Seveneves: My brain and soul both hurt a wee bit

Neal Stephenson has a way of dragging folks through broken glass and making them thank him afterwards for the opportunity.

Thanks back,Neal! The cuts and bruises are critical components of the tale.

In the first page of the novel ‘seveneves’, the moon inexplicably fractures into Seven enormous parts. There was just a quick puff of dust, a cloud of debris, then the permanent reordering of the night sky.

By page fifteen, humans realize that these Moon fractures will culminate in a death knell that will ring for five thousand years.

After reading this, I would say that I truely enjoyed about eighty percent of it. There is a plot tone shift that happens at eigthy percent that while enjoyable, felt askance. The book could have just as easily ended and told the tale just as well.

For the majority of the book, every page of plot includes a page of technical fact. Without these pages the book would fall flat, unable to truely explain why every single breath matters and why a pebble or misplaced mathematical remainder could end humanity.