Cryptonomicon

De: Neal Stephenson

Narrado por: William Dufris

Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century.

In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - mathematical genius and young Captain in the US Navy - is assigned to Detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detachment 2702 - commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe - is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. It is a game, a cryptographic chess match between Waterhouse and his German counterpart, translated into action by the gung-ho Shaftoe and his forces.

Fast-forward to the present, where Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia - a place where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. As governments and multinationals attack the endeavor, Randy joins forces with Shaftoe's tough-as-nails granddaughter, Amy, to secretly salvage a sunken Nazi submarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat.

But soon their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy, with its roots in Detachment 2702, linked to an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. And it will represent the path to unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty...or to universal totalitarianism reborn.

A breathtaking tour de force, and Neal Stephenson's most accomplished and affecting work to date, Cryptonomicon is profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyper-driven, as it leaps forward and back between World War II and the World Wide Web, hinting all the while at a dark day-after-tomorrow. It is a work of great art, thought, and creative daring.

©1999 Neil Stephenson (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Just so great.

It’s interesting to absolutely love a 40+ hour audiobook and then read reviews from folks who hated it. Different courses for different horses, I guess. All I can say is this book made everything I was doing while listening (bike riding, cleaning, driving, waiting in line outside Costco) a fantastically better experience than it would have been without having these characters to keep me company. This is a total, unadulterated rave!

Amazingly complex worldbuilding, humor, and ideas

Neal Stephenson isn't for everyone. But he is amazing for a select few. His ideas are complex. One minute his character is ruminating on cryptography, the next he's getting a (surprise, non-explicit) amorous encounter with a German spy. Stephenson novels are extremely long. But my only complaint is that the book ends. These books can span centuries, handle multiple characters, discuss cryptography (cryptonomicon), how to survive in space (7 eves), how religious orders work (anathem), and how the mafia could dominate pizza delivery (Snow Crash). You'll laugh your butt off. You'll find ideas to challenge you. Or, if complexity, deep dives into ideas, and sci-fi mixed with action aren't your thing, you may just be bored stiff.

Outstanding!

Couldn't put it down. Fantastic blend of fact and fiction. the performance was spot on.

Smart, funny, interesting, colorful

simply loved it. great research marrying up history with a great story with hardly any (il)logical gaps.

The Audiobook that Sets the Standard in Many Ways

What made the experience of listening to Cryptonomicon the most enjoyable?

First, two words: William Dufris. Home-dude is a vocal genius. Every character, Every. Single. Character. is acted to a masterpiece. In fact, his vocalizations are so well done that he probably could have dropped quote attribution (E.G.: Randy said) and I wouldn't have suffered in the least.

Second, two more words: Neal Stephenson. I love Stephenson's work, but this is his best piece. I by no means dislike any of his other books - I love them - but this is Magnum Opus. It's the most literary of all his work, the plot grapevines through about 50 years of time and all of the characters are interrelated. I don't understand why this isn't required reading in high schools.

What did you like best about this story?

That it exists. And that I can read it.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Also, that it exists. And he performed it. And I can listen to it. Someone should invent the audiobook Grammy's, just to give him one. Seriously, they'd only need one show that lasts 15 minutes to give Dufris his AB Grammy, drop the mic and walk home.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's a combination of moments. The evolution and progression of the characters and plot in general. Stephenson's depiction and Dufris' performance of General MacArthur is eff'ing hillarious.

Any additional comments?

Buy this.