Anathem by Neal Stephenson – Review

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Too much of the book is dominated by lengthy dialectical debates, whose conclusions are hardly earth-shattering (if you are reading this review, I suspect you already know how to divide a rectangular cake into eight equal servings) and which do little to promote a reader’s engagement with the characters of ­“Anathem,” any more than one cares about the interior lives of Pausanias or Eryximachus while reading “The Symposium.” What’s worse, the book’s fixation on dialogue leads Erasmas (and Stephenson) to simply tell us what is happening or has happened in pivotal scenes, instead of allowing us to see the events for ourselves through descriptive action. And when Eras­mas and his confederates at last make their way onto that alien ship, you may wonder what all of this has to do with the larger themes Stephenson spends the first 300 pages of his 900-page novel laying out.

Across the Universe – Book Review – - Review – NYTimes.com.