Neil Stephenson: Seveneves

I consider myself a latecomer to Neal Stephenson. My first exposure was in high school when I read "Cryptonomicon," which may have actually been too early. At the time, I found it underwhelming, and at the moment, I can't remember much about it other than the fact that it was probably just the wrong place and time for me to read it.

I avoided any of his books for the next couple of decades. I eventually returned to read some of the missed backlog after seeing so many people within my sphere who revere him as an author. I'm glad I did! He writes idea books -- not so much about the characters as much as it is about the ideas that fascinate him. It's not always the kind of book I want to read, but I can understand why he is so influential in the world of science fiction.

"Seveneves" is really two books in one: the first charts the end of history as we know it. An unknown and unforeseen cataclysm reduces the human population to a mere 7 remaining women. The journey of survival is fascinating and thrilling.

The second half is purely conceptual as it describes humanity's rebirth and how this group spawns a new civilization 5,000 years in the future. In doing so, he taps into racial dynamics and almost inbred animosities that can be traced back to these 7 individuals.

Even describing this much feels like too much of a spoiler, so I won't continue. But overall, I found the first half much more compelling. The second half focused much more effort on simply describing the world (which is certainly fascinating), which just didn't leave much room for plot or character development. Still, I found the ideas compelling, and I think any fan of science fiction could do worse than this.