Anathem by Neal Stephenson

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 fortunate to be able to read an advanced copy of Anathem and so I figured I would give it a chance.

Music, philosophy, mathematics, time, religion, science, humor, epic adventure, collective consciousness, and extraterrestrial spaceships-there seems to be something here for everyone. Right from the opening pages of this monster of a book, I was hooked. There are some very deep explorations of philosophical questions scattered throughout, however they are always accessible to even those of us unschooled in philosophy.

The characters are easy to get to know and you will find yourself rooting for the entire motley crew that follows Raz, the main character, through his adventure.
The story takes place on another planet quite similar to earth 2000 years in the future and is centered on the "Avout" who are removed from mainstream society and spend their time in pursuit of higher learning. They discover a spaceship orbiting their planet and everything they know goes awry as Raz begins his journey of growth and discovery.

This book is probably not for everyone, but I now consider myself a fan of Neal Stephenson's writhing. It will be released in September 9, 2008 nationally.