NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist!From bestselling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.When Melisande Stokes, an … foundations of the modern world.
When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidently meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: she must sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for the rather large sum of money.
Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace—the world’s fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world “jams” the “frequencies” used by magic, and it’s up to Tristan to find out why.
And so the Department of Diachronic Operations—D.O.D.O. —gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back, and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive . . . and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial—and treacherous—nature of the human heart.
Written with the genius, complexity, and innovation that characterize all of Neal Stephenson’s work and steeped with the down-to-earth warmth and humor of Nicole Galland’s storytelling style, this exciting and vividly realized work of science fiction will make you believe in the impossible, and take you to places—and times—beyond imagining.
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One of the best time-travel books I have read. Truly original.
Be patient when you first start – it will be worth it!
Wanted to click “realisic” but didn’t dare. As you are reading, though, you say to yourself, “Yup, if the gummint went into time travel it would be JUST like this.” Great good fun.
Fun, complex, and strange. Just misses out on 5 stars because it’s sometimes a little hard to follow and some of the character relationships seem a little lazy and cliche but such a fascinating concept and a truly enjoyable read!
Excellent story with well-rounded characters.
A little long at times, wonderful first 1/3, very long middle 1/3 for me, and a good ending but slightly abrupt. Overall I enjoyed the book.
This was a fun read, I was at first skeptical, even put it down for a few days but once I gave it an hour, I was absorbed.
I was initially curious how magic could be explained scientifically and believably, but the real fun in this book is the character interaction and the sharp depiction of modern office bureaucracy. The adventures keep it moving, there are no real dead spots.
Neal Stephenson is one of my favorite authors. You can detect his influence and imagination but I’m inclined to believe the story and writing are mostly Ms. Galland’s.
It’s just fun… good, imaginative fun.
The way this book was written was odd to read. At the start the writer of throw in an unusual word that would disrupt the story flow. There are pages that would repeat would sections over again. The book just sort of trails off non ending.
Interesting concept for time travel using physics but author ran out of steam 1/3 of the way through the book. The needs an end game.
This book is an ambitious look at technology, witchcraft, time travel, and government entities. The basic premise is interesting but somewhere around page 350 you get tired of the multiple narrators and the somewhat cardboard characters.
If you know anything about Neal Stephenson, you know you aren’t going to get a run of the mill, linear story line. I loved Snow Crash when it came out, and Cryptonomicon is still one of my favorite books of all time. I still pick up his books, but haven’t enjoyed any of them as much. Until now. The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. is rip roaring fun, weird and addictive. I’m so glad I picked it up! Maybe adding Nicole Galland was the key, she added the historical flair that made this book so nuanced. Great collaboration!
Wonderfully Complex tale. Not too complicated to follow (but challenging to explain) epic story from accomplished writers Stephenson & Galland. Well worth the time invested.