Cryptonomicon (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Neal Stephenson
- First Published: 1999
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The 1940’s and the 1990’s
- Setting: Worldwide and primarily Southeast Asia
- Principal Characters: Robert (Bobby) Shaftoe, Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe, America (Amy) Shaftoe, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, Randall (Randy) Lawrence Waterhouse, Avi, Goto Dengo
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1940’s, World War II, 1990’s, Southeast Asia, Gold, Precious metals or stones, Treasure, Ciphers or code names
- Locales: Earth, Southeast Asia
The lengthy Cryptonomicon has no plot as such; instead, it consists of brief segments of action tied together by characters and lines of development. One set of action takes place during World War II and revolves around Allied codebreakers who have deciphered Enigma, the Germans’ supposedly unbreakable code. In the other set, a group of high-tech entrepreneurs plan to build a “data haven,” where electronic messages can be sent free of government interference.
Part of the novel’s charm is the way that characters and events reappear and intermingle, but it is also a...
[The entire page is 2112 words long]
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