John Williams wrote: > Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >> Well, maybe I'll look at it and weigh it (and I could do that in >> more than one way!) and at least think about it. > > It definitely gets better. I'm on page 235 and I can't put it down. > The first 80 pages were tough going for me, with long descriptive > passages in Stephenson's invented vocabulary, but now that I have > gotten used to the vocabulary, and some action and mystery has > started, it has me hooked.
XKCD, that infinite source of wisdom, has also commented on the vocabulary: http://www.xkcd.com/483/ I haven't read Anathem, but I'd say he pulled it off well in Snow Crash, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, language _will_ evolve when new phenomena and concepts are discovered/invented. I'd say modern authors are better at handling this, rather calling a new concept a "car" or "auto" than "horseless, automotive carriage". Instead, they will let the meaning become clear through context or even by constructing the word well, so that the etymology becomes clear on sight. Snow Crash is an excellent example, since much of the terminology is intuitive to a reader 17 years later, I guess partly due to the culture assimilating his terminology (e.g. "metaverse"), but also due to a certain degree of prescience. /c _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
