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Neal Stephenson, one of today’s most acclaimed writers of science fiction, joins the 
The Bookmonger for a 10-minute conversation about his palindromic new novel, Seveneves, which begins this way: “The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason.”
We also discuss his worries about space debris and near-earth objects, his nostalgia for manned space exploration, and his interest in NASA’s upcoming fly-by of Pluto. Finally, Stephenson explains why his books are so darn long (Seveneves is 867 pages) in an age of allegedly decreasing attention spans.
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Just 867 pages?
Moar Neil Stephenson!
Stephenson? Good get. I look forward to listening.
If I were an interviewer (or if Neil lurks and reads this post), I would ask him a followup question on this article,; the seeming atrophy and decline of the rate of technological progress in American society, and if he feels the same way today.
http://www.wired.com/2011/10/stephenson-innovation-starvation/
John – thanks so much for this interview. I second the two comments above. These are great books …. the characters and story lines are not easily forgotten. For members who would like to try Stephenson w/o committing to an 800 pg book, try “Snow Crash” or “The Diamond Age.”
Seveneves is pre-ordered from Audible and will be delivered to my library tomorrow. It will join the vast number of hours of Stephenson already there. I love his books. Thanks for the interview.
Stephenson says something to the effect that eugenics, “as you know,” involves allowing certain people to have babies and certain others not to have babies. This novel allows the seven women to have choice. How is this still not eugenics?
I just preordered the book before listening. Thanks John! It might have been days before I discovered there was a new Stephenson out.
I saw his book launch last night. I have video of him disparaging the high aspirations of A.I. I hope to put this up on a post tonight.
This is my third or fourth launch for one of his books and they are always interesting. He’s about the hippest nerd in the American geek world. I love how his mind works and I love his book plots, his fantastic characters and wonderful humor throughout the books.
He talked a little about how he has changed over the years with regard to his relationship to the profession he has chosen. He said that he has experienced extremes in self-regard and pits of certainty that he’s a fraud and dilettante. He says that now he just wants to write and think and move forward. And I’m all for that. I’m looking forward to reading this but I have one book ahead of him in my queue at the moment but I can’t wait to get started.
I will try to remember some of the questions he was asked and put those in my post tonight. He was asked about a movie for one of his books and he says that nothing has been forthcoming yet from Hollywood. I remember that he said a few years ago that he wasn’t willing to give up control to the extent that some of the movie-makers wanted and I think this is at the root of the problem. But, he is thinking of doing something himself — he said (I couldn’t tell if he was messing with us or not). My favorite of his books is Anathem and that should go to HBO and they should do a 6 or 12 part series right now.
He made several references to Game of Thrones and George R.R. Martin last night. Funny quips.
Here’s a very short review I did in 2011 for his Reamde launch. The comment sequence seem screwed up as usual.
I read Cryptonomicon. What should I read next?
Are some of his books sequels to Cryptonomicon, or just share characters?
I was under the impression there was some kind of time travel that makes them sequelish.
Stephenson was asked about a sequel to Cryptonomicon and he hedged around a bit. He said that there might be something coming but that it would not be with the same characters and would be different in some unspecified way. Maybe.
If you like Sci-Fi, I would recommend Snow Crash (where he invents Google Earth) and then Anathem in that order and you will see how he has changed. Both are excellent.
Otherwise, read Reamde.
Or start off with his Baroque Cycle trilogy.
I really enjoyed his Mongoliad series (group novel but it really works well). Incredible characters and a plot that is truly gripping and exciting.
If you have plenty of time on your hands, you could begin the Baroque Cycle. It’s sort of a Cryptonomicon prequel/digression/history lesson. It’s broken into three books in the print edition and eight in the Audible edition. I can’t believe I listened to the whole thing. I also have a great deal of affection for Snow Crash, which first got me hooked on Stephenson.
The Kindle addition was delivered this a.m. I can’t wait to read it. I’ve read all of his books except Some Remarks and In the Beginning was the Command Line and have enjoyed them all. It is quite clear that he has an impressive mind and imagination, and an equally impressive ability to put his ideas on paper.
Larry, I look forward to your post on the book launch
I love Cryptonomicon:
I’d post the section where Ronald Reagan makes an appearance, but it’s definitely not Ricochet compliant.
I read the Baroque Cycle twice, and thoroughly enjoyed the very long, roundabout disquisition on how and why the Western Civilization went from being threatened with Islam at the gates of Vienna to to essentially ruling the world in the space of one long lifetime. It is a celebration of the open society and the free exchange of ideas, goods, and people. It further comes in handy if you want to know how to isolate chemical phosphorus in your back yard using items purchased at your local garden center (not recommended).
I never got through Reamde. It didn’t grab my interest 200 pages in, and I quit. It probably had something to do with the fact that I bought a print version for a business trip to Cyprus, and ended up carrying that plus-1,000 page, weighty tome through about 10 hours on the streets of Vienna on a layover.
Stephenson is definitely a man whose works justify the Kindle.
Snow Crash was brilliant when it was published. I was actually assigned that to read in a New Media course in the early 2000s, which got me into him in the first place.
I haven’t gotten to the Cycle, but it’s on my to-do list.
Read my post from last night on Stephenson’s book launch. It’s still on the member feed 1st page.
http://ricochet.com/neal-stephenson-and-a-better-world/
My husband is a fan of “hard” science fiction, and just finished Cryptonomicon, which he loved. I basically forced him to listen to this podcast, and he was impressed with the quality and depth of your interview. He’s decided to buy the book and subscribe to the podcast, even though you don’t generally review science fiction. Five stars from the House of Podkayne!