Cryptonomicon: Difference between revisions

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Published in 1999 and widely considered to be [[Neal Stephenson]]'s Magnum Opus, ''Cryptonomicon'' is a 1000+ page [[Sci Fi]]/Historical novel following three independent yet interrelated story arcs, two of which are set during the [[Second World War]], and the third during the first years of the twenty-first century. Although it treats with some pretty deep, philosophical themes, the novel itself never comes off as dry or preachy, largely due to Stephenson's [[Lemony Narrator|unique style of narration]]. Equal parts profound and profane, ''Cryptonomicon'' tells the story of multiple generations within the Waterhouse and Shaftoe families, as well as their attempts to unravel the secrets of a vast conspiracy affecting history and society.

 

* Bobby Shaftoe: [[Badass]] Marine Raider responsible for putting Waterhouse and company's plans into action. [[Warrior Poet|Has a fondness for poetry, particularly Haiku]]. Don't get him started on giant, Nipponese-eating lizards. Trust us on this.

* Randall Waterhouse: A geek with a love of mathematics and computer science. Is currently involved in an attempt to create a "Data Haven", where information may be freely exchanged without government interference. He is the grandson of Lawrence Waterhouse.

 

It should be noted that this novel takes place in the same universe as another of Stephenson's works, ''[[The Baroque Cycle]]'', which prominently features a number of ancestors of ''Cryptonomicon'''s characters.

{{tropelist}}

* [[Action Girl]] -- Amy Shaftoe. Naturally, since she is the granddaughter of [[Badass]] Marine Bobby Shaftoe.

* [[Cassandra Truth]]: Randy warns his girlfriend and her friends early in the book about a minor scandal that erupts around "War As Text".

* [[Chekhov's Gun]] -- Quite a few minor details turn out to be important.

* [[Cool Old Guy]] -- Enoch Root.

* [[Cool Ship]] -- {{spoiler|''V-Million''}}.

* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: Two scenes, specifically; Douglas MacArthur, an unflappable [[Deadpan Snarker]].

* [[The Reveal]]: {{spoiler|Randy's last name is Waterhouse. We don't find out until we're well into the book, and it suddenly changes the meaning of everything about him up to that point. The reader finds out when he is, quite mundanely, producing his passport.}}

** [[Godel Escher Bach|Gunter Enoch Bobby]] Kivistik.

* [[Shown Their Work]] -- If there's a commercial literature work that does features ''real'' cryptography, down to and including a working Perl script for a cipher commissioned from a real cryptography guru, as well as including entire lectures on information theory, it's definitely ''Cryptonomicon.''

** Also detailed is computer science, politics, diving technique, etc. If you stop to think about all the research Neal has done, it'll be a long time before you finish the book.

* [[Staying Alive]] -- {{spoiler|Enoch Root.}}

* [[Invisible to Gaydar]] -- Alan Turing.

* [[Seinfeldian Conversation]] -- The Waterhouses are especially prone to this.

* [[Tangled Family Tree]] -- The Shaftoes. Lampshaded when Amy states that while she could try to explain her actual relation to her "cousin" M.A., Randy would "start shifting around and heaving great big sighs before [she] got more than half way through."

{{quote|"Don't you guys know banzai charges never work?!"

"Everyone who learned that died in banzai charges." }}

* [[Translation: "Yes"]] -- Several of the Qwghlmian-English parts. Bonus points for bringing in information theory: the language's information density is so high, it's difficult to transmit clearly over a radio channel.

* [[Two Lines, No Waiting]] -- One set during [[Second World War|WWII]], the other durring the first years of the twenty-first century.

* [[Warrior Poet]] -- Bobby Shaftoe.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]] -- Cap'n Crunch cereal. {{spoiler|Breakfast has never been so pornographic.}}

[[Category:Hugo Award]]

[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]

[[Category:Cryptonomicon]]