Termination Shock

(starred review)

"The novel is classic Stephenson: fiercely intelligent, weird, darkly witty, and boldly speculative. . . . Stephenson has become one of the most revered science fiction writers of his time." - Publishers Weekly

"An enthralling and thought-provoking read." - Buzzfeed

"Neal Stephenson has never been afraid of engaging with big ideas within genre forms, and Termination Shock might be his most visionary, and timely, book yet." - Chicago Review of Books

"Stephenson is one of speculative fiction's most meticulous architects. . . .Termination Shock manages to pull off a rare trick, at once wildly imaginative and grounded." - New York Times Book Review

"Arguably no sci-fi writer has the specific combination of vision, reach, and ardent fandom that Stephenson does . . . . He is the premiere chronicler of the foundation myths of Silicon Valley and its adjacent culture-of its high self-regard, of disruptive innovation, of the world that nerds built." - Wired

"Raises genuinely interesting issues about the geopolitics of a warming world." - American Purpose

"Imaginative and utterly realistic." - Bookbub

"Stephenson isn't just playing with words, he's playing with ideas, and he isn't joking either. He is sci-fi's great contrarian, and Fall deserves to be rated as one of the great novels of our time, prophetically and philosophically." - Wall Street Journal on Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

"A one-of-a-kind synthesis of daring and originality, unafraid to venture into wild and unmapped conceptual territory." - New York Times Book Review on Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

"Fall is at once science fiction and fantasy, with quantum computing enabling what amounts to magic, and while Stephenson spins out a pleasingly plausible vision of our near future, he carves out his most comfortable position in the uncertain nexus where that future becomes past and we rewrite our own apocrypha. Vintage Stephenson, which is to say it's like nothing he's ever written." - Wired

"Neal Stephenson's Fall explores higher consciousness, the internet's future, and virtual worldbuilding in one mind-blowing adventure." - Slate

"Stephenson devotees with a taste for Tolkienesque fantasy will revel in the author's imaginative world building . . . . Still, there are enough futuristic, envelope-pushing ideas here, especially related to AI and digital consciousness, to keep even nonfans and science buffs intrigued." - Booklist [starred review] on Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

"There's a lot going on here-stylistic flourishes, comedic pratfalls, romance and science-but it's handled deftly. Those familiar with Stephenson will recognize his humor and ideas." - Washington Post on The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.