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Neal Stephenson: Difference between revisions
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* Assorted other novels, short stories, and non-fiction works
He is known for somewhat [[Signature Style|idiosyncratic pacing]], [[Two Lines, No Waiting|multiple interwoven plots]], doing his research [[Shown Their Work|and sharing it in excruciating detail]], assuming that [[Viewers Are Geniuses|his readers are geniuses,]] and a Pynchonesque tendency to [[Throw It In|throw in]] long, seemingly pointless digressions: a [[Cryptonomicon|lengthy erotic story]] on antique furniture and stockings, say, or a [[Snow Crash|three-page memo]] regarding the proper use of toilet paper in an office environment. His more recent books also tend to be [[Expospeak Gag|practical arguments in favor of electronic books supplanting paper copies]] (read: ''[[Doorstopper|long]]''), with ''Cryptonomicon'' coming in at well over 900 pages and ''Anathem'' at nearly the same length before the many [[Call a Rabbit A Smeerp|glossaries]] and [[Instructional Dialogue|appendices]]. He is [[Your Mileage May Vary|widely considered]] to be rather poor at endings, with many of his novels reaching a climax and then more or less ending immediately afterwards with little to no denouement.
A recurring theme in Stephenson's work involves the classification of humanity into a typography of functional castes based on their approach to practical and theoretic knowledge; this is spelled out most explicitly in his novella-length essay ''[http://artlung.com/smorgasborg/C_R_Y_P_T_O_N_O_M_I_C_O_N.shtml In The Beginning... Was The Command Line]'', where humanity is divided into ''[[The Time Machine|Morlocks]]'' (those willing to pursue low-level technical knowledge) and ''[[The Time Machine|Eloi]]'' (those unwilling to do so). However, the details vary from book to book; ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'' expands the concept into a [[Five Races]]-style typography of Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits smattered with occasional Wizards and a single specimen of [[Lord of the Rings|Gollum]], while ''[[Anathem]]'' could be considered a near-thousand-page meditation on a similar theme. Not surprisingly, Stephenson's heroes always fall into a technically or theoretically sophisticated caste.
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