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lizshayne 's review for:
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
by Nicole Galland, Neal Stephenson
Sometimes I write substantive reviews. Sometimes I just look at a book and say "if you've been waiting for a new book by this author, you will be delighted."
It is a new Stephenson book. I am delighted.
I laughed out loud more time than I care to admit and practically applauded some of the skewering of academia. As always, Stephenson is a blast to read and the bit at the end where all the plot threads start to messily tangle only to resolve into a cohesive whole is a joy to behold. Though some of that might be Galland since, as we all know, Stephenson doesn't write endings :)
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Added 7/26/17
"Sometimes I don't write substantive reviews" and then come back later because I tempt fate by putting words down.
Stephenson, as an author (and somewhat as an auteur) is at his best when he is responding to the zeitgeist. That's why [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477624625s/830.jpg|493634] is my favorite work of cyberpunk and why I think [b:The Diamond Age|827|The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388180931s/827.jpg|2181158] is a brilliant venture into what comes after cyberpunk (did we name the 90s? I can't remember. It's in between cyberpunk and the rise of grimdark.) DODO is great because it's in that tradition. It sits, like SC and TDA, at the intersection between the genre and a pastiche of the genre. This time, Stephenson is writing a mash-up. He's caught on to the trend in speculative fiction that, rather than opposing science fiction to fantasy or epic to personal or third person to first person to epistolary, takes elements from each to craft a story that is not easily categorized, but extremely enjoyable. The term zany is often used. And because it is Stephenson, the premise (we're using quantum mechanics to bring back magic) is both completely ridiculous and the vehicle he uses to talk about the things that interests him. And to laugh at them. You can almost draw the line between Fforde's Eyre Affair and DODO, although the latter is actually the more serious text. Because Stephenson is serious. Despite the book's silliness, it remains a story about choices and agency and autonomy and what it means to change the world.
It is a new Stephenson book. I am delighted.
I laughed out loud more time than I care to admit and practically applauded some of the skewering of academia. As always, Stephenson is a blast to read and the bit at the end where all the plot threads start to messily tangle only to resolve into a cohesive whole is a joy to behold. Though some of that might be Galland since, as we all know, Stephenson doesn't write endings :)
---
Added 7/26/17
"Sometimes I don't write substantive reviews" and then come back later because I tempt fate by putting words down.
Stephenson, as an author (and somewhat as an auteur) is at his best when he is responding to the zeitgeist. That's why [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477624625s/830.jpg|493634] is my favorite work of cyberpunk and why I think [b:The Diamond Age|827|The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388180931s/827.jpg|2181158] is a brilliant venture into what comes after cyberpunk (did we name the 90s? I can't remember. It's in between cyberpunk and the rise of grimdark.) DODO is great because it's in that tradition. It sits, like SC and TDA, at the intersection between the genre and a pastiche of the genre. This time, Stephenson is writing a mash-up. He's caught on to the trend in speculative fiction that, rather than opposing science fiction to fantasy or epic to personal or third person to first person to epistolary, takes elements from each to craft a story that is not easily categorized, but extremely enjoyable. The term zany is often used. And because it is Stephenson, the premise (we're using quantum mechanics to bring back magic) is both completely ridiculous and the vehicle he uses to talk about the things that interests him. And to laugh at them. You can almost draw the line between Fforde's Eyre Affair and DODO, although the latter is actually the more serious text. Because Stephenson is serious. Despite the book's silliness, it remains a story about choices and agency and autonomy and what it means to change the world.