[4615] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (alano@summanulla.pcx.ncd.com)
Thu May 6 21:00:53 1999
From: alano@summanulla.pcx.ncd.com
To: perry@piermont.com, cryptography@c2.net
In-Reply-To: Your message of "06 May 1999 17:21:53 EDT."
<87n1zhnbbi.fsf@jekyll.piermont.com>
Date: Thu, 06 May 1999 16:54:22 -0700
>
> I got Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon" some days ago.
>
> My micro-review:
>
> Amazingly good. As usual, Stephenson has no idea how to end a book,
> but that barely matters -- the ride he takes you for is exceptional,
> anyway.
>
> The plot? Well, it would be hard to say what the book is about even if
> I wanted to. Lets just say that the story is a loose weave of several
> threads, some taking place in the Second World War, some taking place
> roughly now. Some of the threads directly involve cryptography, some
> do not. You'll be happier just reading it, instead of reading about it.
I just got it two days ago. I am not finished yet as I have to get *some* work done. (It is over 900 pages.)
Currently it is #2 on amazon.com's best seller list. (Which is amazing as it was just released on Monday.)
So far it has been a damn good read. I am not certain where it is going at this point, but I am certainly enjoying the scenery as things go past.
The appendix has a description of the Solitare encryption method. Solitare uses a deck of playing cards to generate cryptotext. Looks interesting, but may just be a plot to keep them from handing out playing cards on Air Force One.
