This was definitely less cerebral that the other Stephenson books I’ve read like Cryptonomicon, Anathem, and even more of a “romp” than Snow Crash was. I kind of like the asides about currency, philosophy, and cryptography wound into the plot of his books, which I felt were missing here. (Although there is extensive material about virtual worlds, which I don’t feel were as technical as the topics prevalent in other books.) Still, I enjoyed the fast-paced plot (his books sometimes feel plodding), and the way characters’ arcs wound and unwound.