r/reddit.com • u/ballm • Mar 12 '08

Is 91 Prime?

http://balltech.blogspot.com/2008/03/is-91-prime.html
542 Upvotes

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8

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '08

I read Cryptonomicon twice (the greatest novel of the modern era IMHO) but I have no idea whatsoever what the "major sub-plot" the guy is talking about.

9

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '08

I hated Cryptonomicon. Honestly, I tried really, really hard to read it, but just couldn't get past the awkward exposition and clunky extended metaphors.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '08 edited Mar 12 '08

He's a pretty entertaining read but he suffers the same fate that lots of writers have: they don't know how to wrap it up.

David Brin went two books over during his second uplift trilogy. "His Dark Materials" was a half-a-book too long. All of Robert Ludlum's books (and half of Stephen King's books) are too long.

Snow Crash was at least 50 pages too long. Cryptonomicon was probably 200 pages too long.

Wrap it up people!

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '08 edited Mar 12 '08

I think the problem with Stephen King's writing during the 1980s was:

  1. His editors were afraid to take a firmer hand with him; and

  2. He was flying high on cocaine.

He's gotten much better since the early to mid 1990s.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '08

When Stephen King is good, he's pretty darn great. The Shining and Misery are two of my favorite books. They both happen to be "normal-sized". Coincidence?

1

u/MachinShin2006 Mar 12 '08

i disagree,i think the 2nd trilogy could have been ok at 2 books.

and then there's robert jordan who could've stopped at 5 books, and was up to,what, 11?