Everything about Neal Stephenson totally explained
Neal Town Stephenson (born
October 31,
1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his
science fiction works in the
postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of
society,
mathematics,
cryptography,
currency, and the
history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as
Wired Magazine, and has worked part-time as an advisor for
Blue Origin, a company (funded by
Jeff Bezos) developing a manned sub-orbital launch system.
Background
Born in
Fort Meade,
Maryland (home of the
NSA and the
National Cryptologic Museum) Stephenson came from a family comprising engineers and
hard scientists he dubs "propeller heads". His father is a professor of
electrical engineering whose father was a
physics professor; his mother worked in a
biochemistry laboratory, while her father was a biochemistry professor. Stephenson's family moved to
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in 1960 and then to
Ames, Iowa in 1966 where he graduated from
Ames High School in 1977. Stephenson furthered his studies at
Boston University. He first specialized in physics, then switched to geography after he found that it would allow him to spend more time on the university mainframe. He graduated in 1981 with a
B.A. in
Geography with a minor in physics. Since 1984 Stephenson has lived mostly in the Pacific Northwest and currently resides in
Seattle with his family.
Literary works
His first novel,
The Big U, was published in 1984.
The Big U received very little attention when it first came out, and was subsequently out of print until Stephenson allowed it to be reprinted in 2001. After
The Big U, Stephenson published the eco-thriller
Zodiac before rising to prominence in the early 1990s with the novel
Snow Crash (1992), which fuses
memetics,
computer viruses, and other high-tech themes with
Sumerian mythology, along with an analysis of the differences between ideologies such as
libertarianism,
laissez-faire capitalism, and
communism. Averaging one novel every four years, he's written several subsequent novels:
- The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (1995), which deals with a future with extensive nanotechnology and dynabooks. The SciFi Channel and George Clooney will be producing a miniseries adaptation of The Diamond Age, to be penned by Stephenson.
- Cryptonomicon (1999), a novel concerned with concepts ranging from computing and Alan Turing's research into codebreaking and cryptography during the Second World War at Bletchley Park, to a modern attempt to set up a data haven. It has subsequently been reissued in three separate volumes in some countries, including in French and Spanish translations.
- The Baroque Cycle is a series of historical novels and is in some respects a prequel to Cryptonomicon. Consisting of eight books, it was originally published in three volumes:
- Quicksilver (2003) (containing the books Quicksilver, King of the Vagabonds, and Odalisque);
- The Confusion (2004) (containing the books Bonanza and Juncto);
- The System of the World (2004) (containing the books Solomon's Gold, Currency, and System of the World).
- The Baroque Cycle has subsequently been republished as eight separate books (both in English and in Spanish translation).
With the 2003 publication of
Quicksilver, Stephenson debuted The Metaweb (
main page
as partially preserved in the
Wayback Machine at 5 April 2006), a
wiki (using the same software as
Wikipedia) annotating the ideas and historical period explored in the novel. As of April 25, 2007 the metaweb.com site is no longer an active wiki.
His next novel,
Anathem, alleged to be a
space opera, is scheduled for release in September 2008.
Style
Stephenson, at least in his earlier novels, deals heavily in
pop culture-laden metaphors and imagery, and in quick, hip dialogue, as well as in extended narrative monologues. The tone of his books generally is more irreverent and less self-serious than in previous
cyberpunk novels, notably those of
William Gibson.
Stephenson's books tend to have elaborate, inventive plots drawing on numerous technological and sociological ideas at the same time. This distinguishes him from other mainstream
science fiction authors who tend to focus on a few technological or social changes in isolation from others. This penchant for complexity and detail suggests a
baroque writer. His book
The Diamond Age features "
neo-Victorian" characters and employs Victorian-era
literary conceits, and perhaps could be considered as falling into the
steampunk genre. In keeping with the baroque style, Stephenson's books have become longer as he's gained recognition. (At least one printing of
Cryptonomicon is well over one thousand pages long and the novel contains various digressions, including a lengthy erotic story about
antique furniture and
stockings.)
Characteristic of his style is the "breakdown in events", typically about three quarters into the novel. This is an acceleration in plot development, accompanied by chaos, confusion, and often violence, and an abrupt ending with no conventional
denouement and many loose ends. This pattern holds for all of Stephenson's books, including (when taken as a whole)
The Baroque Cycle.
Bibliography
Fiction
The Big U (1984)
Zodiac (1988)
Snow Crash (1992)
Interface (1994) as Stephen Bury with J. Frederick George
Short story: "Spew" (1994)
Short story: "The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995)
The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (1995) Winner, Hugo Award for Best Novel. Nominated for Nebula Award for Best Novel
The Cobweb (1996) as Stephen Bury with J. Frederick George
Short story: "Jipi and the Paranoid Chip" (1997)
Cryptonomicon (1999) Nominated for Hugo Award for Best Novel
Quicksilver (2003), volume I of The Baroque Cycle and winner 2004 Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Confusion (2004), volume II of The Baroque Cycle and winner 2005 Locus Award
The System of the World (2004), volume III of The Baroque Cycle and winner 2005 Prometheus Award and 2005 Locus Award
Anathem (2008) Forthcoming
Non-fiction
"Smiley's people". 1993.
"In the Kingdom of Mao Bell". Wired. 1994. "A billion Chinese are using new technology to create the fastest growing economy on the planet. But while the information wants to be free, do they?"
"Mother Earth Mother Board". Wired. 1996. "In which the Hacker Tourist ventures forth across three continents, telling the story of the business and technology of undersea fiber-optic cables, as well as an account of the laying of the longest wire on Earth."
"Global Neighborhood Watch". Wired. 1998. Stopping street crime in the global village.
In the Beginning...was the Command Line. Harpers Perennial. 1999. ISBN 0-380-81593-1. (Online)
"Communication Prosthetics: Threat, or Menace?". Whole Earth Review, Summer 2001.
"Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out". Op-Ed piece on Star Wars, in The New York Times, June 17, 2005.
"It's All Geek To Me". Op-Ed piece on the movie 300 and geek culture, The New York Times, March 18, 2007.Further Information
Get more info on 'Neal Stephenson'.
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