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)

Great story, great narration, TERRIBLE audio quality!

Especially in Chapter 19, the audio was so distorted that it was unintelligible. Shame on you, Audible!

Favorite Stephenson

This is probably my favorite Neal Stephenson book, I haven't finished the Baroque Cycle however (almost there). This book does suffer from Stephenson's one fatal flaw, he develops this great world with these great characters at a leisurely pace then within one blink of the eye the book is coming to a conclusion and rolling down hill almost faster then you can see. This one is worth more then one read, there are so many small things in the peripheral of the book and things that exist in the world that he doesn't go into great deal about.

Pure Awesome

There is nothing to criticize about the book or the performance -- both are superlative. I've listened to this from beginning to end at least 5 times and it never ceases to amaze me. I still laugh at all the funny parts and still worry about the characters in the dangerous spots. This is one of the best purchases I ever made.

great book,

this is a great book and so much of the technology is becoming a real thing

Listened to again after 8 years

Stephenson creates compelling worlds, where technology and society co-evolve, where he can project forward todays youth into tomorrows senior citizens in a compelling way. He does so by making the society and it's idiosyncrasies the primary character and the personalities that occupy it as secondary. Stephenson doesn't treat the technology as a character, but as backdrop, but it is still characterized in a compelling way.

Great book, great performance, some glitches.

This is a great sci-fi book, and the performance is great; however the recording is a bit muddy and not the best quality. There were also several moments of static/digital noise drowning out the narrator. Still worth getting, but it's too bad these few technical errors with the copy mar an otherwise great book!

Kept me intrigued the whole time.

An interesting story set in the future yet rooted in the past. Nice mix of Victorian societal details and historical Chinese references with super futuristic sci-fi inventions. Good balance. EXCELLENT narration.

A brilliant reimagination of chinese history

It is racist in many respects and like many racist artwork, the lesser colored people is saved by a white man, and a white girl in the end.

That said, it is a brilliant work of science ficition, blending deep philosophical issue with wild science imagination, many of which have become reality two decades later.

I am also inspired his vision for a highly individualized tutoring system that emphasizes the cultivation of noncognitive skill. Ahead of his time again.

Jennifer Wiltsie is amazing!

The breadth of voices and accents that the narrator is capable of definitely carries this work to the end! I had read this book before but listening to it again was such a pleasure.

I listened to this with my girlfriend, who is not as interested in science fiction, and as such did not enjoy this novel as much as I did. Neal Stephenson's vivid descriptions of the world were a little too verbose for her to get into, and she would have preferred something more narrative driven.

The Chapter Names

I like the story and the characters. The vision of the future and technology was interesting. My only complaint was the chapter names. The first few I heard made me think of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. I groaned every time I had to listen to another chapter title for the rest of the book. By no means am I saying to skip this book just be ready for long annoying chapter titles