From the Publisher
In Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson took science
fiction to dazzling new levels. Now, in The Diamond
Age, he delivers another stunning tale. Set in
twenty-first century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens when
a state-of-the-art interactive device falls in the hands of a
street urchin named Nell. Her life-and the entire future of
humanity-is about to be decoded and reprogrammed…
From the Jacket
"[Stephenson] has gotten even better. The Diamond
Age Envisions the next century as brilliantly as snow
crash did the day after tomorrow."-Newsweek
"[Stephenson is] the hottest science fiction writer in
America...Snow Crash is without question the
biggest SF novel of the 1990s. Neal's SF novel, The Diamond
Age, promises more of the same. Together, they represent a
new era in science fiction. People who plow through these
mind-bogglers will walk around slack-jawed for days and reemerge
with a radically redefined sense of
reality."-Details
"Neal Stephenson is the Quentin Tarantino of postcyberpunk science
fiction....Having figured out how to entertain the hell out of a
mass audience, Stephenson has likewise upped the form's ante with
rambunctious glee."-Village Voice
"Snow Crash drew its manic energy from the
cyberpunkish conceit that anything is possible in virtual reality;
in The Diamond Age the wonders of cyberspace pale
before the even more dazzling powers of nanotechnology."
-New York Times Book Review
"Diamond Age establishes Neal Stephenson as a
powerful voice for the cyber age....At once whimsical, satirical,
and cautionary."-USA Today
"Stephenson's world-building skills are extraordinary....
The Diamond Age should cement Stephenson's
reputation as one of the brightest and wittiest young authors of
American science fiction."-San Diego Union-Tribune
About the Author
Neal Stephenson issues from a clan of rootless, itinerant
hardscience and engineering professors (mostly Pac-10, Big 10, and
Big 8 with the occasional wild strain of Ivy). He began his higher
education as a physics major, then switched to geography when it
appeared that this would enable him to scam more free time on his
university's mainframe computer. When he graduated and discovered,
to his perplexity, that there were no jobs for inexperienced
physicist-geographers, he began to look into alternative pursuits
such as working on cars, unimaginably stupid agricultural labor,
and writing novels. His first novel, The Big U, was
published in 1984 and vanished without a trace. His second novel,
Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller, came out in 1988 and
quickly developed a cult following among water-pollution-control
engineers. It was also enjoyed, though rarely bought, by many
radical environmentalists. Snow Crash was written
in the years 1988 through 1991 as the author listened to a great
deal of loud, relentless, depressing music.
Mr. Stephenson now resides in a comfortable home in the western
hemisphere and spends all of his time trying to retrofit an office
into its generally dark, unlevel, and asbestos-laden basement so
that he can attempt to write more novels. Despite the tremendous
amounts of time he devotes to writing, playing with computers,
listening to speed metal, Rollerblading, and pounding nails, he is
a flawless husband, parent, neighbor, and all-around human being.
Trade Paperback
512 Pages, 5.13 x 8.25 x 1.04 in
May 2, 2000
Random House Publishing Group
English
0553380966
9780553380965