Decades into our future, a stone's throw from the ancient city of Shanghai, a brilliant nanotechnologist named John Percival Hackworth has just broken the
rigorous moral code of his tribe, the powerful neoVictorians.  He's made an illicit copy of a state-of-the-art interactive device called A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer  Commissioned by an eccentric duke for his grandchild, stolen for Hackworth's own daughter, the Primer's purpose is to educate and raise a girl capable of thinking for herself.  It performs its function superbly.  Unfortunately for Hackworth, his smuggled copy has fallen into the wrong hands.

Young Nell and her brother Harv are thetes--members of the poor, tribeless class.  Neglected by their mother, Harv looks after Nell.  When he and his gang waylay a certain neo-Victorian--John Percival Hackworth--  in the seamy streets of their neighborhood, Harv brings Nell something special: the Primer.

Following the discovery of his crime, Hackworth begins an odyssey of his own.  Expelled from the neo-Victorian paradise, squeezed by agents of Protocol
Enforcement on one side and a Mandarin underworld crime lord on the other, he searches for an elusive figure known as the Alchemist.  His quest and Nell's
will ultimately lead them to another seeker whose fate is bound up with the Primer-- a woman who holds the key to a vast, subversive information
network that is destined to decode and reprogram the future of humanity.

Vividly imagined, stunningly prophetic, and epic in scope, The Diamond Age is a major novel from one of the most visionary writers of our time

From the Paperback edition.

Length: 512 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $7.90 when you buy the Kindle book. Available

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Product details

File Size: 1514 KB
Print Length: 512 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0553380966
Publisher: Spectra; Reprint edition (August 26, 2003)
Publication Date: August 26, 2003
Sold by: Random House LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B000FBJCKI
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,646 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #37 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk
- #133 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Cyberpunk
- #140 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Hard Science Fiction

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Top customer reviews

Outstanding, Intelligent Science Fiction

BySteven M. Anthonyon August 8, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Neal Stephenson writes science fiction that requires a certain level of attention and concentration to follow and stay on top of. You can’t lay a Stephenson novel down for a few days and hope to come back and take up where you left off. This is not pulp science fiction.

As in much of his other work, Stephenson, in The Diamond Age, crafts a complicated economic and cultural landscape with a heavy mixture of technological and dystopian overlay. Set largely in heavily populated and “tribally” stratified future Southeast Asia, the heroine of the story, Nell, an economically deprived young lady, comes into possession of a “magical” book which creates a host of new opportunities for her. Over time, her life in the magical world of the book begins to merge with that of the real world, leading to a fascinating climax.

Numerous ancillary story threads present fascinating characters and intriguing scenarios. Simply put, Stephenson is a highly intelligent, brilliant story teller whose science fiction is among the best I’ve ever read. This novel is certainly no exception.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Ending feels rushed

ByJ. Combson March 2, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I am a big Neal Stephenson fan--his work is always intriguing. Dense, very well written, occasionally laugh out loud funny, full of fascinating science and often historical perspective that is unique. This, for me, is not the Stephenson's best novel. That said, even at less-than-stellar, he is a remarkable writer. Conceptually, the work is strong--sequestered societies, abused children, an atmosphere full of nanotechnology unfiltered at the lower rungs of society--and Stephenson makes it believable. My main issue with the book is the sense that it is being rushed at the end and that some of the means of getting to the resolution seem to be gratuitous. A couple of characters abandoned only to pop up later in odd ways. After building this world methodically (as he often does) he seems a bit too eager to leave. Still a page-turner, but not up to the level of the Baroque Trilogy, Cryptonomicon, or Snow Crash.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Learn about many possible future scenarios.

ByR. Kelseyon September 6, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book is well worth reading. Science Fiction at its best. It was really difficult for me to put it down. Many characters, interwoven subplots, complex uses of technology, future societies described in detail, I could go on and on. One can focus on any of a number of things in the book. Smart books used? Yes. Nanotechnology used? Yes. Positive in all cases? No, and it is very interesting how things work out. It explores some really different ideas in ways that teach principles. Very enjoyable.

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A big fat Stephenson novel that goes nano.

ByKindle Customeron October 14, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A rollicking play one the nanotech genre where ther's no Grey Goo but everyone - even the poorest - are wired into their Source. The tension is the material hacker movement, dreaming of individualised Seeds that would subvert the centralised commercial and social hierarchies supported by the Sources. Needless to say, these vested interests are vexed. And at the centre of their machinations and power plays is a girl child, her book, and an Army of Mice.

Confused? Stand by for Stepenson standard debates about machine intelligence, the genesis of the soul, and the social roles and obligations of those who spawn technology.

Great fun with more insider jokes than you can poke a stick at.

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Fave Story

ByAmazon Customeron March 29, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Probably my favorite story of all time. The "Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" is the perfect book. One of those books that just makes me happy to read, over and over.

Stephenson has the social insight of Stirling, the vision of Gibson, the historical tech perspective of James Burke, and the technical chops of a modern day hacker.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A modern classic.

ByAmazon Customeron July 21, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you're a seasoned science fiction reader, you're no doubt already familiar with Stephenson and his outstanding writing. To the uninitiated, do yourself a favor and give this a read. Neal Stephenson's style is highly accessible without skimping on the details. He discusses heavy topics without going dry. His stories are engaging and entertaining, and The Diamond Age is a fine example. For fans of the Cyberpunk genre, Stephenson's post-Cyberpunk styling will offer something both familiar and refreshing.

Read this.

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Beautiful scenes, but...

BySimonon August 23, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

... something was missing.

I loved the style. Those long and overcomplicated Victorian sentences, with a trace of sarcasm hidden inside... all that combined with the really vivid and detailed descriptions from everyday scenes to glimmering airships. It's also an interesting take on technology, not of the really realistic sort, but nevertheless interesting.

And yet: it felt as if everything was set up artificially, and characters kind of... followed their roles, instead of actually thinking. And this happened in expense of things feeling... real? Example (from the beginning of the book, to avoid spoilers): bigger brother shows little sister how "matter compilers" work. It feels all mysterious in the beginning, then brother goes away, sister plays around and figures it out... it's the perfect way to show the readers that yes, this is the technology they have, look how cool it is. But... can you imagine such a scene in real life? It was in their kitchen wall for ages! Seriously, does anyone have childhood memories of being suddenly awed by how water taps work? As opposed to thinking of them as the most natural thing of the world?

The entire book is full with such things. Things happen because they are needed for things to progress, but you never see anyone think "oops, I have no idea what to do". You never see anyone think, period. They are just going through prescribed thought processes, demonstrating some profound-sounding ideas that you may or may not agree with.

After a while I just stopped caring about what happens to the human-like entities inside. And just for the interesting scenes it was a bit too long.

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Most recent customer reviews

Still has me thinking after more than 10 years

Disclaimer: I'm an unabashed Neal Stephenson fanboy, so this may gush a little. I'm writing this review after a thoughtful and personal note sent to me by a bot at Amazon who...Read more

Published 16 days ago by Ross D. Martin MD

Sci Fi nerds unite!

Stephenson is a freak of nature

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

One of his best

Creative, fun,
Entertaining. It transports the reader to a different world. Something Neil Stephenson can often do very well. A pleasure.

Published 1 month ago by Anopheles

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 70% or so of this book

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 70% or so of this book. The conceit of an AI primer that teaches and adapts to a child was clever, but some of the world building elements were...Read more

Published 1 month ago by Saja C

Seductive, episodic fantasy about a near future where technology ...

Seductive, episodic fantasy about a near future where technology has created a wonderland which has all the problems we have today, and many new ones.

Published 1 month ago by Neo-phobe

A little girl as a great stoic hero!

Along with Pride and Prejudice, this is my favorite novel of all time. It is a vision of a near-future world in which conventional governments have been replaced by...Read more

Published 2 months ago by Jeffrey R. Myers

Not as great as his other books but perhaps my expectations were ...

Not as great as his other books but perhaps my expectations were simply to high as I was reading backward in time, starting with his recent work.

Published 3 months ago by Lila

With Writing This Good, You Don't Need the Best Story Ever

This is not my first Neal Stephenson book. As a matter of fact, it's my third. I wasn't planning on reading another one, but a friend who is also an avid reader recommended it.Read more

Published 4 months ago by DaJamMaster

Vivid worldbuilding but zero character development and zero story line

Well, the premises were awesome. The prelude of the guy trying to rob the wrong person and what followed after left me slobbering for more and then.... it went all downhill.Read more

Published 4 months ago by Catriona

Neil Stephenson does it again.

This is another brilliant book by a brilliant and gifted writer. It is so fine I don't know where to start. Somewhere in the realm of William F.Read more

Published 5 months ago by Pamela K. Jones

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