The Diamond Age

Today I finished the book The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. I read it in three days. I could NOT put it down.

When an illustrated primer, which is really an extraordinary computer of the nanotechnological world, is stolen, it falls into the hands of a very young girl who happens to be a member of a poor, tribeless class. This child, immersing herself in a fairytale world that closely mirrors her own troubled life, is educated and raised outside of any system that is in place or understood at the time.

In this futuristic world where Matter Compilers can produce anything material, national governments are obsolete, and law seems arbitrary; Nell, the primer's rogue engineer, and the woman whose voice has kept Nell company through the primer's pages some long years are all on an odyssey which may end up changing the entire future of humankind.

Though the book started a little slowly for me, I soon found myself unable to put it down. Each thread of story-telling was so creative and each character so well written, that I found I could perfectly picture the book's world and all its wonders. It was such a fun and exciting read! Thank you to those who recommended it to me!

In other news: Delegates say that experts at a major UN climate change control conference in Bankok have reached a deal on how to best handle the problem; Now they have to actually do something; Walter Shirra of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs died yesterday; Wolfowitz blames 'unclear' bank rules for the scandal over his girlfriend's pay; and Paris Hilton's boyfriend is an idiot.