BOOK REVIEW: Neal Stephenson's ANATHEM

Neal Stephenson's Anathem was probably the most widely discussed science fiction book of the year in 2009. It was even reviewed in Nature magazine, one of the top scientific journals in the world.

Stephenson, the author of the seminal science fiction novels Snow Crash (see MadProfessah's review), Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age has long been regarded as one of the pre-eminent fiction writers in the country, with all of his most recent works spending significant time on the New York Times bestsellers list. He has won (or been nominated for) all the top awards in speculative fiction such as the Hugo, the Nebula, the Locus, the Prometheus, the British Science Fiction Award and the Arthur C. Clarke award.

Anathem has actually not received as many awards or nominations as some of Stephenson's earlier works, with most (but not all!) critics generally showering effusive praise for this latest offering. It did win the 2009 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction novel, but was snubbed at the Hugo and Nebula awards, the most prestigious speculative fiction prizes.

Anathem is a big book, about big ideas. Here is the summary from the book jacket:

Anathem, the latest invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle, is a magnificent creation: a work of great scope, intelligence, and imagination that ushers readers into a recognizable—yet strangely inverted—world.

Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside "saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet the avout have always managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming out of necessity even more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. And Erasmas has no fear of the outside—the Extramuros—for the last of the terrible times was long, long ago.

Now, in celebration of the week-long, once-in-a-decade rite of Apert, the fraas and suurs prepare to venture beyond the concent's gates—at the same time opening them wide to welcome the curious "extras" in. During his first Apert as a fraa, Erasmas eagerly anticipates reconnecting with the landmarks and family he hasn't seen since he was "collected." But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change.

Powerful unforeseen forces jeopardize the peaceful stability of mathic life and the established ennui of the Extramuros--a threat that only an unsteady alliance of saecular and avout can oppose--as, one by one, Erasmas and his colleagues, teachers, and friends are summoned forth from the safety of the concent in hopes of warding off global disaster. Suddenly burdened with a staggering responsibility, Erasmas finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world--as he sets out an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous, inhospitable corners of the planet... and beyond.

One of the main problems of the book is that it is packed with so many ideas that it is somewhat exhausting to read. Stephenson is a demanding writer. He has compared his work to television shows like The Wire and Battlestar Galactica (two of my all-time favorites) in that they require the viewer to commit their attention for a long time for a payoff that is all the sweeter due to the delayed reward.

Unfortunately, that strategy requires the audience to be entertained during the journey and the destination itself has to be worth the trip. While I was writing this review I was thinking about Iain Banks' Matter, which was released around the same time as Anathem and which I reviewed earlier this year.

I must say that I enjoyed Matter more than Anthem, probably because the latter is nearly 50% longer (900 pages versus 600 pages), but also because Matter is more engaging--it's funny. Anathem is wry, and funny in its own way, but the sense of humor is very cerebral.

It is that intellectual stimulation which makes one glad that one has completed the journey (read the entire book) but I'm not sure it's somewhere one would want to visit again.

TITLE: Anathem
AUTHOR: Neal Stephenson
PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A+.

OVERALL GRADE: A (3.93/4.0).