There are three technologies in The Diamond Age which I think merit mentioning here. While it’s not as groundbreaking or as instantly gripping as his breakthrough novel Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age is nevertheless a fascinating tale that melds a tender coming-of-age story to a future in which nanotechnology has altered virtually every aspect of society. First half of the book gets 4 stars; the second half gets 2 stars. The protagonist and narrator is Dixie Diamond, the youngest (at the start of the novel) in a family of four sisters, who all have different fathers. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent. 5 likes. Short Book Summaries. The Diamond Age, Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a novel by Neal Stephenson about a world where nanotechnology has become ubiquitous and society has fractured along subcultural lines. She becomes immersed in the fantasy world of the Primer and undertakes a number of symbolic journeys and adventures that serve as life lessons towards her final goal of self-realization. In addition to the copy that falls into Nell’s hand, Hackworth also secretly produces a copy for his daughter Fiona – a crime that causes his eventual social downfall and exile from the New Atlantis phyle. [What I'm most confused about is Hackworth being the Alchemist. If you fall of the tech-speak train you start to glaze over a bit and get confused, or at least I do. Since the summary by Kirkley et al. Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Diamond Age In an alternate (possibly future) reality a software programmer creates an interactive (Virtual Reality) program for an aristocrat's daughter and secretly makes one for his own daughter. So did Hackworth prevent the Seed from forming, and protect the Feed, or did he fail? I did feel that some parts lagged and I did flick forward a bit midway. When the Feed came in from Atlantis, from Nippon, we no longer had to plant, because the rice now came from the matter compiler. The difference between stupid and intelligent people—and this is true whether or not they are well-educated—is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. The protagonist in the story is Nell, a thete (or person without a tribe; equivalent to the lowest working class) living in the Leased Territories, a lowland slum built on the artificial, diamondoid island of New Chusan, located offshore from the mouth of the Yangtze River, northwest of Shanghai. It has taken me a while to figure out what I think of this book, and I'm still not entirely sure. What is considered a desirable trait in one culture can be seen as a liability or hindrance to success in another. As is Stephenson’s style, there are also numerous subplots that surround the main action. Is that an expectation of coherent plotting in your back pocket? Now, here's your complementary CS patch. In 1900 a Chinese monk, Abbot Wang Yuanlu, discovered the sealed door to the cave, and in 1907 a Hungarian-British explorer named Marc Aurel Stein was allowed to see inside the cave. Throw in some subtle examinations of culture, class structure, ethnicity and education (as well as some nifty “Nano” advancements) and you have a masterful novel that careens effortlessly between being a whimsical adventure tale and a satirical take on cultural and moral relativism. Neal Stephenson is one of my favourite authors, and I do give him credit for each of his books being based on a completely different paradigm. Worse, science fiction is already more concerned with the ideas than the characters, but when the writer is consciously trying to mimic the further-removed-from-reality discourses of Victorian-era writing, we wind up so distanced from character that honestly? But Nell is not the only little girl who receives a copy of the primer. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 499 pages and is available in Paperback format. He tried for a tone between Victorian and the very formal Western notion of wise Chinese philosophy; sometimes it's funny and sometimes it's annoying. Hackworth always had a "subversive" side, or else he wouldn't have stolen the primer to begin with, the Alchemist is Hackworth without his conscious/V, [ ”, “Nell," the Constable continued, indicating through his tone of voice that the lesson was concluding, "the difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. "—Newsweek "[Stephenson is] the hottest science fiction writer in America...Snow Crash is without question the biggest SF novel of the 1990s. I finished reading Neal Stephenson’s 1995 novel The Diamond Age nearly a month ago, and had always planned to write a review. Oh, and hold on. If you fall of the tech-speak train you start to glaze over a bit and get confused, or at least I do. Initially, I wasn't tempted by "The Diamond Age," but the subtitle drew me in. Also, I felt the need to read the book with a dictionary next to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. Stephenson's descriptions of brightly lit Nanjing Road and small, dim, alleys of hawkers was so spot on. I would have liked a bit more of Nell and a little less of the random plot threads and diversions from the main storyline. Overall, The Diamond Age is well worth reading. To me, Stephenson seems like someone with such an abundance of ideas that he often tries to stuff too many of them into each novel. THE DIAMOND AGE. You're going to have a great time. I'm sure all the technology is masterfully crafted and is visionary, I just couldn't 100% follow it. This is an electronic book developed to teach young girls how to be “subversive.” It is an interactive storytelling instrument that personalizes everyone’s education by taking in information from its surroundings and presenting it to the child in a manner that … I finished it with a bit of bafflement - what was what I'd just read actually about? Did he or didn't he know what he was getting himself into? Published on Oct 2, 2013. Now set the book in a future Shanghai, in a world where nanotechnology makes material needs obsolete, at least in theory... And voila: The Diamond Age. James & Sven discuss the book The Diamond Age (or The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer) by Neal Stephenson. The Diamond Age summary: The Diamond Age summary is updating. So the filial relationships became deranged. tags: education, intelligence, knowledge, wisdom. He does and finds Darryl, where the two confront each other about him lying about being a baby. Worse, science fiction is already more concerned with the ideas than the characters, but when the writer is consciously trying to mimic the further-removed-from-reality discourses of Victorian-era writing, we wind up so distanced fro. The first edition of the novel was published in February 1995, and was written by Neal Stephenson. I loved this book, especially the Neo-Victorian culture. “Parking lots and chaos.”, Book 5: The Diamond Age, Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, Neal Stephenson Discusses His New 'Paradise Lost'-Influenced Book. - and it is like a roller coaster coming off the rails and crashing very, very suddenly on the last page. The part that is confusing me is as follows: Both the Fists and the Mouse Army come from the Celestial Kingdom yet they seem opposed - surely Dr X would have wanted the Mouse Army to support the Fists. That's right, it's very similar, except instead of nicotine, this wil. Welcome back. The Diamond Age is set in a vividly-conceived nanotechnological future in which nation states have ceased to exist. Publication date 1996 Publisher New York : Bantam Books Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks; delawarecountydistrictlibrary; china; americana Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language English. It begins with events that led to Nell getting the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. The last 50 pages or so make zero sense given the rest of the novel, and the ending itself seems more like just a stop rather than an ending. Hope you enjoy it. [ Certain parts of your experience will be much funnier if you wear it, while others will be unspeakably boring if you don't. I admit ruefully that Stephenson's vocabulary is better than mine. There's a kind. Sir? The diamond age by Stephenson, Neal. When our society was based upon planting, it could truly be said, as the Master did, “Virtue is the root; wealth is the result.' Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published The idea of creating the primer comes from an engineer John Hackworth and Neo-Victorian Lord Finkle-McGraw. While the speculative aspects are no less astounding and inventive, they require less technical exposition and seem to have a more solid grounding in the real world (as opposed to the virtual reality of the Metaverse). Classifications Dewey Decimal Class 813/.54 Library of Congress PS3569.T3868 D53 1995 The Physical Object Format Hardcover Pagination 455 p. Number of pages 455 ID Numbers Open Library OL1105350M Internet Archive diamondageoryoun00step ISBN 10 0553096095 LC Control Number 94030486 OCLC/WorldCat 314194775 Library Thing 12987 Wikidata … But Nell is not the ending, promises more of the more compelling main story except instead of,. 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