Author:Neal Stephenson
A gripping and page-turning thriller that explores themes of power, information, secrecy and war in the twentieth century. From the author of the three-volume historical epic 'The Baroque Cycle' and Seveneves.
In his legendary, sprawling masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century.
In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - a mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy - is assigned to Detachment 2702, an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists. Some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt.
Their mission is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. Waterhouse is flung into a cryptographic chess match against his German counterpart - one where every move determines the fate of thousands.
In the present day, Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. Joining forces with the tough-as-nails Amy, Randy attempts tosecretly salvage a sunken Nazi submarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat.
But their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy with its roots in Detachment 2702 - and an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. There are two ways this could go: towards unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty - or towards a totalitarian nightmare...
Profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyperactive, Cryptonomicon is a work of great art, thought and creative daring, the product of a ingenious imagination working with white-hot intensity.
Cryptonomicon, a novel of such ambition and intensity that most modern fiction looks timid and shallow in comparison...
—— GuardianCryptonomicon was dauntingly vast: brilliant, splenetic, paranoid and beguiling in roughly equal measures... Stephenson's...thrilling fluency
—— TLSAn audaciously conceived tale of code-making and code-breaking
—— New York TimesA brilliant patchwork of codebreaking mathematicians and their descendants who are striving to create a data-haven in the Philippines...trust me on this one
—— GuardianPynchon meets Gibson in the biggest novel of the season
—— Time OutAn absolutely cracking thriller that I read in one sitting.
—— New BooksIndridason has definitely vaulted onto the A-list of Scandinavian crime authors.
—— BooklistThis series places Indridason at the centre of the best of contemporary crime fiction. He is a master storyteller, and has a real gift for evoking the complex humanity at the heart of the most dour-seeming individuals.
—— The Guardian[I] enjoyed it so much I can thoroughly recommend this quite superb tale, and urge all to go out and order a copy today. I can’t wait for the second installment.
—— monstersfromhell.co.ukThis was definitely a brilliant book, that is well worth taking the time to invest in and read.
—— Serendipity ReviewsTense and full of dramatic twists and turns, I look forward to seeing what is next for the witches in part two which is called Fire
—— MeMyBooksandIWitches are the new black. This is the first in a best-selling Swedish trilogy and it's one you will not want to miss out on... An epic holiday read, it's got a fantastical, interwoven narrative that is just what you need to take you all the from the airport departure lounge to a shady spot beside the pool.
—— www.sugarscape.comThis book was one of those that I just couldn’t put down, and despite its size I found it to be a really quick read. The characters were all so different and yet still fit together in their own way, and I was truly shocked by some of the events. I loved the fact that the book wasn’t too teenage despite taking place in a high school, as the characters have genuine problems to overcome with each trying to find their own way to cope with their powers. A great read, I’m really looking forward to book two!
—— Book Chick City