"The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson

A post-cyberpunk book, meaning it has cyberpunk setting and elements, but those are not the primary focus of the book which can also be classified as 'SteamPunk' as much of the content deals with Neo-Victorian mores and morals. Very interesting vision of the future of nanotechnology and what would it cause if left unchecked and unregulated and completely within the domain of the corporations. Quite a bit of social critique thrown in, from classes in the society and different cultural norms and prerogatives, to the dissolution of nation-states and subsequent formation and grouping of individuals by beliefs, rather than genes.

The book follows the early life of a 'thete' a non-affiliated low-class girl who gets into a possession of a nanotech book, which is actually and educational and virtual reality supercomputer, made to instill values and train the owner to be independent thinker, empowered to tackle pretty much anything life throws at her, which is in stark contrast to the amorphous mass of pleasure-seeking, self-indulging, brain-atrophied mass of commoners and fiercely indoctrinated various 'phyle' members.

Extensive descriptions and explanations, of technology as well as of the social evolution/devolution and norms, take large runs of the book, and make it less dynamic and accessible than it should be, but add to the depth and breadth of the narrative. This is definitely not 'entertainment' sci-fi book, but closer to the intent and structure of books like 1984, although definitely not in the same class.

The story starts slow and the plot only fully develops by the middle of the book (around page 250), and new elements are added all the way to the end, while the conclusion of the book takes only the last 10-20 pages in which many storylines are left unfinished and the fate of many characters left hanging in limbo, unresolved, but this is part of the attractiveness of this book. While violent during the entire length, this violence reaches climax in the last 50 pages of the books with descriptions of rapes, mass murders, corporal dismemberment, etc.

The title of the book is a story in itself, having had the stone, bronze, iron, and the current, steel age, the author presupposes that the next age will be the diamond one, called by the predominant material used in society, as in the nanotechnological era, nanomachines and 'matter compilers' will be able to construct virtually any material directly from molecules and atoms, so producing large quantities of diamond walls, windows, pillars and other structures would be very cheap and commonplace.

The book presents an interesting and disturbing vision of the future of humanity as brought by new and uncontrollable technology, and is definitely a good read for people who also like to think while reading a book.