy in Cryptonomicon are among my favorite passages of his. Reamde is my favorite because it's closest to an airport novel. "American Taliban" in Idaho is hilarious. Anathem is Stephenson's most organized and interesting novel IMO. It's also hilarious. Seveneves is great, but the glider exposition went on way too long.
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