Review–Reamde by Neal Stephenson

Every time I do one of these I feel like I am back in 4th grade:

Reamde is a book by Neal Stephenson.  It is a very good book.  It is about a man named Richard Forthrast and his niece Zula…

As you can tell I was no smarter in 4th grade than I am now.

OK I know there are a few Stephenson fans that lurk around these pages so in short -  This is not the typical Stephenson novel.  This is a Tom Clancy novel as written by Neal Stephenson.  It’s still a good book but if you go into it expecting a a treatise on Van Eyk phreaking or a side journey into the Calculus Wars you are going to be disappointed.  If you accept the book as what it is, a well written thriller, you will be very well satisfied.

Initially Reamde appears to center around Richard Forthrast, a video game addict turned video game tycoon and all the action centers around him and his efforts to maintain his life in some sort of order despite the efforts of outsiders to disrupt it both personally and professionally.  This changes abruptly when his adopted niece is suddenly thrust into the middle of an identity theft scheme that goes wrong.  From that point the action centers around Zula and her efforts to survive her situation and it becomes obvious that Richard existed only as the introduction to her and to set up further events. 

In and of itself this probably would have made a pretty good story, but this is Neal Stephenson and one thing this guy is known for is cultural exploration and observing trends.  This trait isn’t quite as pronounced in this book as in others but it remains.  Some of the observations I pulled from the book:  1) Coastal / Mainstream America has gone soft.  The American ethic is surviving in the center of the country but has dissipated elsewhere.  2) The world exists as an adapt or die ecosystem and Americans are losing the ability to adapt. (This is really obvious through the main character, observe the reversion to Eritrean refugee mode at key points) and 3) Commerce has changed to the point that it is almost unrecognizable.  (You have to look for it but I thought I detected a few digs at the idea of a gold standard that makes me think Stephenson is actively laughing at Ron Paul).  There is one other that I found a little disturbing and it makes me wonder what Stephenson has observed to depict it in this way:   There is a much larger jihadist element in this country than people realize (and they are more organized than suspected).  Not that I have ever had any doubt that there were some, but the question has always been how many.  In Stephenson's world the answer appears to be “lots”

As usual for Stephenson lots of threads, and they spin out over multiple locales, which appear to be well researched, before finally weaving back together in Northern Idaho for the novels end.  Another Stephenson trademark is to string things out forever and then bring them all to a conclusion very quickly.  That persists in Reamde, as does his use of Deus ex Machina.  In this case I swear he did it just because he knew I would be reading and it would piss me off.  (read the final climatic death scene, you will know what I mean)

Overall I would rate this book as probably a 4 out 5.  It’s definitely the best fiction book I have read this year. 

(Monte  expressed low hopes for this book over at Ace’s.  I haven’t seen the actual review yet.  I’m sure he has read it 6 or 7 times now,  between his twice weekly reading of “The Road to Serfdom”, and daily readings of the Bible, Lord of the Rings and The Wealth of Nations, so it should be coming)