Cryptonomicon
Sign in to saveCryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, drawing thematic parallels between wartime secrecy and modern information control, emphasizing the role of information in political, military, and personal domains.
Key facts
- Book.name
- Cryptonomicon
- Book.image
- Cryptonomicon(1stEd).jpg
- Book.image_size
- 200px
- Book.caption
- Cover of first edition (hardcover)
- Book.author
- Neal Stephenson
- Book.country
- United States
- Book.language
- English
- Book.genre
- Speculative fiction
- Book.publisher
- Avon
- Book.release_date
- 1999
- Book.media_type
- Hardcover (first edition)
- Book.pages
- 918 (first edition hardcover)
- Book.isbn_note
- (first edition hardcover)
- Book.dewey
- 813/.54 21
- Book.congress
- PS3569.T3868 C79 1999
- Book.oclc
- 40631785
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.nealstephenson.com/cryptonomicon.html
Show 3 more facts
- described at URL
- www.nytimes.com/1999/05/23/books/click-here.html
- publication date
- 1999-05-00
- title
- Cryptonomicon
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Article
23 sectionsContents
- Genre and subject matter
- Title
- Plot
- Characters
- World War II storyline
- Fictional characters
- Historical figures
- 1990s storyline
- Both storylines
- Technical content
- Cryptography
- Pontifex Cipher
- One-time pad
- Software
- Finux
- Other technology
- Allusions and references from other works
- Reception
- Awards and nominations
- Editions
- See also
- References
- External links
Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, drawing thematic parallels between wartime secrecy and modern information control, emphasizing the role of information in political, military, and personal domains.
The story is set in two different time periods. One group of characters are World War II–era Allied codebreakers and tactical-deception operatives affiliated with the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, and disillusioned Axis military and intelligence figures. The second narrative is set in the late 1990s, with characters that are (in part) descendants of those of the earlier time period, who employ cryptologic, telecom, and computer technology to build an underground data haven in the fictional Sultanate of Kinakuta. Their goal is to facilitate anonymous Internet banking using electronic money and (later) digital gold currency, with a long-term objective to distribute Holocaust Education and Avoidance Pod (HEAP) media for instructing genocide-target populations on defensive warfare.