What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking
time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable nations around the globe band together to
devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere in outer
space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen
challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers until only a handful of survivors
remain. . . . Five thousand years later their progeny--seven distinct races now three billion
strong--embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world
utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth. A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative
vision Neal Stephenson combines science philosophy technology psychology and literature in
a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both
extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem Cryptonomicon the Baroque Cycle
and Reamde Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a
breathtaking saga that is daring engrossing and altogether brilliant.
