Brian’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2012)

Brian’s comments from the The Dapper Gentlemen of Letters group.

Ok, let's here some ideas. Just as a rule of thumb maybe think a little before you suggest things, I hope the past couple months have shown us that you should put a little thought into this. The first book in a series of books is a bad idea because it is not a complete work. When you suggest something maybe look at reviews a little and see if it is the sort of thing that warrants a discussion. I think Mr. Blank showed us that a book with nothing below the surface leads to basically no discussion, which makes you wonder what the point of reading it as a group is.

I will try to remember to get a vote up this weekend. Or I could just ask the librarian what book is dull and has the least discussion possibility and we could go with that.

I will try to remember to get a vote up this weekend. Or I could just ask the librarian what book is dull and has the least discussion possibility and we could go with that.

I was not really impressed by this book. It was an easy read so I got through it quickly but it was pretty mediocre. Worse, I don't know what there is to talk about really. If someone felt like there was any sort of theme or deeper meaning to this book I actually would be interesting to hear it because it felt pretty superficial.

Spoilers go here.

I guess spoiler free stuff if you need it.

Looks like we are reading Mr. Blank. It better be good assholes.

Yes, I fell down on this. I will make a poll tonight

Anyone want to make some suggestions? I have a couple ideas I will throw into the poll but I am sure you guys have something you want to pick and then end up not reading.

I hadn't thought much about trust but it could go hand in hand. For me the biggest thing was the interplay between fiction and reality and the fuzzy line between which is which. Each story is of course presented as if true but then the next story views the previous as fiction. Frobisher notes that he believes the Ewing Travelog he is reading to be a work of fiction. You could argue the letters between Frobisher and Sixthpence are real except they only appear in the Luisa Rey mystery that is not only written in a style that indicates it is false we know it to be a work of fiction by the time it comes around to Cavendish.

Cavendish's seems real until you realize it's an old movie that Sonmi-451 watches and there is no indication it is a true story. Then we get of course to Zachry and he certainly believes many things about Somni but few of them have anything to do with what we read about her and we can't be sure of more than that. I would say that as we get deeper into the nesting doll the fictions of the previous story become less relatable to the next one and less understood until they are warped, so even if they are reality it doesn't matter because what happened is not what is understood and remembered.

I guess overall that can go with trust but more that you cannot be sure that what you know is what is real. Overall I liked it as well but I am not sure how much of it will stick with me, if that makes sense. It was enjoyable but I can't claim it has made me think much.

I am kind of interested in what you guys think the over arching themes were. I mean it is interesting how each story links to the next if you look carefully (well, not that carefully, it becomes more apparent later on) but I do feel like there was an attempt to make them all thematically fit together as well.

I actually quite enjoyed this, I liked it more the further I got into it. The only real flaw in the book is the change in styles, character, and stories worked a lot like a short story collection, which meant there were natural breaks where I would just stop reading for a while, this book took me way longer than it should have.

It is what it was billed as. Stephenson is a science fiction writer.

I own it but it's slow starting. You assholes really need to vote for something other than Science Fiction at some point.

No spoilers in this thread.

I haven't started yet but I know a couple people are approaching the finish. This will be our spoilers thread.

I thought you were going to finish in a few days because you were a super reader?

I for one am stunned J6 has managed to turn the discussion of the book into a conversation about how great he is at reading fast.

I should also point out I don't really think it's a bad book, I just think it was total fluff. It was plenty of fun to read but there just isn't a lot positive to say about it other than, "Wasn't it cool when the guy did the thing?"

Basically what I am saying is you jerks voted very poorly.

Your mention of Jones as a cardboard cut out villain brings up another disappointment. I thought that was what the WOR was going to be about, really. Showing us another angle of good vs. evil being kind of bullshit and perception. If Jones had been fully committed to his cause and seemed like someone who was devout and simply doing what he believed was right you could make that argument and make it a theme from the book. Instead he was a coward without convictions and if this book had been written in 1960 the only thing you'd have to change is that he's a communist instead of a Jihadist.