this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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[off topic]
I've been telling people to read 'Cryptonomicon' for decades.
It tells two interwoven stories. Back in WW2 the grandfather is involved in proactive missions to keep the Nazis from learning the Allies had broken their codes, and in the late 1990's the grandson is trying to start an online bank
This book also basically predicted cryptocurrency (but not the blockchain stuff)
I had a long flight so I took along Reamde.
I'd read it twice before, but damned if it didn't hook me up again. I got to the first airport around 10 am and didn't get home until 3 am. Saved my sanity.
For the uninitiated, Reamde involves the kidnapped niece of a billionaire game maker; the game is really fun and also a money laundering operation. There are terrorists, Right Wing militias, undercover spies, demented science fiction authors, and a bear skin rug.
I remembering stumbling into this book at a shop a while back, reading the synopsis on the back and then the first page thinking "This should be fun." I was not prepared for how enthralling and deep the story went. Perfect travel book, loved reading it on flights. Would be amazing to see it adapted as an HBO show, especially the hunt in the forest towards the end. I was laughing so hard!
He just casually invented cryptocurrency as a plot device.
My library estimates I'll be able to read it in 7 weeks, so thanks for the future surprise I'll forget about until then.