The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Writing: 4 Plot: 4 Characters: 5

New word: Mickle (archaic scottish) means large

It’s been awhile since I’ve actually finished a Neal Stephenson book – I loved Snow Crash, Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon but haven’t been able to complete anything since. Did make it through this one – a convoluted, action-packed, story of witches, time travel, the military-industrial complex, and romps through history.

Interesting characters – Melisande Stokes, a classical scholar who jumps at the chance for a real salary when approached by Tristan Lyons, who needs a translator for a giant pile of ancient documents all of which mention witches; Erzsabet Karpathy, a Hungarian witch who has kept herself miserably alive for 150 years in order to help bring magic back once it dies completely in 1851; and the Odas – Frank (MIT physics professor) and his wife Rebecca.

Frankly a little more action than I care for (I get bored), but great plot twists and scenes of modern characters traveling through history and historic characters (anachrons) experiencing the modern day.

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