Diamond Age

Finally it all starts to make sense, at first I thought the whole intro involving Bud was a nice touch, now I’m slightly irritated that I wasted over an hour of my life reading about him.
On the up side Stephenson finally goes into what the Primer is and damn is that something else. Thanks to Harv, Nell was introduced to the Primer. Harv mugged Hackworth, he took a few things from him but what he brought home for Nell would change her life forever. Even though Harv was punished for mugging Hackworth Judge Fang decides to take it easy on him because its basically just him and Nell. Tequila isn’t much of a mother; she keeps bring home dead beats that treat her children like shit, especially Nell. The primer hears everything around it and as soon as a little girl picks it up it remembers her face and her voice, the primer forms a relationship with the girl. This is why McGraw stresses importance that no other little girl gets her hands on the book until Elizabeth opens it first. Nell beat Elizabeth to the punch. The primer talks back, answers questions, teaches Nell things she never knew, its like her own personal teacher. Little does she know, there is a person actually talking to her. The person inside the primer is a reactor, her name is Miranda. This book sparks emotions, at one point Nell gets scared and starts crying and throws the book across the room. Suddenly the book opens and asks Nell if she wants to hear a story. Nell is learning things the way McGraw wanted Elizabeth to learn things.
Lt. Chang pays Hackworth a visit and questions him about why he didn’t report the mugging and the theft of the book.

The Diamond Age

At first I was unsure about The Diamond Age, its quite different. I'm not a big fan of the way its written, it can be hard to follow at times. Stephenson doesn't talk much about females and when he does its in a very negative way. Hes more descriptive when he talks about men. Bud is described in great detail, everything from his body, the clothes he wears, how he chooses to spend his money, and the technology his body is equip with. Bud is basically described as an asshole, "he got his way just by giving people the evil eye(8)." He is rude and doesn't appear to care for anyone else in the world but himself. When he found out Tequila was having another baby his response was less then impressive. He uses his modded body to harm other people to benefit himself, up until he was forced to take a long walk off a short pier.
The technology Stephenson talks about is crazy. The whole idea of the freedom machine blows my mind, I don't see how anyone would want to send something inside of them to eat their child, its kind of gruesome. On the up side, the credit card that is put right into you is a fabulous idea.