The Immersion Library

I JUST put this one down. I have a feeling that anything I’d want to say about this book needs to be as fresh in my mind as possible.

Don’t let the four stars fool you. This is one of the most complex and exhilarating stories I’ve come across. Of course, I’m not sure how much this means coming from someone who is relatively inexperienced with futuristic or science-fiction literature. Yet I will make the safe assumption that all good stories, regardless of setting or device, share qualities with other good stories of opposite circumstances.

Stephenson is a master…vocabularist, if there is such a word. The flow of his narrative is like a tank at full speed on the smoothest road. It’s a bit tough to handle at times but it’s absolutely intriguing and moves at a good pace. I do imagine Neal writing this with a Thesaurus next to him looking for the coolest and most troublesome synonyms for simpler words.

But the timbre of his voice is matched by his insanely extensive construction of his 21st century world and her technology. As a novice, I was unprepared for such a world. It took me a while to grasp its systems and its general pulse. Yet, unlike other writers of ANY genre, Stephenson seemed to make sure the reader was able to follow, in particularly by mixing in facets that a contemporary reader would be able to relate to.

The story, as I read it, is one massive metaphor – yet it’s layered. There is a metaphor for the reader, and a metaphor for the characters in the book itself. It’s as if the literary construction of the book is as twisted and mind-boggling as the devices and social structures of Stephenson’s flawlessly depicted futuristic world. Yet the story of Nell, as it evolves from a possible mapping of child psychology to the fateful preparation for her role in the real world, blew my mind – like some mutated offspring of traditional fairy tales and the most sinister mysteries.

What intrigued me most about the role of the Primer, is how many voices it had; how many people could influence the reader. And how the reader, growing ever smarter and more educated, was being steered by those relating the Primer’s story. There is nothing malicious in Stephenson’s function of the Primer, yet it always seemed to be in control, until…

The intertwining of the characters, and how they eventually effect and directly change each others’ destinies and roles, I will have to ponder for days, weeks, months to come. I have to say I was a little disappointed with the books resolution, as it seemed that some characters’ fates were simply left out. But the book was great. It’ll probably be a while before I pick up another Stephenson work – not because its bad, one merely needs to be up to the task – but I’m not ruling it out.