Cryptonomicon By freesoma on Nov 01, 2007 - Updated Sep 18, 2011

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is an epic book about cryptology and espionage during both WWII and modern day. The story shifts between the two time periods with fluid motions, almost as if there is barely a shift at all. The characters are all wonderfully fleshed out, my two favorites being the WWII cryptologist named Lawrence Waterhouse and the WWII sniper named Bobby Shaftoe.

This is quite a long book and can seem like a huge commitment to start. At over 1,000 pages it is a very dense book full of both action and precise description of cryptology, code-breakers, and the secrets that take place during war. The best thing about this book is that once you pick it up it can be very tough to stop; Stephenson masterfully weaves the time periods and shifts the story in a way that is always having the reader begging to know what will happen next.

Anyone that is interested in computers and cryptology should definitely pick this up, but anyone that is also looking for a great story full of amazing characters should check it out.