Like the other Neal Stephenson books (The
Cryptonomicon, Zodiac) I've had the pleasure to
read, The Diamond Age rose through a long building
of the story, and was finished in a flash with a
quickly rising climax at the end. Stephenson's
books have almost no denouement; they feel
somewhat unsatisfying but refreshingly concluded
at the same time. Some people refer to this as
`Neal Stephenson's "Where the fuck was the ending"
syndrome.'
The Diamond age tells the story of an orphan named Nell, and an
neo-Victorian engineer named Hackworth, in a world where
nanotechnology is common and goverments have been largely replaced by
clans. While Hackworth is a middle class white collar working man,
Nell is one of the poorest of the poor. Their lives intersect when
Hackworth risks his status and standing to bring something wonderful
to his daugther. Through the course of the story both Nell's and
Hackworth's lives change a great deal, as do the lives of a number of
peripheral characters. To a large degree these changes come about
because of how much the characters care about each other, and due to
the engineer's love of an elegent design.
The title, "The Diamond Age", refers to the fact that in the story
it is cheaper to make diamond than glass. The reader will notice
that whenever a transparent surface is discussed, it is always made
from diamond, except in Dovetail, where the glass is made by hand. The
title may also be interperted as a tounge-in-cheek comparison to the
time of the first Victorians, the so called Golden Age.
Stephenson's understanding of digital security has markedly
improved since he wrote The Diamond Age. Compare the unbreakable,
untraceable, perfect system envisioned in The Diamond Age with the
paranoid crypto discussed in The Cryptonomicon. Although one could
chalk the perfect system up to a science fiction writer's
prerogative, one which was almost pivotal to the story (otherwise it
would have been easy to find Miranda, etc.), it was certainly nice to
see Stephenson expand his knowledge in that area, as it gave us The
Cryptonomicon.
The Diamond Age makes a case for parenting. There's this wonderful
technology that can teach girls all they need to know, but only Nell,
who is basically parented by Miranda, really rises to her
potential. In the end, I think that Stephenson is saying that
technology can't replace a good parent. Even though the young
lady's primer is undoubtably healther than watching TV all the time,
leaving your child to learn from this automated wonder is no better
than using the TV as a baby sitter. Unless of course your child is
lucky enough to get a ractor who will raise her for you...
The Diamond Age has a lot of interesting ideas
about society, parenting, and technology. It's a
thoroughly enjoyable book; I highly recommend
it.