Anathem

De: Neal Stephenson

Narrado por: Oliver Wyman, Tavia Gilbert, William Dufris, Neal Stephenson

Fraa Erasmus is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the "Saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals.

Over the centuries, cities, and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs, bloody violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet always the avout have managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming out of necessity more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. Erasmus, however, has no fear of the outside - the Extramuros - for the last of the terrible times was long, long ago.

Now, in celebration of the week-long, once-in-a-decade rite of Apert, the fras and suurs prepare to venture outside the concent's gates - opening them wide at the same time to welcome the curious "extras" in.

During his first Apert as a fra, Erasmus eagerly anticipates reconnecting with the landmarks and family he hasn't seen since he was "collected". But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the perilous brink of cataclysmic change.

Powerful unforeseen forces threaten the peaceful stability of mathic life and the established ennui of the Extramuros - a threat that only an unsteady alliance of Saecular and avout can oppose - as, one by one, Raz's colleagues, teachers, and friends are all called forth from the safety of the concent in hopes of warding off global disaster.

Suddenly burdened with a worlds-shattering responsibility, Erasmus finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of everything - as he sets out on an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous, inhospitable corners of an unfamiliar planet...and far beyond.

©2008 Neal Stephenson (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Very interesting book, yet difficult to recommend

This book was great, IF you are into philosophy, enjoy thinking about concepts more than action, characters and the actual plot. This book focuses on some very interesting ideas and the author showcases those ideas in a great way, there's a dialogue, several and it's all done in a captivating way. However the book is very slow, when thinking about the first meaningful event, I had to think about it and then consider if the opening of a door would be it, that was almost 200 pages into the story.
If you want a strong plot, great character development or action this is not the book for you, if you want to read about the ideas of reality and existence of time and other worlds
Again I truly enjoyed the book and will probably read it again, I don't normally do, there is lots to digest here, I will definitely pick up others book from this author.

It was a hard listen

It was a hard listen. I can only imagine the paper book was excruciatingly difficult to get through. While I understand the need for back story, especially here, it took half to 2/3's before the point of the book started. From there on it was completely awesome! But, wow! I thought I was gonna return it before I finished. The only reason I didn't was that I ran out of credits and had to have something new to listen to.

Long winded, and anti climatic, but committed.

I really hung in there, through the first 10 hours or so, wondering why we were listening to the daily routine of what sounded like a scription of monks in an alternate universe set in an alternate dialect. It did finally begin to ramp up, only to peter out feebly at the end. Very interesting theoretical content, but the delivery was long and stale...

Great book

The book didn't start grabbing my interest until after chapter 17 but then it was a fun book.

pay attention in the beginning

hey y'all, real talk this book is pretty slow and dry, but overall it's a good story