The Diamond Age

By: Neal Stephenson

Narrated by: Jennifer Wiltsie

Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

In Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson took science fiction to dazzling new levels. Now, in The Diamond Age, he delivers another stunning tale. Set in 21st-century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens when a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life, and the entire future of humanity, is about to be decoded and reprogrammed.

©1995 Neal Stephenson (P)2001 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 1996

• Locus Award Winner, Best Novel, 1996

"The Quentin Tarantino of postcyberpunk science fiction." (The Village Voice)
"[He] is the hottest science fiction writer in America." (Details)

story is amazing

needs an update of the audio quality.
story is amazing!
I wish they continued this universe with a follow up book.

Great story and faultless performance

I could not put this story down and I can't wait to pick up the paperback to add to my collection.

There were a few odd editing errors, but nothing that I found terribly distracting. Performance is intuitive and engaging.

it ok book

is a slow at time. fun book to. it not for everyone that all folks

Great story, maybe better in print though

Overall would recommend but wish there were a more marked difference between chapters, like a different speaker. There is music to denote the changing chapter but the context switch is such an about turn that I often found myself rewinding to keep up. Also, as a Chinese speaker, I really wished that the narrator had been coached on pronunciation. I’m not expecting perfect (nor should it be since it might be hard for non Chinese speakers to discern) but something as simple as correct vowels would’ve gone a long way.

finally read it after 18 years. Worth it.

brought a paper back of it when in Australia when I was in 7th grade but never got around to reading it. Offered so novel to me insights that only good sci fi can.

Fantastic

What a time to see fiction become nonfiction. This is in my “must read again” category.

Sounds like it was recorded on a cassette tape.

I am a big fan of Neil Stephenson, generally find his audio books to be fantastic, and I actually felt this story had a lot of promise. Sadly, the quality of the audio is so poor that I could not bring myself to listen beyond 1/4 of the way through. To be clear, the narration is fine; it’s just that the audio quality is the worst I’ve ever heard in a book from Audible. I think I’ll just read this one on paper or Kindle.

Needs a more of an ending...

This book was a good listen, however, just like "Snow Crash," Mr. Stephenson ends his otherwise in-depth, detailed novel as if he ran out of paper (or disk space). All the hours of the story and it ends in about 15 seconds. Still, it's a good book. Just be prepared to be dropped off at the end.

Grim Technoir Cyberpunk Fairy Tale

Interleaving elements of children’s bedtime fairy tales and cyberpunk technoir, The Diamond Age would have to be classified as “experimental.” And, like most experimental novels, it does not entirely succeed. The novel is structured with disparate sections, some focused on a young girl named Nell and the rest composed of passages related to a larger plot. At first, the sections from The Young Ladies Illustrated Primer, Nell’s sections, seem completely disassociated, but gradually Stevenson weaves these fantasy stories into the larger plot and the stark contrast between them and the more standard narrative does not feel so out of place. The world Stevenson creates is much like that of William Gibson’s Sprawl novels and, sadly, just as elusive and incomprehensible and difficult to grab onto. There are parts of this novel that are brilliant and attention grabbing. Other parts give the listener’s mind little to latch onto and require one’s full attention just to follow. I found my mind wandering repeatedly throughout much of the story, only to return when the story became more coherent. While I am appealing to William Gibson I might as well go on to say that both Neuromancer and The Diamond Age dazzle me at times with catchy street-smart prose, and glitzy technological innovations; but, at the end of the day, I would be hard pressed to relate the overarching story or to give a plot outline for either novel even if my life depended on it.

I had read the print version of this novel several years age after reading Stevenson’s Snow Crash. This novel was so different from that gonzo offering that I was greatly disappointed. My second go round, and first listen, brought out some elements that I had not noticed on my own. I feel that another listen is in my future, and I imagine that I will enjoy it more. This feeling is one that I often get with books that later become favorites. Someday I will give this one another shot.

Jennifer Wiltsie grew on me over the course of several hours of listening. At first I thought she was treating me like a little child. Then when the fairy tale storyline began to merge into the main story, I saw the wisdom of such an approach. Wiltsie handles children and adults, male and female voices with great range and clarity.

Best SI-FI book i have read

This book is amazing, the world that he has crated is logic and its so rich in details most other si-fi books never come close, just the technology in first chapter made me fall for this book.