Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Description

Anathem , the latest invention by the bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle , is a magnificent a work of great scope, intelligence, and imagination that ushers readers into a recognizable world.

Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside “saecular” world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Three times during history’s darkest epochs violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet the avout have always managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming even more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. And Erasmas has no fear of the outside for the last of the terrible times was long, long ago. Now, in celebration of the week-long rite of Apert, the fraas and suurs prepare to venture beyond the concent’s gates. Suddenly burdened with a staggering responsibility, Erasmas finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world as he sets out on an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous, inhospitable corners of the planet and beyond.