

Across the world, a group of young and talented Chinese hackers and T’Rain players devise an elaborate gold-farming ransom scheme. He is a former drug smuggler who funneled his profits into a computer gaming company and turned T’Rain into the most popular computer game on the planet.

Stephenson centers on Richard Forthrast, the founder and owner of the Fortune 500 company that manages T’Rain, an MMORPG. If you are a cybersecurity professional, you will not learn anything new here, but you will appreciate a ripping good story told within the boundaries of the cybersecurity community you know. While it is a wildly imaginative story, the details are real and correct. It is classic Stephenson, and not quite as dense as some of his other works. The novel has everything that a cyber thriller needs: Chinese hackers, Russian mafia, cyber crime, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), hacking culture, and guns. Here is a third: a high-octane, straight-up cyber thriller that elevates the genre in the process. Some of his work can be found in Wired, and he has also featured in heavyweight discussions, including those with major technologists including none other than Bill Gates.I’ve already reviewed two Neal Stephenson works, Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, for inclusion in the Canon. Neal Stephenson is a respected academic and has published nonfiction accordingly. Is there any Neal Stephenson nonfiction work, or does he publish only fiction? The novel has since been re-released and credited to the true authors. Interestingly, Stephenson collaborated with the author George Jewsbury under a joint pen name, ‘Stephen Bury’, for their collaborative work Interface. Has Stephenson ever published under a pen name? Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are two of his best-loved works of this type. However, Stephenson is probably best known for his techcentric works of sci fi, with a particular proficiency in the cyberpunk and nanotech subgenres. As well as the science fiction he is best known for, Stephenson has published works of historical fiction, and has also dabbled with humor. Yes, one of the interesting features of Stephenson’s career is his track record of publishing in a wide range of different styles.

Has Neal Stephenson published in multiple styles? This scientific rigor can be found throughout his work, as one of the hallmarks of a Neal Stephenson story is a lot of scientifically thorough conceptual detail. Both of his parents were serious academic scientists, and Stephenson himself studies geography and physics at University. Like many of the finest sci fi authors, Neal Stephenson has a serious scientific background.
