Written by Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George
Thought I knew all the Stephenson books, but somehow this and its followup (Interface) slipped past me for almost 10 years. This was originally out 1996, but was reprinted in paperback in 2005. I found it about 3 weeks ago and grabbed it.
It takes place in the year or so before the first Gulf War (1990ish). Unlike most other Stephenson books, this doesn’t rely so much on technology, so it reads more like Zodiac than Snow Crash. That’s not to say it’s a bad read, as I really liked Zodiac. It was a fun and quick read and you get into the heads of the characters quickly.
There are two primary locations where the book takes place: Iowa and Washington, D.C. It’s rare that characters from each location meet, but they’re sort-of headed towards the same goal. Not everyone is who they say they are, and not everyone is as evil or nice as you think at first.
One of the big complaints of Stephenson novels is the endings. I think having George helping him out fixed this up a bit, but it’s still pretty abrupt. A lot of the loose ends got tied up and you’re aware the end is coming when it arrives.
All in all, a fun read. Go grab it in paperback and have a read.