Neal Stephenson - Anathem

Pros: An education in disguise as a novel.

Cons: Huge book that may not entertain all readers.

The Bottom Line: Buy and enjoy this book if only to engage in some philosophical musings!

Review: I have always shied away from Neal Stephenson's books before because I was intimidated on several fronts: they are HUGE, categorized as Science Fiction/Fantasy and because they deal with such heady subjects. As a bookseller with Barnes and Noble, I was ...

Pros: Stephenson's sly wit and ability to rope in knowledge from a wide range of disciplines

Cons: over-long, at times over-blown

The Bottom Line: Neal Stephenson's Anathem may put paid to spec-fic's trilogy boom, but MAN! is it long!

Review: It was during middle school that most of us learned of the historical period some call the "Dark Ages," a centuries-long era in which the chief repository of knowledge was the early Christian church. More than anything else, we heard tales of monks in ...