[lifayt]

I spent most of July visiting relatives out of country, and I had the opportunity to read the Baroque Cycle (among other things) while I was there. When I got back I stacked all my Stephensons in a pile. This is when I noticed that yes, I had indeed read all of his works. My reason for this post is two fold.

One, is there any other author who does what Stephenson does so well on the same scale? He's nerdy, he's historically well informed, and he writes some of the best stories in SFF. Snow Crash and the Diamond age don't pack the literary heft (not to mention actual physical clout) of his newer books but they're still some of the quickest reads for books that engrossed in hi-tech.
Second what are your thoughts on Stephenson? Should one consider him Sci-Fi or Fantasy? I'm new to this forum but there don't seem to be that many posts on him as opposed to Martin/Jordan/Sanderson etc.

Thanks!

[Sparrow]

I absolutely loved The Diamond Age; that while on a technical level it's Science Fiction it has an unmistakable fantasy feel about it. A story revolving around a storybook, a storybook that is extremely advanced, and characters who each in their own way take an epic journey, just made it seem more fantasy than SF. Add in lots of social commentary, bowler hats, nano tech, Victorian charm, Asian mystique, cyberpunk, steampunk... and you get Charles Dickens on steroids.


Sort of a Steampunk SFFantasy. Good stuff.

[lifayt]

I definitely feel that Stephenson is more fantasy than sci fi simply because his story's are usually such epic journeys for the characters. I don't know how to fully put it into words, but it would feel wrong to describe it as sci fi.

Anyway, i'm always continually surprised at how few people know about him.

[nquixote]

Stephenson is one of the only authors to come out with a substantial amount of awesome sci-fi in both the 1990s and the 2000s. I can't even think of another author who's kept up that volume of output, at that consistently high quality, for both of those decades.

Until recently, though, he didn't know how to write a good ending... ;)

[quajack]

My favorite Stephenson novel is THE BIG U. A bit dated, but still relevent.

[KatG]

Never ask fantasy fans if an author is SF or not, would be my advice. They'll always say not. :) Stephenson is a SF writer and you'll find threads on him in the SF forum. He does not use the fantastic.