I’m almost finished with The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde, one of my favorite authors – he has a shimmer of Terry Pratchett about him, but he’s definitely an original. Read all his stuff so far. If you’re nnew tto Fforde, I recommend the Thursday Next novels first, since the Nursery Crimes series is a spin-off.
Anyway, I’m also a big Stephenson fan – um, except for Quicksilver, which should have been named Visual Valium: A Trek Through Sleep – so I’m looking forward to starting Snow Crash.
Is that in honor of the new Neal Stephenson book coming out later this year?
http://time-blog.com/nerd_world/2008/03/the_return_of_neal_stephenson.html
Oddly enough, I’m re-reading the whole Quicksilver trilogy right now. It was a somewhat painful read the first time around (back when it originally came out), but I’m really enjoying it much more now. I think I’m more mentally prepared for how long the narrative is, so I can enjoy the characters without being distracted every few pages with thoughts like: “Damn, look how many words he just wrote.”
Whoa, hadn’t see he was coming out with a new book! Thanks for posting that. Actually, I’ve never read Snow Crash, and my hubs just finished it, so it’s on deck.
Re-reading Quicksilver (and then finishing the rest of the Baroque Cycle) might be a summer project for me, taking your approach. I did something similar with The Hobbit many moons ago – slogging through the bits where Frodo acquires Sting can wear a person down – so maybe it’s time!
Oh Newton, you tortured soul…