Reamde

Neal Stephenson is my favorite living author largely because of his remarkable ability to weave compellingly rich tales in a variety of genres. This is a straight up action-adventure novel set in the modern world with multiple characters getting into epic adventures all over the world.

It’s so detailed and engaging it might inspire you want to visit some of the locations. It did for me. I detoured out of my way on several trips to see how accurate Stephenson’s portrayal was (it was spot on). 

I’m fascinated by how 5th generation warfighting has moved conflict out of the kinetic realm into the economic and psychological. In this book, Stephenson brings together the actions that take place in the virtual worlds of a massive video game universe with the very real-world activities of terrorists, mafia, and Chinese hacking collectives. 

As we watch our world begin to merge and blend with our digital lives and activities, this book is not only entertaining but really makes you think about its relevance to today’s harsh realities.

I get to read so few novels these days, this book really sucked… show more.

Neal Stephenson has a gift for seeing just enough into the future to make it both accessible and mysterious. Reamde (think “Read me,” with the D and M flipped) is the smartest action-adventure movie you’ve ever seen—in the form of a can’t-put-down 1000+ page novel.

It takes the world of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), combines it with hostage-taking, survivalist encampments, money-laundering, technology start-ups, doomed relationships, the critics we all carry in our heads, family (which may be some or all of the above), the landscape of British Columbia, young Chinese gold farmers and a midlife crisis, and wraps… show more.