Themes & Tropes in the works of Neal Stephenson
If you haven't read the full-ish works of Neal Stephenson, there are spoilers here. Then again, if you haven't read at least some of the works of Neal Stephenson, you probably would not find any of this interesting or even approachable.
There are a number of themes that crop up repeatedly in the works of Neal Stephenson. They can also be called "Tropes", as defined at TV Tropes.
A simple example: Strong female hero or co-hero characters:
- Sarah Jane Johnson and Hyacinth in The Big U
- Debbie in Zodiac (will look it up next time the book is handy)
- Y.T. and Juanita Marquez in Snow Crash
- Nell and Miranda in The Diamond Age
- Glory Altamira, America ("Amy") Shaftoe, Julieta Kivistik, and Mary cCmndhd (pronounced "Smith") in Cryptonomicon
- Eliza in The Baroque Cycle
- Ala and Cord in Anathem
- Zula in REAMDE
In fact, that's just about every main female character throughout the books. What does strong mean? For one thing, it means independent. None of these ladies are wallflowers who are going to wait for some prince to come galloping in and save them - they're all armed with either weapons, moral authority, or both. It means innovative - when necessary, they come up with the ideas and make the plans to succeed.
Currently Reading
2nd in a series; the story itself isn't fabulous, but this is one of those series where you read them to hear more about the protagonist. Uthred is a Saxon raised by Danes, so of course he doesn't fit neatly into either society, and what does a Viking do when he doesn't fit? He fights.