Book Review: “Cryptonomicon”

Neal Stephenson’s Epic World of Secret Codes

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Specs and the Caveat:

Neal Stephenson’s massive crypto-Sci-Fi novel “Cryptonomicon” was first published in May of 1999. The paperback was published in November, 2002. “Cryptonomicon” comes to the scales at a heavy-weight 1139 pages. This is much like reading the entire Lord of the Rings (1137 pages) and in more than just length. There are LOR references in Stephenson’s novel, of which more later. Speaking of references; mix “Catch-22” and “Gravity’s Rainbow” in a literary bowl, throw in a dash of Tolkien, then let the story continue into modern times. That is “Cryptonomicon” and the results are fiendish and engrossing.

Before we get further into the review, a few caveats: this is a Novel for Nerds. It is not an absolute requirement, but it is fair warning. There is a great deal of Nerdiness to go around, spread across the novel’s scope of seven decades and three generations. Computer Nerds will be in Nerdvana; ditto Math Nerds, Conspiracy Nerds, Crypto Nerds (of course!) and nerdy combinations of all the above. The formative characters in the story establish the historic Nerd substructure. Their offspring, the modern characters, carry on the examples of their forebears. Nerdiness is elevated to the level of Super-Powers. The gist of the caveat is this: If the reader is a fan of bodice-rippers (which are actually maligned in the narrative) there exists a great possibility for disappointment. You have been warned.

The Goods:

The novel begins with the world on the brink of war. Soon-to-be-famous mathematicians are pursuing radical new theories while bicycling around Princeton and getting into mischief. What do brilliant, young mathematicians become in wartime? Cryptographers, of course: code-makers and code-breakers. The practicality, theory, and philosophy of coded meanings make up a great deal of this novel. The good guys use codes, the bad guys use them. Whoops! Guess what? There are bad good-guys and good bad-guys: Moral ambiguity, hooray!

Meanwhile, across the Pacific, a young Marine is fighting and raising hell in doomed China. He does not inhabit an ambiguous world. Orders are given and Bobby Shaftoe carries out the orders. That is not to say that our hero is without issues. As the war gets weirder and weirder, Sergeant Shaftoe develops many serious issues, but he remains a Gung-Ho Marine. Those who wish to remain amongst the living try to be on his side of the fighting.

The preceding would be sufficient to float most novels, but “Cryptonomicon” is just getting started. We jump to modern times, blossoming new technology, and start-up companies. I advise the reader to get used to the jumping; it is going to happen often. England, Germany, U-Boats, Asia, back and forth in time and location. Each shift adds a piece to the puzzle and a clue to the secret code beneath all of the secret codes. The shifts in time also serve to link the modern characters with their larger-than-life forebears. Some of these links are fairly easy to parse out while others remain as secret as the unbreakable code. Fun stuff, to be sure. The modern Nerds divide folks into groupings of Dwarfs, Elves, Men, and Wizards. See? I told you the LOR stuff would be back.

No Spoilers but a few Gems:

Here, we arrive at the fork of the Spoiler Highway. I cannot step foot there: I cannot and I shall not. The many plot lines of the “Cryptonomicon” weave and warp their way to a wonderful conclusion. There are far too many deeply enjoyable twists and turns along the way. I will not spoil a single one of them. This is as far as I will go:

Code-breakers sense the presence of the code-makers in the algorithms they decrypt. Information moves in very strange ways, both then and now. War makes for very strange bedfellows. Conspiracies are fun plot vehicles (we all love secret stuff that is at least plausible). Not everyone gets what they love, or whom, yet some people do. Cultures are pierced with the weapons of snarky irony in the same way the U-Boats pierce Allied shipping.

The Wrap:

There is no adequate way to explain the sprawling romp of a novel. My advice would be to give it a go. A few chapters will separate the bodice-rippers from the Nerds. But as always: Lector Cave, Reader Beware! “Cryptonomicon” is an investment in time, a commitment in thought. The novel will, I believe, offer the diligent reader huge dividends on that investment. Neal Stephenson’s “Cryptonomicon” gets my highest recommendation. I was sorry to turn the last electronic page.

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