The Diamond Age

Neal Stephenson (author)

Penguin Books, USA: 1995; 499pp

ISBN: 014027037X 

Note: extension concepts and vocabulary, some sexual scenes and references

Genre: science fiction

Issues: corruption, identity, peer pressure, politics, philosophy, social cohesion, values

Nell lives in a futuristic world where all things come from the Source, a seemingly endless vat of primary material that can be processed into anything needed by anyone from her society.

With the development of nanotechnology and efficient, rapid communication, nation-states no longer exist. Instead the world is divided into tribal groups based upon different values systems. People elect to become members of whichever group works best for them.

Into this somewhat confusing and anarchic world comes ‘The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer', a remarkable book that is almost magical in the way its artificial intelligence responds to its reader's environment and stage of learning. It has been designed to educate a girl from the age of about five - only that girl was not supposed to be Nell. As a result there are many powerful and dangerous people who would like to get their hands on Nell's primer. The knowledge she gains from it will change not only her life but perhaps her entire society forever. Such a tool is dangerous indeed - a subversive weapon, one might even say.

This is a challenging novel in many ways. The narrative lines are incredibly complex and take nearly fifty pages to set up with the result that the novel is initially quite slow and at times confusing as many different characters, contexts and events are partially introduced in a way that is reminiscent of ‘The Lord of the Rings'. It's unsurprising that Stephenson has released so few novels as the preparation and organization required to write such a dense narrative must be considerable.

In what is truly an ‘ensemble piece', where many characters have near-equal significance in terms of moving the narrative forward, ‘The Diamond Age' is really a story about moral development. Each character is put in situations where they have to make decisions that affect themselves and others, decisions that are often about choosing the ‘least bad' situation or course of action. As each character's morality has been influenced by their ‘tribal upbringing', Stephenson therefore explores the different mores of various sociocultural structures - neo-Victorian values, a society based on Confucian principles, Maoism and many others, including anarchic characters without allegiance. This gives the novel the depth of a anthropological study without in any way lessening its value as an interesting and complicated adventure in a highly technological world.

Unfortunately, after all the careful interweaving of characters and story arcs, the conclusion is somewhat hasty and unsatisfying. Despite that, The Diamond Age is a must read for science fiction readers who have enjoyed such titles as Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness and Asimov's Foundation series.