#28 in Science fiction
The Diamond Age
- 514
- Pages
- about 9 h
- Reading time
- Hugo Award for Best Novel
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
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About the book
The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence. The Diamond Age was first published in 1995 by Bantam Books, as a Bantam Spectra hardcover edition. In 1996, it won both the Hugo and Locus Awards, and was shortlisted for the Nebula and other awards.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 759 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 80% of the weight and the score stays at 8.3 — the Science fiction average of 7.8 barely moves it. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.2 | 95 | 13% |
| Google Books | 9.0 | 47 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 617 | 81% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“Diamond Age is science fiction with both personal stories and global and political events. Some of it was good. There were many entertaining scenes, characters, bits of dialogue, and so on. I loved the idea of the Primer itself: a book designed by a concerned grandfather, hoping to teach his granddaughter to think independently and dare to go outside the customs of their society. The Primer is both a storyteller and an interactive video game, designed to bond with its reader and become a surrogate parent/teacher. A device raising a child, rather than the child's family, is still relevant. Th…”
Frequently asked
What is The Diamond Age rated?
8.3 out of 10, from 759 reader ratings across 3 independent sources.
Is The Diamond Age worth reading?
Readers give it 8.3/10 from 759 ratings, which puts it ahead of 86 % of the Science fiction shelf.
How long does it take to read The Diamond Age?
About 9 hours at an average reading pace — 514 pages.
Where does The Diamond Age rank?
#28 in Science fiction on the current snapshot.
How long is The Diamond Age?
It has 514 pages — longer than 78% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Science fiction — and a score of 8.3, the closest to this book.
