#neilstephenson — Public Fediverse posts

Anathem by Neil Stephenson, a Sci-Fi masterpiece is on sale on Audible for 6$ until the end of March.

It was recently rereviewed for the SFBRP Must-Read List.

https://www.sfbrp.com/archives/2412

(Note that since the book was published in 2008, this is a spoiler rich episode).

For a spoiler conscious discussion you can go back to Luke's 2009 review of Anathem:

https://www.sfbrp.com/archives/127

@bookstodon @audiobooks

#SFBRP #NeilStephenson #anathem #ScienceFiction #BookSale #audible #podcast

I'll have to reread Snow Crash as I'm beginning to think it was prescient as to where the US is heading.

In the book the US has collapsed into various fiefdoms run by corporate entities and mafias. The Feds are just another organisation amongst others.

Well worth a read - the book is fizzing with ideas.

What was slightly disturbing was thinking which current billionaire maps the closest to L Bob Rife.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash

#usa #snowcrash #neilstephenson #cyberpunk

Good overview of Torment Nexus concept. In the end, sci-fi doesn’t teach people to be evil. It simply amplifies today’s evil with tomorrow’s technology.

@books @bookstodon @religion #ChristianSciFi #ProfessorK #tormentnexus #sciencefiction #AI #space #amwritingsf #secretscifinetwork #neilstephenson #isaacasimov #matrix #robertheinlein #williamgibson #philipkdick #cyberpunk #bladerunner #dystopian #musk #thiel

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/14/the-big-idea-will-sci-fi-end-up-destroying-the-world?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1

"Crazytown was repelled by facts and knowledge, as oil fled from water, but was fascinated by the absence of hard facts, since it provided vacant space in which to construct elaborate edifices of speculation. Toward power it felt some combination of fear and admiration, and Corvallis was powerful. Toward vulnerability it was drawn, in the same way that predators would converge on the isolated and straggling."
#NeilStephenson #fallOrDodgeInHell #amReading

"Crazytown was repelled by facts and knowledge, as oil fled from water, but was fascinated by the absence of hard facts, since it provided vacant space in which to construct elaborate edifices of speculation. Toward power it felt some combination of fear and admiration, and Corvallis was powerful. Toward vulnerability it was drawn, in the same way that predators would converge on the isolated and straggling."
#NeilStephenson #fallOrDodgeInHell #amReading

"Crazytown was repelled by facts and knowledge, as oil fled from water, but was fascinated by the absence of hard facts, since it provided vacant space in which to construct elaborate edifices of speculation. Toward power it felt some combination of fear and admiration, and Corvallis was powerful. Toward vulnerability it was drawn, in the same way that predators would converge on the isolated and straggling."
#NeilStephenson #fallOrDodgeInHell #amReading

"Crazytown was repelled by facts and knowledge, as oil fled from water, but was fascinated by the absence of hard facts, since it provided vacant space in which to construct elaborate edifices of speculation. Toward power it felt some combination of fear and admiration, and Corvallis was powerful. Toward vulnerability it was drawn, in the same way that predators would converge on the isolated and straggling."
#NeilStephenson #fallOrDodgeInHell #amReading

Interesting interview with #neilstephenson on his definition of the #metaverse, the ups and down of the industry, the role of #AI in the creative process, and why a #digitaltwin is not metaverse per se

https://venturebeat.com/games/snow-crash-author-neal-stephenson-on-the-metaverse-stock-price-today-the-deanbeat/

#LiebesTagebuch Verdammt, hab meinen E-Reader in Wien vergessen! Wollte gerade #SnowCrash von #NeilStephenson herunterladen. Was soll ich bloss mit meinem Leben in den nächsten Wochen anfangen?

@RickiTarr “The Rise and Fall of DODO” handles time travel is a very unique way and isn’t afraid to get into the details of how it works in-world and the frustrations and monotony of try to change something in the past while under a deadline in the present. #neilstephenson

📚 Immer wieder falle ich darauf rein, Bücher zu lesen, die angeblich am Anfang eines kulturellen Phänomens gestanden sind. Trotz geringer Erwartungen war schon #JohnNormans "Tarnsmen of Gor" (1966) ziemliche Zeitverschwendung.

Nun kommt "Snow Crash" von #NeilStephenson (1992) um die Ecke gebogen, angeblich Ankerliteratur für den Begriff des #Metaverse. Will ich, soll ich mir das tatsächlich antun?

@bascule didn't #NeilStephenson publish #Zodiac quite a long while ago? It tells you how to perform various acts of #EcoTerrorism and does it with a great storyline as well!
#Bookstodon

An old interview with Neal Stephenson, when he'd finished his Baroque Cycle:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/nov/04/onlinesupplement

#NeilStephenson
#BaroqueCycle
#History
#SF

I guess it was inevitable... A startup that claims to be putting sulfur into the stratosphere as #geoengineering to mitigate climate change. Oversight is minimal at best.

If this reminds you of the plot of Neal Stephenson's recent novel Termination Shock, apparently that's not an accident.

https://gizmodo.com/make-sunsets-solar-geoengineering-sulfur-climate-change-1849931460

#ClimateChange #NeilStephenson #TerminationShock

'Metaverse’ a top 3 contender for Oxford’s Word of the Year - Oxford University has opened public voting for the first time wit... - https://cointelegraph.com/news/metaverse-a-top-3-contender-for-oxford-s-word-of-the-year #oxforduniversitypress #oxforduniversity #neilstephenson #virtualreality #markzuckerberg #dictionary #susiedent #mckinsey #facebook #citi #meta

@niconiconi if you're curious what upload is like, _FALL_ is a well-researched and incredibly gripping #SciFi (spec fiction) novel from the perspective of an uploaded consciousness and some of the variants on that consciousness that evolve and cooperate/compete with each other in that #cloud of bits and bytes, server farms, and quantum computers.
#upload #NeilStephenson #singularity #Miasma #metaverse

Ode to the Infodump

When I think of infodumping, the practice of including far too much backstory or explanation in fiction (or nonfiction!) writing, there is one man who stands above the rest: the science fiction author Neal Stephenson.

Stephenson is famous for his infodumps, including his long, long lists, which transcend the winking comedic effect most writers use them for

http://lunastationquarterly.com/ode-to-the-infodump/

#FantasyandScienceFiction #infodump #neilstephenson