Anathem, Neal Stephenson's latest magnum opus

I finished Anathem last night, and magnum opus it is. I was just a little daunted by the size at first, even if the print is elderly eyes friendly and it took me a while to get going.

In previous novels Stephenson has taken the relatively familiar world and tweaked it in small ways, in Anathem he creates an almost entirely unfamiliar world and makes it familiar.

Its a world of mathematical puzzles and the separation of academic thought from a secular society that makes do and mend. In the hands of anyone else the maths, geometry and physics would become heavy and leaden, Stephenson combines them with a narrative which somehow combines a driving plot and a leisurely narrative from a young monk like figure.

The inside jokes, puns and giggly nurdiness under the surface are all there and part of Stephenson's trademark and although this isn't going to become a Snow Crash I think some of the neolgisms are going to insinuate their way into the language.

I quite like the idea of being an Ita and I share his disdain of jeejahs. Read the book.