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Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seveneves, Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon returns with a wildly inventive and entertaining science fiction thriller--Paradise Lost by way of Philip K. Dick--that unfolds in the near future, in parallel worlds.In his youth, Richard "Dodge" Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia. One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his will, he directed that his body be given to a cryonics company now owned by enigmatic tech entrepreneur Elmo Shepherd. Legally bound to follow the directive despite their misgivings, Dodge's family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud, until it can eventually be revived. In the coming years, technology allows Dodge's brain to be turned back on. It is an achievement that is nothing less than the disruption of death itself. An eternal afterlife--the Bitworld--is created, in which humans continue to exist as digital souls. But this brave new immortal world is not the Utopia it might first seem . . . Fall, or Dodge in Hell is pure, unadulterated fun: a grand drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, the finite and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Neal Stephenson raises profound existential questions and touches on the revolutionary breakthroughs that are transforming our future. Combining the technological, philosophical, and spiritual in one grand myth, he delivers a mind-blowing speculative literary saga for the modern age.
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review
DrexEdit
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Mehso-so

I don't know. Ultimately I liked this book and I know Neal Stephenson writes really long books, but I feel like this book could have used some paring down. Plus I wasn't sure what the main thrust of the story was supposed to be? Was it an internet cautionary tale? Was it a story of have and have-nots? Was it a biblical retelling? Was it a technology cautionary tale? ⬇
#ARC @WilliamMorrowBooks
This was my #bookspin for September!
@TheAromaofBooks

DrexEdit Was it a Quest story? It ended up being a little bit of all of these, but some of them I found more interesting than others. When I wasn't interested it was very easy to put the book down and not pick it up again for long periods of time. So the last 2/3rds of the book is fresher in my mind than the beginning. ⬇ 2y
DrexEdit Still I'm glad I finished it. Anytime you finish a 900-page chunkster, you have a real sense of accomplishment! I have read Cryptonomicon and REAMDE, but not the Baroque Cycle, which may put my understanding of these stories a bit out of order. 2y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 2y
29 likes3 comments
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DrexEdit
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Just to make the September #Bookspin official. I thought I was about halfway through Fall or, Dodge in Hell. Turns out I'm only about 1/3 of the way through this 800+ chunkster! And Eleanor Roosevelt v. 3 is about 700 pages. Got my work cut out for me this month!

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Some hefty reads this month!!! 3y
30 likes1 comment
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wanderer15
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Pickpick

An 880-page monster (typical of Stephenson) that gets progressively crazier until a completely bonkers last 100+ pages; this would not be the book of his that I‘d recommend as an entry point but on the whole I greatly enjoyed it. As always, major respect for ambition and creativity - I do agree with other reviewers that the book definitely loses some steam in the latter portions, though.

LiteraryinLawrence Congrats on finishing this humongous book! Now you get to pick a new one! 4y
20 likes1 comment
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DuckOfDoom
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Panpan

This book is near future sci-fi, Bible retelling, and a hero on a quest in this order. On 900 pages. It is too much. In his better books, Stephenson is lengthy at times, but this felt if he tried to do all of this at once and it just did not work out. The last part could have been good, but I overflew the pages because I just wanted it to end.
Interesting concept, but just too much ideas in one book.
#WinterGames TBRread (Buddyread with @julesG

23 likes3 comments
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julesG
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Sunshine, tea, books, and two cats...

#booksandtea
#catsoflitsy

tpixie Mug envy 🥰 and pretty kitties 🐱 4y
brit91 😻😻😻😻 4y
Libby1 I agree with @tpixie on both counts! ❤️❤️ 4y
tpixie @Libby1 😊 (edited) 4y
78 likes1 stack add4 comments
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julesG
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Not sure about misty, but it might be rainy. And there are some mountains around Seattle, right?

#MistyMountains
#SoaringScores @CrowCAH @Cinfhen

PS: the view of the past eight weeks. I am sick and tired of the noise, dirt, and wet wood on my balcony. 😵😠

GingerAntics That is definitely a view spoiler. It‘s definitely wet in Seattle. 4y
CrowCAH Yup, mountains surrounding Seattle. 4y
77 likes2 comments
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julesG
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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This is not a doorstopper, it's a trousers stopper. 😂😂😂

Found this new pair of jeans at the back of my wardrobe. I bought it four years ago and it was a bit tight. Well, now I need to alter it. Just means I have to find a good audiobook to listen to while mending.

@DuckOfDoom #BuddyRead

@wanderinglynn #BFCR4

Tanisha_A Love that picture 🤣 4y
Freespirit Awesome!!! 4y
DuckOfDoom Awesome! 4y
See All 10 Comments
DuckOfDoom I need to losse a few pounds as well, I should read more 😂 4y
julesG @DuckOfDoom Might work. 😁 4y
erzascarletbookgasm Fantastic! 👏 4y
Avanders 👏🏽👏🏽🥰 4y
ljuliel Good for you ✨✨✨✨ 4y
wanderinglynn Awesome! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y
85 likes1 stack add10 comments
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julesG
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Thursday mornings don't usually look like this. Thanks to a bank holiday I may drink tea and read in bed. Normally, I'd try to get my kids out of bed and ready for school at this time (7am).

Catching up on my #BuddyRead with @DuckOfDoom - I have reached Part 4,btw.

DuckOfDoom Have just reached part 3. But I hope I catch up until Sunday! 4y
LiteraryinLawrence Enjoy your extra reading time! 4y
julesG @DuckOfDoom I'm a slow reader at the moment. Might not get to chapter 20 until Sunday. 4y
66 likes3 comments
review
scowler1
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Mehso-so

A bit too long this, I got bored by the end as it seemed to drag on to it's obvious conclusion.

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saresmoore
Fall | Neal Stephenson
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It looks like my husband and my youngest daughter are in competition for who‘s reading the fattest book. I estimate that neither will finish before the new year. 🙃

LauraBeth They have four months! They can do it! 5y
vivastory What is the verdict on the Stephenson? I almost picked it up while book shopping this weekend.. 5y
saresmoore @vivastory I haven‘t read it yet, but from what Bryan describes, I think you‘d like it. 5y
LeahBergen I think your daughter‘s looks better. 😉 5y
saresmoore @LeahBergen I agree! This is the fifth in a series and they‘re all fab. There‘s lots of drama and great characters, plus a really intriguing premise. Elliott loves them! 5y
109 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Owlizabeth
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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What to do when the kiddo wakes you up at 3? Get some quiet reading in on some #chunksters!

The Overstory is amaaaaazing.

I love Neal Stephenson, but can the man write a book under 500 pages??? I‘m nervous about this one, v. v. mixed reviews.

65 likes1 stack add
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Owlizabeth
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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#libraryhaul- I may have a too many books problem...

JacqMac I don‘t think you‘re alone in that. 😂 5y
Trashcanman I've been banned from my local supermarket. They are places of wonder. 5y
58 likes2 comments
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Lizpixie
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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#BookMail Pt8 As a big SciFi fan, I‘m constantly surprised by how many of the top authors of the genre I haven‘t read yet! There‘s so much talent in this area, you could read a different writer every day for a year & still have many more to try. This novel by Stephenson is actually the 2nd in an informal set featuring the character of Dodge, a billionaire that runs a virtual world, the 1st being Reamde which is on order for me from Booktopia.

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cookreadsleep
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
Mehso-so

This book was just too long. It stared off super interesting and fun but then it just kept going. So many bible stories were included. So many other details were added that just weren‘t necessary. So many things were built up that just didn‘t really go anywhere or mean anything in the end. If this had been divided into a trilogy, i would have stopped at the second book which i would have tried because the first was amazing.

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Jason7
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Mehso-so

This novel is a sequel to Reamde, which I didn‘t love but liked enough to try this one. Twelve hours into this novel, I would have said this was a much better audiobook than Reamde. Then, it started to lose steam and slowly petered out. By the end, I wasn‘t interested in the outcome. Some of the interesting storylines were abandoned, and there was a lot of filler. Still, I stuck with it til the bitter end. Overall rating: 3.82 stars.

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cookreadsleep
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson

“The softer illumination if the nighttime brought relief from seeing and knowing so much, and made it so that even the most industrious souls could find a few hours‘ relief from the intensity of their perceptions and the burdens thereof.”

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Branwen
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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I've got a dilemma, littens. I just reached the halfway point in this book. It started off strong, but the last 100 pages or so have really slogged. I feel like I'm forcing myself to keep picking it up. The only thing is, it's almost 900 pages. 😐 I already read about 450 pages. If I give up now, is all that time wasted? Since I've come this far do I try to push through to completion? Or do I throw in the towel? Thoughts? 🤔📚

vivastory I very rarely bail. Maybe set it aside for a few days & see if you feel like reading it next week. 5y
Avanders What about pushing through w audio? I find that sometimes that‘s a huge help! 5y
JanuarieTimewalker13 You‘ll known when enough is enough, you‘ll start pondering (which you already have) if the time of your life invested is worth it. Some books have a payoff, others just bore you to tears so badly you don‘t even care if there‘s a payoff. 5y
See All 8 Comments
JaclynW @Avanders I often switch to audio too, that usually does the trick. 5y
jen_the_scribe I'm one who tends to bail. Life is too short to spend your time forcing your way through a tedious, boring book rather than switching it for one you really enjoy. 5y
DaveGreen7777 Hmmm... 🧐 400+ pages seems like a lot to go through if you‘re not really enjoying the book. I think maybe cut your losses this time around and try the book again at another time if you want? 5y
Branwen @DaveGreen7777 @jen_the_scribe @JaclynW @Avanders @JanuarieTimewalker13 @vivastory Thanks so much for all your wonderful advice, friends! Sadly, my library does not have the audiobook version of this book. 😔 I tried reading a few more chapters last night and kept falling asleep. I think I'm going to move on to some other new library books I checked out today. Who knows, I may pick it back up again someday! 😀📚💕 5y
JanuarieTimewalker13 Smart move👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽there‘s so many books to love📚💥 5y
51 likes8 comments
review
Shay
Fall | Neal Stephenson
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Mehso-so

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this title.
In general, I was more interested in the events back in the “real” world, rather than the development of The Land. The end of death as we know it has profound effects on Meatspace, not all of which Stephenson takes the time to fully explore. The resulting story is a strange brew of mythology and scripture, meandering at times, and engrossing at others. Full review: https://wp.me/p2P6GA-591

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Branwen
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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I'm only about a hundred pages in, but I'm already really loving this book so far. A super interesting concept with lots of descriptive details that help flesh out the story. I can't wait to keep reading! 🤗💕📚 #littenkitten #catsoflitsy

Leftcoastzen 😻 5y
CatLass007 😻😻😻😻😻 5y
60 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Shay
Fall | Neal Stephenson
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Still working my way through this 800+ page beast! It has been a weird ride so far.

1 like1 stack add
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Shay
Fall | Neal Stephenson
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A strong contender for worst sex scene of the year. Although it is possibly deliberately bad.

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danibel
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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YESSSSSSsss

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LittlePixels
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Please let the phrase "doodle containment" become a thing! ??? Between the continued use of "doodle" and the way they "perform sexual intercourse", this is pretty much the least erotic sex scene I've ever read! Absolutely loving the book so far, but come on...Neal Stephenson couldn't come up with anything better than "perform sexual intercourse"?? ?

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LittlePixels
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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New Neal Stephenson! *happy dance* Paired with pizza and MexiCoke, does it get any better than this? 😄🥰#readandeat #newrelease

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speljamr
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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New release Tuesday! Nothing better than coming home to find one of my pre-orders delivered.

Geeklet Isn‘t that the best feeling? I hope that one is a good one! 5y
speljamr @Geeklet There are so many good ones coming out this summer, there will be surprises every month. 5y
LittlePixels Reading this one now. I pre-ordered and have been counting the days! ❤️ Neal Stephenson. 5y
79 likes2 stack adds3 comments
review
AiBBot
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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Pickpick

Well...there goes gardening/adulting for a while.

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heikemarie
Fall | Neal Stephenson
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It‘s Friday, I JUST got to the classic Stephenson move in this ARC of his new book out Tuesday (to completely change direction/time frame on this story making me scramble@to catch up), and I‘ve got a raspberry iced tea. Sometimes - only sometimes - being an adult is great.

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DrexEdit
Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell | Neal Stephenson
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I won a giveaway! I almost never do but then I don't enter all that many either. Only for books I really want to read. Looking forward to this tale about uploading your brain to the cloud. 👍😂😂☁️ Thanks @WilliamMorrowBooks!