The Big U

Really best if you work at a Big U

I read this mostly out of curiosity to see how Neal Stephenson would do a campus novel. It could fairly be described as Lucky Jim meets Snow Crash, but it isn't nearly as satisfying as either of those. Still, a fun summer read.

Neal Stephenson is one of my favorites, and while the story was incredibly engaging, (I plowed through it in one weekend) there were just so many points of synchronicity and uncommon behavior that it felt a little over the top near the end. By the time it reached its crescendo, the story became downright fanciful. I would liken the pace to this book to "Stairway to Heaven"....more

Neal Stephenson is one of my favorites, and while the story was incredibly engaging, (I plowed through it in one weekend) there were just so many points of synchronicity and uncommon behavior that it felt a little over the top near the end. By the time it reached its crescendo, the story became downright fanciful. I would liken the pace to this book to "Stairway to Heaven". Still, Stephenson is incredibly creative and captures the geek mantra exceptionally. I couldn't help but love it. There was a very Ayn Rand quality about this book, especially the characters, far more than anything else I have ever read from him. The University in the book is clearly a jab at Boston University and he has a lot say about the nature of higher education in America and people who dwell in it. It is one of those books I wish I head read BEFORE I went to college, and it was funny how much of the vernacular of the book actually present when I was at a New England prep school at the end of the 80's. (Big U was published in 1984.) All in all, a great ride, even if the events of the book are so over the top they strain believability.   hide

Crazy, 'acid like' fantasy, sometimes reminded me of Dick's Scanner Darkly. Stephensom is author with the huge imagination..