Anathem

Author: Neal Stephenson

Wow, what a ride from beginning to end. True to a Neal Stephenson tradition, it ties a number of completely different ideas and themes together into a (somehow) working thread. Stephenson returns to the science fiction genre after nearly 13 years and manages to reinvent the old wheel, but improve on it in many ways.I know Stephenson has been mentioned on this list already with Snow Crash and there are a LOT of classics that could take this place; but Anathem was one of the best recent science fiction releases and because of that is on this list.Science Fiction is not interested with extrapolation, but variation on existing ideas. Big Object hurtling towards earth. Parallel universes. Artificial Intelligence. That's not to say contemporary science fiction hasn't produced some outstanding works that explore these ideas more fully than the pioneers of the genre did, but the fact remains that very few "new" concepts are being explored.Stephenson bucks the current trend by not borrowing from overused science fiction tropes but instead goes back to drawing board and re-invents them pretty much from scratch. Stephenson incorporates work from a variety of sources Ã¢ physics, mathematics, philosophy, and even literary theory to meld together a big book about everything.It's a strange intoxicating mix that feels both literary and scientific. It's as if you know you are reading a non-fiction book about real ideas and hard science but also fiction. To me it hearkens back to the science fiction days of the 40's and 50's of grand ideas yet with the modern sensibilities of the 2000's. It's a strange mix that just works.Cutting edge quantum physics, parallel universes, alien menace, monks, and more bleed from the pages of this story. Yet all that aside, it's also a coming of age story of a young man full of angst in a strange world that's just as familiar as it is different from our own. Funky, crazy, epic, and intensely personal come to mind when reading Anathem. It really is one hell of a ride. For something different yet familiar, read this work.Rumor is there may be a sequel novel. And that my friends is damn good news.