This is the title that closes the chapter on Stephenson for me. I'd enjoyed Snow Crash enough to overlook the accumulating cuteness that gooed up the end, and I found sufficient merit in Diamond Age to offset the even larger splashes of the same defect marring that volume. Despite its ambitious conception, however, Cryptonomicon is a showcase of sloppy writing and errors of fact. The tone throughout is cleverness so precious it gags. Cute. It's just so preciously cute. Disappointment is compounded when a talented writer mistakes energy for effort.