You could call it a review.

I thought I was a decent enough writer, enjoyable to read. Then I started reading “Quicksilver” by Neal Stephenson and realized that I was but a novice. Even Suzanne Collins shrinks to an amateur when compared to Stephenson’s work.

One of the more amazing feats of Stephenson, aside from the surprisingly detailed descriptions of events, places and people through centuries, is the fictional detail. He has created a detailed lineage that we first learn about in the 1700s (“Quicksilver”) and last post-WWII (“Cryptonomicon”). And by ‘detailed’, I mean summarized life stories for almost every Waterhouse at the very least, more detailed stories are told about the protagonists, often enough Waterhouses themselves. As side-characters we find the fictional Comstock family, as well as a few other made-up characters. But what makes the stories so special is the authenticity – he takes the saying ‘the best lie has a part of truth’ to a whole new level. Historical events - the foundation of MIT and Harvard universities, specific battles during the German Blitz –, places and people – Alan Turing and Isaac Newton are merely a few of the large cast of natural philosophers and great thinkers. To Stephenson’s praise, when these facts about people or events are checked, they apparently check out. This means that extensive research and amazing imagination have achieved perfect fusion to create impressive literature.

The creations of Stephenson are remarkable not just because of the fuzzy line between truth and fiction or the attention to detail, there is a good philosophical side to them – from general topics like the debate between free will and predestination and the existence of a soul to more specific arguments of modern digital data ownership problems. All in all, a pretty well-rounded style of storytelling that deserves a read.

PS. The books also contain tons of interesting facts and instructions that make them entertaining and very educative. No surprise he would be the one spearheading CLANG. When you want to sample his creations, I’d recommend starting with “Quicksilver” (first part of the Baroque Cycle) or “Cryptonomicon”, don’t be daunted by the titles, they are more about the story than about complex algorithms, though occasionally a few of those sneak in.