Anathem by Neil Stephenson, a Sci-Fi masterpiece is on sale on Audible for 6$ until the end of March.

It was recently rereviewed for the SFBRP Must-Read List.

https://www.sfbrp.com/archives/2412

(Note that since the book was published in 2008, this is a spoiler rich episode).

For a spoiler conscious discussion you can go back to Luke's 2009 review of Anathem:

https://www.sfbrp.com/archives/127

@bookstodon @audiobooks

#SFBRP #NeilStephenson #anathem #ScienceFiction #BookSale #audible #podcast

“Visit the #Startups and they look like throwbacks to the 1950s. Firms drape their walls with vast American flags. They deck their offices with the parts of customised cars. They adopt prosaic company names, such as General Matter, Varda Space Industries and Metal Cross, that echo the General Electrics and General Motors of America’s #industrial heritage more than the twee nomenclature of Silicon Valley.

Young, buff #entrepreneurs, almost all men, bench press and brandish wrenches; they do anything to distinguish themselves from what they see as #software #dilettantes farther north.

#SiliconValley may be the cradle of modern life, from artificial intelligence (#AI) to burrito deliveries. #Gundo is its equivalent in hardware innovation—and the harder it is to build, the better.”

This isn’t the opening lines of a new #NeilStephenson novel. It’s a story where patriotism meets USA machinists and Engineers designing and build tangible things using material instead of computer science.

#SummerReading <https://economist.com/christmas-specials/2025/12/18/americas-fight-back-against-china-starts-in-los-angeles-in-flip-flops> / (paywall) / <https://archive.md/ZhLSO>

I'll have to reread Snow Crash as I'm beginning to think it was prescient as to where the US is heading.

In the book the US has collapsed into various fiefdoms run by corporate entities and mafias. The Feds are just another organisation amongst others.

Well worth a read - the book is fizzing with ideas.

What was slightly disturbing was thinking which current billionaire maps the closest to L Bob Rife.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash

#usa #snowcrash #neilstephenson #cyberpunk

A big-picture look at AI as non-human intelligence, offering a fresh way to think about its risks, roles, and our place alongside it. #ai #neilstephenson

https://nealstephenson.substack.com/p/remarks-on-ai-from-nz

Good overview of Torment Nexus concept. In the end, sci-fi doesn’t teach people to be evil. It simply amplifies today’s evil with tomorrow’s technology.

@books @bookstodon @religion #ChristianSciFi #ProfessorK #tormentnexus #sciencefiction #AI #space #amwritingsf #secretscifinetwork #neilstephenson #isaacasimov #matrix #robertheinlein #williamgibson #philipkdick #cyberpunk #bladerunner #dystopian #musk #thiel

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/14/the-big-idea-will-sci-fi-end-up-destroying-the-world?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1

Interesting interview with #neilstephenson on his definition of the #metaverse, the ups and down of the industry, the role of #AI in the creative process, and why a #digitaltwin is not metaverse per se

https://venturebeat.com/games/snow-crash-author-neal-stephenson-on-the-metaverse-stock-price-today-the-deanbeat/

Waiting for Neil Stephenson to take the pulpit at the First Congregational Church of Boulder.

#neilstephenson