--- product_id: 253917156 title: "Cryptonomicon" price: "£19.79" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 5 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/253917156-cryptonomicon store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Cryptonomicon **Price:** £19.79 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Cryptonomicon - **How much does it cost?** £19.79 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/253917156-cryptonomicon) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Cryptonomicon : Stephenson, Neal: desertcart.ae: Books Review: I discovered Neal Stephenson a little later than many of his fans, simply not being aware of him until I read an interview with another author who simply raved about him. I browsed his books to find what seemed like the best one to introduce me to him and settled on Cryptonomicon. I was very quickly immersed in it, and found it to be a mind-blowing mixture of great narrative and big ideas. Neal Stephenson has written science fiction as you would normally know it, but this comes from a different angle in that he writes about how science and technology change the world here and now. Most science fiction does the same, but portrays the future or alternative reality resulting from that progress. Here Stephenson tells the story of the moments that the world changed. The springboard for the story is Turing's development of the first computer to break the Enigma code during World War Two. From there we are given a less well-known, mostly fictional tale of people and events connected with that breakthrough - the people supporting Turing and trying to keep the existence of the ultimate code breaking machine from the enemy, and the efforts to achieve breakthroughs in cracking new codes. This story is epic enough, spanning all the theatres of war from Europe to Australia, paying special attention to the pivotal role of the Philippines in the war effort. Also interwoven with this narrative though, is the story of a new breed of technologists in the year 2000, some of whom are descendants of the characters in the wartime story. The children and grandchildren of Turing's contemporaries are engaged in a different kind of battle on a new frontier. It's still about codebreaking and communication, but now it's about data encryption, new communications technology and the digital flow of money and information around the world. The thousand page result is a complex and thrilling story - at its start, mathematicians provide the real breakthrough in the war effort more powerful than an atom bomb. What they create is a computer, and a massive leap forward in encryption and codebreaking. The result was a new era of technology, forged in the furnace of global war, transforming the world we live in. Decades later, we use the technology developed since then to explore new possibilities and break new ground; and the technology, breakthroughs, wars and developments of the past are the ancestors of the technology that runs the world in the present. In a sense the story set at the turn of the 21st century is just a function of Stephenson's big idea. We are all descended from the people who built the future, or fought for it. The technology we use is descended from the inventions and work of previous generations. The computers and communications tools in use today derive from tools built to fight the Nazis. The seas where we lay cables to send information around the world in the blink of an eye still bear the marks of the battles fought there before. The plans we hatch, the future we build, the battles we fight are one way or another a continuation of plans, futures and battles that have been in play since before we were born. It's perhaps inevitable that the invention of the first computer as a means of breaking the Enigma code, the struggles across multiple theatres of war and riding in jeeps with MacArthur or on bicycles with Alan Turing will possess more drama and weight than modern day storylines where most of the fighting is done in the boardroom or on the telephone. Perhaps the one false note in the book is Stephenson's attempt to inject drama into the more recent events so they are not overshadowed by the sound and fury of World War Two. But this story set more or less in the present is necessary for the reader to connect to the narrative, and the idea that what went before built we are today. And there is still much to savour in the modern storyline, especially as the number of connections and echoes of the wartime story begins to increase and the whole picture of Stephenson's story emerges. The criticisms in other reviews of Cryptonomicon centre around the length of the book, the events Stephenson has chosen to focus on, the ancestry of the modern characters and the sheer level of detail provided to the story. It's true the story is immensely long and detailed, the interwoven storylines very complex, with long descriptions of mathematical concepts complete with graphs and illustrations. They are fundamental to the novel, though, so it's really a case of whether you're prepared to persevere with that for the huge rewards the book has to offer. For me, the world Stephenson creates is so enthralling that I'm glad it went on for a thousand pages so I could keep experiencing it. It's full of quirks and little changes to the world we know, just to keep you on your toes - for some reason, Wales and the Isle of Man seem to have merged into one in Stephenson's reality. This book opened up a whole new world for me and I became a confirmed Neal Stephenson fan on the strength of this novel. It's also a perfect stopping off point to get you into the Stephenson universe, if you intend to read his magisterial Baroque Cycle. Review: Great read ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #85,327 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #14 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction #61 in Norse & Viking Myth & Legend #68 in Military Science Fiction | | Customer reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (902) | | Dimensions | 10.64 x 4.45 x 17.15 cm | | Edition | Reprint | | ISBN-10 | 0060512806 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0060512804 | | Item weight | 294 g | | Language | English | | Print length | 1168 pages | | Publication date | 5 November 2002 | | Publisher | William Morrow Paperbacks | ## Images ![Cryptonomicon - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81L++lvompL.jpg) ![Cryptonomicon - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Gf9Jm8FEL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review *by A***R on 24 August 2012* I discovered Neal Stephenson a little later than many of his fans, simply not being aware of him until I read an interview with another author who simply raved about him. I browsed his books to find what seemed like the best one to introduce me to him and settled on Cryptonomicon. I was very quickly immersed in it, and found it to be a mind-blowing mixture of great narrative and big ideas. Neal Stephenson has written science fiction as you would normally know it, but this comes from a different angle in that he writes about how science and technology change the world here and now. Most science fiction does the same, but portrays the future or alternative reality resulting from that progress. Here Stephenson tells the story of the moments that the world changed. The springboard for the story is Turing's development of the first computer to break the Enigma code during World War Two. From there we are given a less well-known, mostly fictional tale of people and events connected with that breakthrough - the people supporting Turing and trying to keep the existence of the ultimate code breaking machine from the enemy, and the efforts to achieve breakthroughs in cracking new codes. This story is epic enough, spanning all the theatres of war from Europe to Australia, paying special attention to the pivotal role of the Philippines in the war effort. Also interwoven with this narrative though, is the story of a new breed of technologists in the year 2000, some of whom are descendants of the characters in the wartime story. The children and grandchildren of Turing's contemporaries are engaged in a different kind of battle on a new frontier. It's still about codebreaking and communication, but now it's about data encryption, new communications technology and the digital flow of money and information around the world. The thousand page result is a complex and thrilling story - at its start, mathematicians provide the real breakthrough in the war effort more powerful than an atom bomb. What they create is a computer, and a massive leap forward in encryption and codebreaking. The result was a new era of technology, forged in the furnace of global war, transforming the world we live in. Decades later, we use the technology developed since then to explore new possibilities and break new ground; and the technology, breakthroughs, wars and developments of the past are the ancestors of the technology that runs the world in the present. In a sense the story set at the turn of the 21st century is just a function of Stephenson's big idea. We are all descended from the people who built the future, or fought for it. The technology we use is descended from the inventions and work of previous generations. The computers and communications tools in use today derive from tools built to fight the Nazis. The seas where we lay cables to send information around the world in the blink of an eye still bear the marks of the battles fought there before. The plans we hatch, the future we build, the battles we fight are one way or another a continuation of plans, futures and battles that have been in play since before we were born. It's perhaps inevitable that the invention of the first computer as a means of breaking the Enigma code, the struggles across multiple theatres of war and riding in jeeps with MacArthur or on bicycles with Alan Turing will possess more drama and weight than modern day storylines where most of the fighting is done in the boardroom or on the telephone. Perhaps the one false note in the book is Stephenson's attempt to inject drama into the more recent events so they are not overshadowed by the sound and fury of World War Two. But this story set more or less in the present is necessary for the reader to connect to the narrative, and the idea that what went before built we are today. And there is still much to savour in the modern storyline, especially as the number of connections and echoes of the wartime story begins to increase and the whole picture of Stephenson's story emerges. The criticisms in other reviews of Cryptonomicon centre around the length of the book, the events Stephenson has chosen to focus on, the ancestry of the modern characters and the sheer level of detail provided to the story. It's true the story is immensely long and detailed, the interwoven storylines very complex, with long descriptions of mathematical concepts complete with graphs and illustrations. They are fundamental to the novel, though, so it's really a case of whether you're prepared to persevere with that for the huge rewards the book has to offer. For me, the world Stephenson creates is so enthralling that I'm glad it went on for a thousand pages so I could keep experiencing it. It's full of quirks and little changes to the world we know, just to keep you on your toes - for some reason, Wales and the Isle of Man seem to have merged into one in Stephenson's reality. This book opened up a whole new world for me and I became a confirmed Neal Stephenson fan on the strength of this novel. It's also a perfect stopping off point to get you into the Stephenson universe, if you intend to read his magisterial Baroque Cycle. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review *by J***L on 26 December 2025* Great read ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review *by Y***R on 29 July 2023* Interesting story line. Challenging to complete in one sitting. ## Frequently Bought Together - Cryptonomicon - Snow Crash: A Novel - Seveneves --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/253917156-cryptonomicon](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/253917156-cryptonomicon) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-16*