Neal Stephenson

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Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and baroque.

Stephenson's work explores mathematics, cryptography, linguistics, philosophy, currency, and the history of science. He also writes nonfiction articles about technology in publications such as Wired. He has written novels with his uncle, George Jewsbury ("J. Frederick George"), under the collective pseudonym Stephen Bury.

Stephenson has worked part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, a company (founded by Jeff Bezos) developing a spacecraft and a space launch system,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and also co-founded the Subutai Corporation, whose first offering is the interactive fiction project The Mongoliad. He was Magic Leap's Chief Futurist from 2014 to 2020.<ref name="WSJ2020">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life

Born on October 31, 1959, in Fort Meade, Maryland,<ref name=orwellclass/> Stephenson came from a family of engineers and scientists; his father is a professor of electrical engineering and his paternal grandfather was a physics professor. His mother worked in a biochemistry laboratory and her father was a biochemistry professor. Stephenson's family moved to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1960, and to Ames, Iowa, in 1966. He graduated from Ames High School in 1977.<ref name=mac/>

Stephenson studied at Boston University,<ref name =mac/> first specializing in physics, then switching to geography after he found that it would allow him to spend more time on the university mainframe.<ref name=yamamato/> He graduated in 1981 with a B.A. in geography and a minor in physics.<ref name=mac/>

Since 1984, Stephenson has lived mostly in the Pacific Northwest and as of 2012 lived in Seattle with his family.<ref name=mac/>

Writing

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Discussing Anathem at MIT in 2008

Stephenson's first novel, The Big U, published in 1984, is a satirical take on life at American Megaversity, a vast, bland, and alienating research university beset by chaotic riots.<ref name=sfhandbook/><ref name=hybridfictions/> His next novel, Zodiac (1988), is a thriller following a radical environmentalist in his struggle against corporate polluters.<ref name=sfhandbook/> Neither novel attracted much critical attention on first publication, but both showcased concerns that Stephenson developed in his later work.<ref name=sfhandbook/>

Stephenson's breakthrough came in 1992 with Snow Crash, a cyberpunk or postcyberpunk novel fusing memetics, computer viruses, and other high-tech themes with Sumerian mythology, along with a sociological extrapolation of extreme laissez-faire capitalism and collectivism.<ref name=hybridfictions/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Mike Godwin described Stephenson at this time as "a slight, unassuming grad-student type whose soft-spoken demeanor gave no obvious indication that he had written the manic apotheosis of cyberpunk science fiction."<ref name=pastpresentfuture/> In 1994, Stephenson and his uncle, J. Frederick George, published a political thriller, Interface, under the pen name "Stephen Bury";<ref name=cryptomancer/> they followed this in 1996 with The Cobweb.

Stephenson's next solo novel, published in 1995, was The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. The plot involves a weapon implanted in a character's skull, near-limitless replicators for everything from mattresses to foods, smartpaper, and air and blood-sanitizing nanobots. It is set in a world with a neo-Victorian social structure.

This was followed by Cryptonomicon in 1999, a novel including concepts ranging from Alan Turing's research into codebreaking and cryptography during World War II, to a modern attempt to set up a data haven. Cryptonomicon won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award in 2013.

The Baroque Cycle is a series of historical novels set in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in some respects a prequel to Cryptonomicon. It was originally published in three volumes of two or three books each—Quicksilver (2003), The Confusion (2004), and The System of the World (2004)—but was subsequently republished as eight separate books: Quicksilver, King of the Vagabonds, Odalisque, Bonanza, Juncto, Solomon's Gold, Currency, and System of the World. (The titles and exact breakdown vary in different markets.) The System of the World won the Prometheus Award in 2005.

Next, Stephenson wrote Anathem (2008), a long, detailed work of speculative fiction. It is set in an Earthlike world, deals with metaphysics, and refers heavily to Ancient Greek philosophy. Anathem won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2009.

In 2010, the Subutai Corporation, of which Stephenson was named chairman, announced the production of an experimental multimedia fiction project, The Mongoliad, which centered on a narrative by Stephenson and other speculative fiction authors.<ref name=fastcompany/><ref name=subutaicorp/>

Stephenson's novel Reamde was released in 2011.<ref name=reamde/> The title is a play on the common filename README. A thriller set in the present, it centers around a group of MMORPG developers caught in the middle of Chinese cyber-criminals, Islamic terrorists, and Russian mafia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2012, Stephenson released a collection of essays and other previously published fiction, Some Remarks: Essays and Other Writing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It also includes a new essay and a short story written specifically for this volume.

In 2013, Stephenson said he was working on a multi-volume work of historical novels that would "have a lot to do with scientific and technological themes and how those interact with the characters and civilisation during a particular span of history". He expected the first two volumes to be released in 2014.<ref name="BBC">Kelion, Leo. (2013-09-17) BBC News - Neal Stephenson on tall towers and NSA cyber-spies Template:Webarchive. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref> But at about the same time, he shifted his attention to a science fiction novel, Seveneves, which was completed about a year later and published in May 2015.<ref name=NS_Seveneves>Template:Cite web</ref> On June 8, 2016, plans were announced to adapt Seveneves for the screen.<ref name="Seveneves film">Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2016, during a video discussion with Bill Gates, Stephenson said he had just submitted the manuscript for a new historical novel—"a time travel book"—co-written with Nicole Galland, one of his Mongoliad coauthors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This book, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., was released in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, his novel Fall; or, Dodge in Hell was published. It is a near-future novel that explores mind uploading into the cloud, and contains characters from Reamde, Cryptonomicon, and other books.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Termination Shock, published in 2021, is a climate fiction novel about solar geoengineering.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Writing style

Stephenson's books tend to have elaborate plots that draw on numerous technological and sociological ideas. The discursive nature of his writing together with significant plot and character complexity and an abundance of detail suggests a baroque writing style, which Stephenson brought fully to bear in his Baroque Cycle.<ref name=systemcapsule/>

Outside of writing

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Stephenson at the Starship Century Symposium at UCSD in 2013

Stephenson worked at Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos's spaceflight company, for seven years in the early 2000s while its focus was on "novel alternate approaches to space, alternate propulsion systems, and business models." He left after Blue became a more standard aerospace company.<ref name=tsr20180319>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:AnchorIn 2012, Stephenson launched a Kickstarter campaign for Clang, a realistic sword-fighting fantasy game. The concept was to use motion control to provide an immersive experience. The campaign's funding goal of $500,000 was reached by the target date of July 9, 2012, but funding options remained open and the project continued to accept contributions on its official site.<ref>Twitter / subutaicorp: @LordBronco We're still taking Template:Webarchive. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref> The project ran out of money in September 2013.<ref>Famous Kickstarter Turns Into Complete Disaster Template:Webarchive. Kotaku.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref> This, and the circumstances around it, angered some backers,<ref>THUD: Development Of Neal Stephenson’s CLANG Halted Template:Webarchive. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref> and some threatened a class action lawsuit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Clang project ended in September 2014 without being completed. Stephenson took some responsibility for the project's failure, saying, "I probably focused too much on historical accuracy and not enough on making it sufficiently fun to attract additional investment".<ref name="CLANG Final Update">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2014, the Florida-based augmented reality company Magic Leap hired Stephenson as Chief Futurist.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He left the company in 2020 as part of a layoff.<ref name="WSJ2020" /> In 2021, Stephenson and colleagues Sean Stewart and Austin Grossman released New Found Land: The Long Haul, an Audible audio drama based on the intellectual property they developed at Magic Leap.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, Stephenson launched Lamina1 to build an open source metaverse that will use smart contracts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on a blockchain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Influence

Stephenson's writing is influential in technology circles. Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, John Carmack, and Peter Thiel are all fans of his work.<ref name="Wired">Template:Cite news</ref> In Snow Crash, Stephenson coined the term Metaverse<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and popularized the term avatar in a computing context.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Metaverse inspired the inventors of Google Earth,<ref name="Wired"/> and Snow Crash was required reading on the Xbox development team under Microsoft executive J Allard.<ref name="BBC"/> According to academic Paul Youngquist, Snow Crash also dealt the cyberpunk genre a "killer blow".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> According to Publishers Weekly, Cryptonomicon is "often credited with sketching the basis for cryptocurrency".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Publications

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Stephenson in 2008

Novels

The Big U (1984)
Zodiac (1988)
Snow Crash (1992) – British Science Fiction Association Award nominee, 1993; Clarke Award nominee, 1994<ref name=locusindex/>
Interface (1994) with J. Frederick George, as "Stephen Bury"
The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (1995) – Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1996; Nebula, Campbell and Clarke Awards nominee, 1996<ref name=locusindex/>
The Cobweb (1996) with J. Frederick George, as "Stephen Bury"
Cryptonomicon (1999) – Locus SF Award winner, 2000;<ref name=locusindex/> Hugo and Clarke Awards nominee, 2000;<ref name=locusindex/> 2013 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award
Quicksilver (2003), volume I of The Baroque Cycle – Clarke Award winner, 2004;<ref name=locusindex/> Locus SF Award nominee, 2004<ref name=locusindex/>
The Confusion (2004), volume II of The Baroque Cycle – Locus SF Award winner, 2005
The System of the World (2004), volume III of The Baroque Cycle – Locus SF Award winner, 2005; Prometheus Award winner, 2005; Clarke Award nominee, 2005<ref name=locusindex/>
Anathem (2008) – Locus SF Award winner, 2009; British Science Fiction Association Award nominee, 2008; Hugo and Clarke Awards nominee, 2009<ref name=locusindex/>
The Mongoliad (2010–2012)
Reamde (2011)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Seveneves (2015)<ref name=NS_Seveneves/> Hugo Award for Best Novel nominee
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (2017) with Nicole Galland<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell (2019)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
New Found Land: The Long Haul (2021) with Austin Grossman and Sean Stewart. Audible Original audiobook.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Termination Shock (2021)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Polostan (2024), volume one of the planned Bomb Light series<ref name="NYT-review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WAPO-review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kirkus-review">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Short fiction

"Spew" (1994), in Hackers (1996)
"The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995), Time
"Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of Tribes of the Pacific Coast" in Full Spectrum 5 (1995)
"Jipi and the Paranoid Chip" (1997), Forbes
"Crunch" (1997), in Disco 2000 (edited by Sarah Champion, 1998) ("Crunch" is a chapter from Cryptonomicon)
"Atmosphæra Incognita" (2013), in Starship Century: Toward the Grandest Horizon (edited by Gregory Benford and James Benford)

Other fiction projects

Project Hieroglyph, founded in 2011, administered by Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination since 2012. Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future, ed. Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer, which includes contributions by Stephenson (preface and chapter "Atmosphæra Incognita"), was published by William Morrow in September, 2014.

Non-fiction

"Smiley's People". 1993.
"In the Kingdom of Mao Bell". Wired. 1994. "A billion Chinese are using new technology to create the fastest growing economy on the planet. But while the information wants to be free, do they?"
"Mother Earth Mother Board". Wired. 1996. "In which the Hacker Tourist ventures forth across three continents, telling the story of the business and technology of undersea fiber-optic cables, as well as an account of the laying of the longest wire on Earth."
"Global Neighborhood Watch". Wired. 1998. Stopping street crime in the global village.
In the Beginning... Was the Command Line. Harper Perennial. 1999. Template:ISBN.
"Communication Prosthetics: Threat, or Menace? Template:Webarchive" Whole Earth Review, Summer 2001.
"Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out". Op-ed piece on Star Wars, in The New York Times, June 17, 2005.
"It's All Geek To Me". Op-ed piece on the film 300 and geek culture, The New York Times, March 18, 2007.
"Atoms of Cognition: Metaphysics in the Royal Society 1715–2010", chapter in Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society, edited by Bill Bryson. Stephenson discusses the legacy of the rivalry between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, November 2, 2010.
"Space Stasis". Slate. February 2, 2011. "What the strange persistence of rockets can teach us about innovation."
"Innovation Starvation Template:Webarchive". World Policy Journal, 2011.
Some Remarks: Essays and Other Writing. William Morrow. 2012. Template:ISBN.