My second Stephenson novel in six months. I am convinced that I like him. Though I really like this book, I had a hard time getting going with this write-up.
The first thing that may be tripping me up some is that this is the first fiction book set in a very defined time period (at least partially) that I've read in over a year (The Unbearable Lightness of Being being the last) and I may be a bit out of practice in thinking about such books. Additionally, what I have read of Stephenson so far (Diamond Age and Snow Crash), is clearly set in the future.
With all that said, there were some ideas, characters and directions in this book I really liked. I found it very easy to connect to the WWII stories---particularly those of Lawrence Waterhouse and Bobby Shaftoe. I had a much harder time connecting myself with Randy Waterhouse's part of the story, despite (or maybe because of) its present day setting. While I really *liked* the ideas Randy encountered---like the EMP to kill the computers, or the complicated methodology for distributing his Grandmother's possessions among the family---it possibly felt too much like dot-com stories we've heard over and over for the last ten or so years. In comparison the WWII portions felt fresh---maybe since so little time is generally spent on WWII crypto, U-boats and anything that happened in the Pacific other than the Batan Death March and the nukes hitting Japan in school.
I particularly liked, or found compelling, Bobby Shatoe's character and looked forward to getting back to his storyline. His rather human traits---morphine addiction, etc---somewhat balanced out his super-human abilities as a Marine. His most prized quality, in himself and found in others, as he told his son, was adaptability. He showed it himself through his varied positions throughout the war and at times when he wasn't directly involved in the fighting, such as in Sweden and when looking for his son. When plans went awry, he came up with a new plan and quickly enacted it. There was also a particularly great quote regarding the role of enlisted vs. officers, which echoed this:
The extreme formality with which he addresses these officers carries an important subtext: your problem, sir, is deciding what you want me to do, and my problem, sir is doing it. My gung-ho posture says that once you give the order I'm not going to bother you with any of the details---and your half of the bargain is you had better stay on your side of the line, sir and not bother me with any of the chickenshit politics you have to deal with for a living.
insomuch as his goal is to achieve his objective in any way possible.
Two other characters I enjoyed from Shaftoe's time and place were Enoch Root, who just continually seemed out of place (purposely so) and Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse. Waterhouse was a lynch-pin of the story, but I found part to be most compelling up to when he was at Blechtley Park, then setting up Qwghlm. After that, his story fades too much to stay interesting.
A final plot point I want to mention is Goto's mine. The idea of it having different designs and goals known to different levels involved in the project was quite interesting. I may have to go back and read some of those sections again to get a full understanding of the structure. The diagrams Stephenson includes help, but a reread is definitely in order.
Overall, an excellent read, though some weak points existed in the modern portion of the story.
7/10
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