The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Hello, Stranger. Did you miss me? Let's talk about Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. The Short of It Plot: Perhaps an interactive children's textbook is the only tool powerful enough to break the constraints of a feudal cyberpunk dystopia. Page Count: 499 Award: 1996 Hugo, 1996 Locus SF Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver: (Plot, World , or Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble: Hot damn. Review: Feudal. Fantasy. Cyberpunk. Dystopia. Cool! Compelling characters with convincing drives successfully ground some pretty outlandish SF concepts. Book spends extended swathes in its own fiction as depicted by the Primer - but does so in a way that illuminates real-world issues. Pacing leans a bit too rushed, particularly in the third act. Classic Stephenson: excellent writing, often opaque, totally gripping. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! From start to finish there was no point at which, had I been asked what...