Neal Stephenson (b. October 31, 1959 in Fort_George_G._Meade, Maryland) is known primarily as a science fiction writer in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for diverting into explorations of mathematics, currency, and the history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as ''Wired Magazine'', and works part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, a company (funded by Jeff Bezos) developing a manned suborbital launch system [http://www.well.com/user/neal/myrelationship.html]. Stephenson's family was comprised of engineers and hard-scientists. Stephenson went to college in Boston, first as a physics major, then, when he found it it would allow him to spend more time on the university mainframe, Stephenson became a geography major. His first novel, ''The Big U'', was published in 1984. The Big U was never popular, and for a while, was out of print. It has only recently been republished. Although he wrote earlier novels such as the eco-thriller ''Zodiac (book)'', he came to fame in the early 1990s with the novel ''Snow Crash'' (1992) which fuses memetics, Computer virus, and other high-tech themes with Sumerian mythology. Averaging one novel every four years, he has written several subsequent novels: ''The Diamond Age'' (1995) which deals with a future with extensive nanotechnology; ''Cryptonomicon'' (1999), a novel concerned with concepts ranging from computing and codebreaking during the World War II to a modern attempt to set up a data haven; and ''The Baroque Cycle (novel)'', a three volume work consisting of ''Quicksilver (novel)'' (2003), ''The Confusion (novel)'' (2004) and ''The System of the World (novel)'' (2004), making a very long historical fiction cycle that is in some respects a prequel to ''Cryptonomicon''. With the 2003 publication of ''Quicksilver'', Stephenson debuted The Metaweb, a wiki (using the same software as Wikipedia) annotating the ideas and historical period explored in the novel. ==Style== Stephenson, at least in his earlier novels, deals heavily in pop culture-laden metaphors and imagery and in quick, hip dialogue, as well as in extended narrative monologues. The tone of his books generally is more irreverent and less self-serious than in previous cyberpunk novels, notably those of William Gibson (novelist). His novels are also notable in that they are usually written in the present tense. Stephenson's books tend to have elaborate, inventive plots drawing on numerous technological and sociological ideas at the same time. This distinguishes him from other mainstream science fiction authors who tend to focus on a few technological or social changes in isolation from others. This penchant for complexity and detail suggests a baroque writer. His book ''The Diamond Age'' features "neo-Victorian" characters and employs Victorian-era literary conceits. In keeping with the baroque style, Stephenson's books have gotten longer as he has gained recognition. (''Cryptonomicon'' is nearly a thousand pages long and contains various digressions, including a lengthy erotic story about antique furniture and stockings). A characteristic aspect of his books is the "breakdown in events", an acceleration in plot development, typically about three quarters into the novel, accompanied by a marked increase in violence and general confusion among the characters (and often the readers), and abrupt endings without strong conclusions, which sometimes leave the reader hanging. This pattern holds for all of the Stephenson-penned books except perhaps ''Quicksilver''. However, on the evidence of ''The Confusion (novel)'' (2004), that rule may still hold if one considers ''The Baroque Cycle'' as a single work.. ==Quote== "''The science fiction approach doesn't mean it's always about the future; it's an awareness that this is ''different." - Neal Stephenson ==Bibliography== *Fiction: ** ''The Big U'' (1984) ** ''Zodiac (book)'' (1988) ** ''Snow Crash'' (1992) ** ''Interface (novel)'' (1994) as Stephen Bury with J. Frederick George ** Short story: "Hackers (short stories)#Spew" (1994) ** Short story: "The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995) ** ''The Diamond Age'' (1995) ** ''The Cobweb'' (1996) as Stephen Bury with J. Frederick George ** Short story: "Jipi and the paranoid chip" (1997) ** ''Cryptonomicon'' (1999) ([http://www.cryptonomicon.com/ Website]) ** ''Quicksilver (novel)'' (2003), volume I of ''The Baroque Cycle (novel)'' (annotated in the [http://www.metaweb.com/ Metaweb] wiki) ** ''The Confusion (novel)'' (2004), volume II of ''The Baroque Cycle'' ** ''The System of the World (novel)'' (2004), volume III of ''The Baroque Cycle'' *Non-fiction: **''Smiley's people''. 1993. **''In the Kingdom of Mao Bell''. 1994. A billion Chinese are using new technology to create the fastest growing economy on the planet. But while the information wants to be free, do they? **''Mother Earth Mother Board''. 1996. In which the Hacker Tourist ventures forth across three continents, telling the story of the business and technology of undersea fiber-optic cables, as well as an account of the laying of the longest wire on Earth. **''Global Neighborhood Watch''. 1998. Stopping street crime in the global village. **''In the Beginning...was the Command Line''. Perennial. 1999. ISBN 0380815931. ([http://www.cryptonomicon.com/beginning.html Homepage]) ==External links== *[http://www.nealstephenson.com/ Neal Stephenson's official website] *[http://www.well.com/user/neal/ Neal Stephenson's older personal website] *[http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3102/neals.htm ''Neal Stephenson Sees the Light''] – By David Chute, LA Weekly *[http://www.vanemden.com/books/neals/jipi.html Jipi and the Paranoid Chip] as it appeared in Forbes Magazine *[http://www.bitstreamnet.com/projectjericho/cpunk101/cplit/simolian.htm The Great Simoleon Caper] as it appeared in Time Magazine *[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.10/spew.html Spew] as it appeared in Wired Magazine *[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//2.02/mao.bell.html?person=neal_stephenson&topic_set=wiredpeople In the Kingdom of Mao Bell] 1994 Wired article *[http://www.wired.com/wired/scenarios/global.html Global Neighborhood Watch] article *[http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/event_search.asp?authorid=18676 Neal Stephenson's Tour Info]- Book signings and such. *[http://hyperdig.com/public/203 HyperDig collection of Neal Stephenson links]. *[http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/20/1518217 Slashdot interview with Neal Stephenson] *[http://www.sfsite.com/10b/ns67.htm A Conversation With Neal Stephenson] * 1959 births American writers Science fiction writers Seattleites Technology writers Hugo Award winning authors
Just a suggestion: Should not a breakdown of Stephenson's style include a mention of his typical characters - e.g. strong independent female, intelligent levelheaded male? ==Nippon== Anyone happen to know why Stephenson insists on calling all things Japan "Nipponese"? I've seen this in Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. I've also heard it's kind of an offensive thing to say, so does anyone know the story? --User:Twinxor 22:08, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) * "Nippon" is close to the traditional Japanese term for "Japan". I am not so sure about "Nipponese" - my Japanese-speaking friend says that the term is not valid. I am told that the term itself is not offensive, but it is the root of the shortened derogatory term "Nip" used in World War Two. User:Armaced 22:54, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) * Also, a discussion of Mr. Stephenson's works should mention his amazingly blunt endings. I know most people enjoy some sort of postscript, but Mr. Stevenson leaves the reader to speculate far too often. To the point where it can be quite frustrating. The reader is left feeling as if the book is incomplete. With so much attention to detail and long buildups, one feels that a conclusion is deserved. ::True enough. Not sure how to make this NPOV, but it seems to me that ''Quicksilver'' was not an exception to this rule, but ''The System of the World'' had an unusually satisfying conclusion, so the Baroque Cycle as a whole (now that we've seen all three volumes) actually fares better--User:Matt McIrvin 12:05, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC) /\ Heard some of these comments on the recent interview with slashdot
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Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson (b. October 31, 1959 in Fort_George_G._Meade, Maryland) is known primarily as a science fiction writer in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for diverting into explorations of mathematics, currency, and the history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as ''Wired Magazine'', and works part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, a company (funded by Jeff Bezos) developing a manned suborbital launch system [http://www.well.com/user/neal/myrelationship.html]. Stephenson's family was comprised of engineers and hard-scientists. Stephenson went to college in Boston, first as a physics major, then, when he found it it would allow him to spend more time on the university mainframe, Stephenson became a geography major. His first novel, ''The Big U'', was published in 1984. The Big U was never popular, and for a while, was out of print. It has only recently been republished. Although he wrote earlier novels such as the eco-thriller ''Zodiac (book)'', he came to fame in the early 1990s with the novel ''Snow Crash'' (1992) which fuses memetics, Computer virus, and other high-tech themes with Sumerian mythology. Averaging one novel every four years, he has written several subsequent novels: ''The Diamond Age'' (1995) which deals with a future with extensive nanotechnology; ''Cryptonomicon'' (1999), a novel concerned with concepts ranging from computing and codebreaking during the World War II to a modern attempt to set up a data haven; and ''The Baroque Cycle (novel)'', a three volume work consisting of ''Quicksilver (novel)'' (2003), ''The Confusion (novel)'' (2004) and ''The System of the World (novel)'' (2004), making a very long historical fiction cycle that is in some respects a prequel to ''Cryptonomicon''. With the 2003 publication of ''Quicksilver'', Stephenson debuted The Metaweb, a wiki (using the same software as Wikipedia) annotating the ideas and historical period explored in the novel. ==Style== Stephenson, at least in his earlier novels, deals heavily in pop culture-laden metaphors and imagery and in quick, hip dialogue, as well as in extended narrative monologues. The tone of his books generally is more irreverent and less self-serious than in previous cyberpunk novels, notably those of William Gibson (novelist). His novels are also notable in that they are usually written in the present tense. Stephenson's books tend to have elaborate, inventive plots drawing on numerous technological and sociological ideas at the same time. This distinguishes him from other mainstream science fiction authors who tend to focus on a few technological or social changes in isolation from others. This penchant for complexity and detail suggests a baroque writer. His book ''The Diamond Age'' features "neo-Victorian" characters and employs Victorian-era literary conceits. In keeping with the baroque style, Stephenson's books have gotten longer as he has gained recognition. (''Cryptonomicon'' is nearly a thousand pages long and contains various digressions, including a lengthy erotic story about antique furniture and stockings). A characteristic aspect of his books is the "breakdown in events", an acceleration in plot development, typically about three quarters into the novel, accompanied by a marked increase in violence and general confusion among the characters (and often the readers), and abrupt endings without strong conclusions, which sometimes leave the reader hanging. This pattern holds for all of the Stephenson-penned books except perhaps ''Quicksilver''. However, on the evidence of ''The Confusion (novel)'' (2004), that rule may still hold if one considers ''The Baroque Cycle'' as a single work.. ==Quote== "''The science fiction approach doesn't mean it's always about the future; it's an awareness that this is ''different." - Neal Stephenson ==Bibliography== *Fiction: ** ''The Big U'' (1984) ** ''Zodiac (book)'' (1988) ** ''Snow Crash'' (1992) ** ''Interface (novel)'' (1994) as Stephen Bury with J. Frederick George ** Short story: "Hackers (short stories)#Spew" (1994) ** Short story: "The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995) ** ''The Diamond Age'' (1995) ** ''The Cobweb'' (1996) as Stephen Bury with J. Frederick George ** Short story: "Jipi and the paranoid chip" (1997) ** ''Cryptonomicon'' (1999) ([http://www.cryptonomicon.com/ Website]) ** ''Quicksilver (novel)'' (2003), volume I of ''The Baroque Cycle (novel)'' (annotated in the [http://www.metaweb.com/ Metaweb] wiki) ** ''The Confusion (novel)'' (2004), volume II of ''The Baroque Cycle'' ** ''The System of the World (novel)'' (2004), volume III of ''The Baroque Cycle'' *Non-fiction: **''Smiley's people''. 1993. **''In the Kingdom of Mao Bell''. 1994. A billion Chinese are using new technology to create the fastest growing economy on the planet. But while the information wants to be free, do they? **''Mother Earth Mother Board''. 1996. In which the Hacker Tourist ventures forth across three continents, telling the story of the business and technology of undersea fiber-optic cables, as well as an account of the laying of the longest wire on Earth. **''Global Neighborhood Watch''. 1998. Stopping street crime in the global village. **''In the Beginning...was the Command Line''. Perennial. 1999. ISBN 0380815931. ([http://www.cryptonomicon.com/beginning.html Homepage]) ==External links== *[http://www.nealstephenson.com/ Neal Stephenson's official website] *[http://www.well.com/user/neal/ Neal Stephenson's older personal website] *[http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3102/neals.htm ''Neal Stephenson Sees the Light''] – By David Chute, LA Weekly *[http://www.vanemden.com/books/neals/jipi.html Jipi and the Paranoid Chip] as it appeared in Forbes Magazine *[http://www.bitstreamnet.com/projectjericho/cpunk101/cplit/simolian.htm The Great Simoleon Caper] as it appeared in Time Magazine *[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.10/spew.html Spew] as it appeared in Wired Magazine *[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//2.02/mao.bell.html?person=neal_stephenson&topic_set=wiredpeople In the Kingdom of Mao Bell] 1994 Wired article *[http://www.wired.com/wired/scenarios/global.html Global Neighborhood Watch] article *[http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/event_search.asp?authorid=18676 Neal Stephenson's Tour Info]- Book signings and such. *[http://hyperdig.com/public/203 HyperDig collection of Neal Stephenson links]. *[http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/20/1518217 Slashdot interview with Neal Stephenson] *[http://www.sfsite.com/10b/ns67.htm A Conversation With Neal Stephenson] * 1959 births American writers Science fiction writers Seattleites Technology writers Hugo Award winning authors
Neal Stephenson
Just a suggestion: Should not a breakdown of Stephenson's style include a mention of his typical characters - e.g. strong independent female, intelligent levelheaded male? ==Nippon== Anyone happen to know why Stephenson insists on calling all things Japan "Nipponese"? I've seen this in Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. I've also heard it's kind of an offensive thing to say, so does anyone know the story? --User:Twinxor 22:08, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) * "Nippon" is close to the traditional Japanese term for "Japan". I am not so sure about "Nipponese" - my Japanese-speaking friend says that the term is not valid. I am told that the term itself is not offensive, but it is the root of the shortened derogatory term "Nip" used in World War Two. User:Armaced 22:54, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) * Also, a discussion of Mr. Stephenson's works should mention his amazingly blunt endings. I know most people enjoy some sort of postscript, but Mr. Stevenson leaves the reader to speculate far too often. To the point where it can be quite frustrating. The reader is left feeling as if the book is incomplete. With so much attention to detail and long buildups, one feels that a conclusion is deserved. ::True enough. Not sure how to make this NPOV, but it seems to me that ''Quicksilver'' was not an exception to this rule, but ''The System of the World'' had an unusually satisfying conclusion, so the Baroque Cycle as a whole (now that we've seen all three volumes) actually fares better--User:Matt McIrvin 12:05, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC) /\ Heard some of these comments on the recent interview with slashdot
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