The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is a quite fascinating science fiction about nanotechnology.It also touches quite some other classical sci-fi topics, such as the future of nation-state, mind-melting, interactive books (much better than Amazon Kindle and eReader).
This book can be categorized as a bildungsroman, a story tracing the formation of personality of the protagonist. A lower class, tribe-less (thete) girl named Nell, with a negligent mother, and a caring brother, came across of a illicit copy of a young lady’s primer, an interactive book to educate young noble ladies commissioned by a lord for his granddaughter.
The primer is a combination of computer games, educational software, internet terminal, encyclopedia, &c, with its own power source and network connections. It is made with advanced nanotechnology. At the time (50-80 years after Snow Crash), all objects can be made from molecules directly, with a device called M.C. (Matter compiler). The basic molecules are supplied by a pipeline similar to today’s power lines, ubiquitously connected to everywhere.
Educated and shaped by the primer, Nell obtained quite an impressive education, leaned martial arts, programming, etc, finally became a princess.
Interestingly, in the book, Stephenson has a very low view for AI development, and it is referred to as PI (Pseudo-intelligence), and it did not advanced much. No machine can pass Turing test, Turing machines are easily detected and defeated.
It is a quite enjoyable read, finished it in a week (fortunately I have a three-hour commute everyday). Love Neal Stephenson’s style. Just hope the book is much longer (I love 1000+ page novels),
