Who Would Like This Book:
If you love time travel, clever takes on magic, and a hearty serving of government bureaucracy satire, this one will absolutely be your jam! Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland build a wild world where science, linguistics, and witchcraft collide - and the action zips from academic hallways to historic settings. Fans of genre-bending books, snappy dialogue, and stories that don’t take themselves too seriously are in for a treat. Bonus points if you appreciate humor mixed in with your high-stakes adventure.
Who May Not Like This Book:
People who prefer tightly edited, fast-paced narratives might find it a slog - there’s a lot of worldbuilding, a big cast, and heaps of memos and correspondence-style chapters. If you bounce off of stories with multiple perspectives or aren’t big on the intersection of fantasy and bureaucracy, it may test your patience. Some readers have also found it forgettable after the fact, so if you’re looking for something deeply moving or ultra-memorable, manage your expectations.
About:
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. is a sci-fi fantasy novel that follows a bureau in the US government called the Department of Diachronic Operations (D.O.D.O.) as they utilize time travel, magic, and bureaucracy to save history. The story involves a group of scientists trying to bring back magic by finding the last known witch and conducting time travel in a scientific manner. The book combines elements of history, technology, and magic with a humorous tone, creating a wacky and unique time travel adventure.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Has Romance?
The book contains elements of romance that are intertwined with the main narrative, impacting character development.
From The Publisher:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist!
B & N Editor's Pick - Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017
From bestselling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidently meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: she must swear herself to secrecy in return for the rather large sum of money.
Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London's Crystal Palace-the world's fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world "jams" the "frequencies" used by magic, and it's up to Tristan to find out why.
And so the Department of Diachronic Operations-D.O.D.O.-gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back, and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive . . . and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial-and treacherous-nature of the human heart.
Written with the genius, complexity, and innovation that characterize all of Neal Stephenson's work and steeped with the down-to-earth warmth and humor of Nicole Galland's storytelling style, this exciting and vividly realized work of science fiction will make you believe in the impossible, and take you to places-and times-beyond imagining.
Ratings (47)
Incredible (8) | |
Loved It (14) | |
Liked It (11) | |
It Was OK (8) | |
Did Not Like (5) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (142):
Read It (47) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (59) | |
Did Not Finish (6) | |
Not Interested (29) |
3 comment(s)
i love this collaboration
not sure how they did it, but the two authors blended their work to create a fresh voice
told in diary entries, memos, chat messages, and intranet postings (among other things)
this time travel/magic as military resource is reminiscent of connie willis
NO HIGHER PRAISE
and somehow, these two managed to write a satisfying 700+ pages that's really just a preview for another adventure story, and i am on board for it
1.5
I almost DNF’d this a dozen times. It was far to long and tedious. The acronyms got way out of hand; the “plot” got too convoluted with so many story branches which just sort of meandered over and alongside each other. There were way too many characters to keep track of; the quantum science got a bit beyond me and the story; man it *dragged*.
I don’t know why I kept plodding through but I did and when I finally, *finally* finished it, I was left... decidedly underwhelmed. That is two weeks of prime summer reading that I could have spent reading something more enjoyable. Should have stuck with my initial instinct to table it and start something else. Oh well.
I cannot stress this enough! Listen to the Audiobook!
What can you read after
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.?
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
