The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Cover of The Diamond Age

Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age, is a postcyberpunk future where the world is divided into phyles, and molecular manufacturing and nanotechnology have been mastered.

The Diamond Age, published in 1995, won the Hugo award for best novel in 1996. This novel, the previous Snow Crash, and a string of other highly acclaimed works including Cryptonomicon and Anathem, have placed Neal Stephenson at the forefront of modern science fiction writing.

His work features sharp and interesting dialog, highly imaginative settings, thought-provoking concepts, masterful use of descriptive language, and just the right touch of smile-inducing wit. The Diamond Age is no exception.

Throwback Culture, Nanotech World

In a prescient bit of speculation, the main action in The Diamond Age takes place in China. There don't seem to be any governments in the traditional sense, at least as they are known in the 21st Century. The world is organized around largely ethnic lines, sort of into claves, but not entirely. One group lives as modern day Victorians (the "Vickys"), dressing like them, acting like them—living like them. Individual privacy is almost impossible, and there are clear distinctions among classes.

Juxtaposed with this array of diverse societies ranging form the Victorian, Chinese Confusionists, and others, is the pervasive technology of the times. This includes swarms of molecular machines that keep watch, infiltrate bodies, record all sorts of data on people and events, and are as common as dust. "Mites" they are called. Mediatrons project information, advertisements and entertainment just about everywhere and anywhere.

A Mr. Hackworth is a Vicky who gets a notion that girls (his own daughter included) are raised in all too safe a manner. He has an idea for rectifying that. Exceedingly talented nanoengineer that he is, Hackworth designs a "book", a "ractive" (meaning "interactive") for educating and preparing children for making it in the world. This is "A Young Ladies Illustrated Primer." The Primer is almost immediately stolen by some hoodlums, one of which is the brother of a girl named Nell.

A Girl and a Book

Nell is a girl who has a very unfortunate family situation. Things change dramatically for her when she comes into possession of Hackworth's Primer. It begins by telling her stories, and reading aloud to her (she can't read). As time goes by the Primer teaches Nell to read, and through interactive story telling, takes her on a grand adventure, which seems to be only partly imaginary, that has a profound influence on her life and events. Along the way she learns martial arts, becomes a computer programmer, and masters the technology of the day. If only the Primer really existed!

It doesn't take long for certain very powerful interests to learn of the Primer, including one Dr X. Hackworth gets in a bit of trouble and ends up on a rather long and strange adventure of his own. It costs him much in the end.

The melding of the old, the new, the weird and the fantastic keep things rolling along to an explosive conclusion that evades prediction all the way to the end. The story is a bit uneven at times, but only a bit. One can't expect perfection in such a bold and imagination-stabbing epic. The Diamond Age achieves as much as any author can hope for in a work of speculative fiction.

Stephenson, Neal; The Diamond Age; New York, NY: Bantom Spectra, 1995.

The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

Cover of The Soul of a new Machine

In "The Soul of a New Machine" Tracy Kidder chronicles a year at Data General, as an engineering team is tasked with creating a new computer on an impossible schedule.

The year is 1979. Data General had earned a reputation as a renegade computer company with an aggressive sales force and compelling products. Competitors told their customers to watch out for Data General, that they were bad news. But this only led to increased exposure and more interest from buyers. Their 16-bit Nova and Eclipse machines had been successful and the company was flush with cash, but there was trouble on the horizon. Digital Equipment Corporation had come out with their 32-bit "super-mini" - the VAX, and Data General didn't have anything to compete with it.

Data General's Project Eagle

Tracy Kidder, who at the time had one previous book under his belt, spent a year at Data General chronicling the efforts, conflicts, stumbles and victories of a team of hardware and software engineers that were tasked, almost begrudgingly, by a seemingly cold and uncaring management team, with creating the company's own 32-bit machine to compete with the VAX. There was a lot of money to be made, if only they could get to market before the VAX came to dominate.

Code-named "Eagle" the new machine almost never got the chance. The company had recently moved a research and development team to a new location in another state and most resources for a 32-bit machine (code-named "Fountainhead") were funneled there. However, a guy named Tom West managed to keep an independent team working on Eagle as sort of an insurance policy in case Fountainhead didn't work out. If the much better funded and staffed Fountainhead project succeeded before they did it would be a colossal waste of time and money. People would probably get fired.

The All-Consuming Machines

Two prototypes of the Eagle were built and these machines came to dominate the lives of the protagonists. There is no one central character (with the exception of perhaps West), and Kidder weaves individuals in and out of the tale as they assume important roles in the project. Most of them agreed that they weren't in it for the money (which was decent for the time), but for the challenge, and to be involved at the lowest level in creating a new computer. At one point, the engineers discovered that the hourly technicians actually made more money than they did.

One might think that this book could only appeal to a computer geek, but not so. It's an adventure as well as a techno-drama. Will they pull it off or go crazy? Will the Fountainhead team come in first and make their efforts a huge waste of time? Will the 12-18 hour days take too much of a toll on personal lives? Is there a big payoff in terms of prestige, money and stock options in the end? They are never quite sure, but they keep going. And for the true computer or engineering geek, The Soul of a New Machine is pure inspiration and this 1982 Pulitzer Prize Winner Remains as relevant as ever.

Note: This review is of the 1981 edition published by Little, Brown, and Co. An excerpt of The Soul of a New Machine can be found at Businessweek.com.

The Soul of a New Machine, 1981, Tracy Kidder, Little, Brown and Company, Boston: MA