Rick Riordan's Reviews > Reamde

I understand from Stephenson aficionados that it is somewhat different than his other work, but I found it a great point of entry to this author's world. It's a long book, over a thousand pages, and it did take some commitment to get into. Stephenson's research is incredibly detailed, and his interests are myriad. The amount of information he presents could easily bog down the plot if his writing wasn't so compelling and well-crafted. The plot zigzags breathlessly all over the world -- from urban China to the backwoods of British Columbia -- and the cast of characters is both quirky and compelling. The plot? Well, like most things in the book, it's complicated. Basically, it involves an on-line hacking attempt to hold hostage the computers of gamers in the ultimate MMORPG, T'Rain. When the young Chinese hackers inadvertently lock down a computer belonging to the Russian mob's accountant, things get interesting. You can expect gun battles in the wilderness, terrorist plots aplenty, Russian commandos, a tough heroine from the Midwest (and Ethiopia), gory deaths, lots of virtual gold, and a couple of wild animals. And really, that's just scratching the surface. If Tom Clancy and Carl Hiaasen collaborated on a book, it might look a lot like Reamde. It's a mix of deep and detailed background information, with a wild plot and even wilder characters. At the end, I felt like I'd run a marathon, but a marathon worth running, and I've already purchased more of Stephenson's books.