Neal Stephenson

This riveting second installment in Stephenson and company’s epic tale focuses on the aftermath of the world-shattering Mongolian invasion of 1241 and the difficult paths undertaken by its most resilient survivors. The Shield Brethren, an order of warrior monks, search for a way to overthrow the horde, even as the invaders take its members hostage. Forced to fight in the Mongols’ Circus of Swords, Haakon must prove his mettle or lose his life in the ring. His bravery may impress the enemy, but freedom remains a distant dream. Father Rodrigo receives a prophecy from God and believes it’s his mission to deliver the message to Rome. Though a peaceful man, he resigns himself to take up arms in the name of his Lord. Joining his fight to save Christendom are the hunter Ferenc, orphan Ocyrhoe, healer Raphael, and alchemist Yasper, each searching for his place in history. Deftly blending fact and fantasy, The Mongoliad: Book Two captures the indomitable will to survive against immense odds.

The first novel to be released in The Foreworld Saga, The Mongoliad: Book One, is an epic-within-an-epic, taking place in 13th century. In it, a small band of warriors and mystics raise their swords to save Europe from a bloodthirsty Mongol invasion. Inspired by their leader (an elder of an order of warrior monks), they embark on a perilous journey and uncover the history of hidden knowledge and conflict among powerful secret societies that had been shaping world events for millennia. But the saga reaches the modern world via a circuitous route. In the late 19th century, Sir Richard F. Burton, an expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, is approached by a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados about translating a collection of long-lost manuscripts. Burton dies before his work is finished, and his efforts were thought lost until recently rediscovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Trieste, Italy. From this collection of arcana, the incredible tale of The Mongoliad was recreated. Full of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and unflinching battle scenes, The Mongoliad ignites a dangerous quest where willpower and blades are tested and the scope of world-building is redefined. A note on this edition: The Mongoliad began as a social media experiment, combining serial story-telling with a unique level of interaction between authors and audience during the creative process. Since its original iteration, The Mongoliad has been restructured, edited, and rewritten under the supervision of its authors to create a more cohesive reading experience and will be published as a trilogy of novels. This edition is the definitive edition and is the authors’ preferred text.

"Our Next Reality does a fantastic job of giving a balanced and insightful analysis to some of the most pressing questions our society will face in the near future. The material is data driven, digestible, and very actionable." RAY KURZWEIL, Author/Entrepreneur/Futurist"A wide-reaching exploration of the intersections between AI, VR and AR: it's a mind-opener, and a source of reflection on how transformative and still unknown the future of communication, personal technology and even personal privacy might become." SCOTT STEIN, Editor at Large, CNETOver the last 100 years, technology has changed our world. Over the next decade it will transform our reality.We are entering a new technological age in which artificial intelligence and immersive media will transform society at all levels, mediating our lives by altering what we see, hear, and experience. Powered by immersive eyewear and driven by interactive AI agents, this new age of computing has the potential to make our world a magical place where the boundaries between the real and the virtual, the human and the artificial, rapidly fade away. If managed well, this could unleash a new age of abundance. If managed poorly, this technological revolution could easily go astray, deeply compromising our privacy, autonomy, agency, and even our humanity.In Our Next Reality, two industry veterans provide a data-driven debate on whether the new world we're creating will be a technological utopia or an AI-powered dystopia and give guidance on how to aim for the best future we can. With a Foreword by renowned author Neal Stephenson and section contributions from industry thought-leaders such as Peter H. Diamandis, Tom Furness, Phillip Rosedale, Tony Parisi, Avi Bar Zeev and Walter Parkes, this book answers over a dozen of the most pressing questions we face as artificial intelligence and spatial computing accelerates the digitization of our world. Find out why our actions in the next decade could determine the trajectory of our species for countless millennia."For anyone who wants to use AI and XR to help build the future, read this book to help you skillfully navigate a future of unprecedented danger and promise." JASON HINER, Editor in Chief, ZDNet"Our Next Reality really is a must-read for anyone who wants to prepare for the massive AI and XR driven disruption coming our way." CHARLIE FINK, Author | Adjunct | Forbes Tech Columnist

With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century. In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy - is assigned to detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detatchment 2702-commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe-is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. It is a game, a cryptographic chess match between Waterhouse and his German counterpart, translated into action by the gung-ho Shaftoe and his forces. Fast-forward to the present, where Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia - a place where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. As governments and multinationals attack the endeavor, Randy joins forces with Shaftoe's tough-as-nails grandaughter, Amy, to secretly salvage a sunken Nazi sumarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat. But soon their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy with its roots in Detachment 2702 linked to an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. And it will represent the path to unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty...or to universal totalitarianism reborn. A breathtaking tour de force, and Neal Stephenson's most accomplished and affecting work to date, CRYPTONOMICON is profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyper-driven, as it leaps forward and back between World War II and the World Wide Web, hinting all the while at a dark day-after-tomorrow. It is a work of great art, thought, and creative daring.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new series--an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.The first installment in Neal Stephenson's Bomb Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C., during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.Set against the turbulent decades of the early twentieth century, Polostan is an inventive, richly detailed, and deeply entertaining historical epic, and the start of a captivating new series from Neal Stephenson.

'Inventive' THE TIMES From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new trilogy—an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn Rae Bjornberg is raised in post-Revolution Leningrad by her father, a party-line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gun-running and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C. during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB… Set against the turbulent decades of the early 20th century, Polostan is an inventive, richly detailed, and deeply entertaining historical epic, and the start of a captivating new series from Neal Stephenson.

Premii "Lokus", "Prometej", "Mramornyj favn", "Itogi goda" zhurnala "Mir fantastiki", "Luchshie knigi goda" po versii SFSite. "Kriptonomikon" - eto zakhvatyvajuschaja demonstratsija sily i samaja sovershennaja i vpechatljajuschaja rabota Nila Stivensona na segodnjashnij den, glubokaja, prorocheskaja i gipnoticheskaja. Eto proizvedenie velikogo iskusstva, mysli i tvorcheskoj smelosti - produkt podlinnogo voobrazhenija. Khaker Rendi Uoterkhaus sozdaet offshornuju "gavan dannykh" v Jugo-Vostochnoj Azii. Eto kompjuternoe khranilische dlja obmena zashifrovannymi fajlami. On vtjagivaetsja v globalnyj zagovor, ukhodjaschij svoimi kornjami v period Vtoroj mirovoj vojny, kogda ego predok rabotal nad vzlomom natsistskikh kriptosistem. Teper tolko ot ego vybora zavisit buduschee lichnoj i tsifrovoj svobody. "Stivenson - literaturnyj providets tekhnologicheskogo buduschego". - Seattle Weekly "KRIPTONOMIKON khochet svesti tebja s uma, sokhranjaja pri etom schastlivym. Eto ledenets dlja mozgov kompjuterschikov". - The New York Times Book Review "Stivenson opravdyvaet svoju reputatsiju literaturnogo khakera so stalnym vzgljadom". - Wired "Ironichnyj golos avtora pridaet oschuschenie uznavaemosti istorii, kotoraja vykhodit za ramki zhanra i obraschaetsja k chitateljam kak sredi poklonnikov tekhnotrillerov, tak i sredi bolee shirokoj auditorii. Ochen rekomenduju". - Library Journal

Premija "Lokus" i premija "Prometej". V 1714 godu, kogda Daniel Uoterkhauz bez osobogo triumfa vozvraschaetsja na berega Anglii, mir vygljadit opasnym - osobenno v Londone, tsentre finansov, innovatsij i zagovorov. Starejuschij puritanin i naturfilosof, v proshlom doverennoe litso vysokopostavlennykh lits i sovremennik samykh blestjaschikh umov epokhi, otvazhilsja preodolet okean, chtoby pomoch reshit konflikt mezhdu dvumja vrazhdujuschimi genijami. I pust na pervoj vzgljad mnogoe izmenilos, litsemerie i zhestokost, ot kotorykh Daniel kogda-to bezhal v severoamerikanskie kolonii, po-prezhnemu javljajutsja razmennoj monetoj Britanskoj korony. Ne uspevaet Daniel stupit na rodnuju zemlju, kak okazyvaetsja v samom tsentre konflikta, bushevavshego desjatiletijami. Eto tajnaja vojna mezhdu direktorom Monetnogo dvora, alkhimikom i geniem Isaakom Njutonom, i ego zakljatym vragom, kovarnym falshivomonetchikom Dzhekom Shafto. Konflikt vnezapno perekhodit na novyj uroven, kogda Dzhek-Monetchik zamyshljaet derzkoe napadenie na sam Tauer, stremjas ni mnogo ni malo k polnomu razrusheniju novorozhdennoj denezhnoj sistemy Britanii. Neizvestno, chto zastavilo Korolja Brodjag vstat na put predatelstva. Vozmozhno, ljubov i otchajannaja neobkhodimost zaschitit damu svoego serdtsa - prekrasnuju Elizu. Tem vremenem Daniel Uoterkhauz ischet moshennika, kotoryj pytaetsja unichtozhit naturfilosofov s pomoschju adskikh ustrojstv. Politiki pytajutsja zanjat samye udobnye mesta v ozhidanii smerti bolnoj korolevy Anny. "Svjaschennyj Graal" alkhimii, kljuch k vechnoj zhizni, prodolzhaet uskolzat ot Isaaka Njutona, no on pochti vyvel ego formulu. U Uoterkhaza zhe medlenno obretaet formu velichajshaja tekhnologicheskaja innovatsija epokhi. "Napolnennaja sumasshedshimi prikljuchenijami, politicheskimi intrigami, sotsialnymi potrjasenijami, otkrytijami, chto mogut izmenit tsivilizatsiju, kabbalisticheskim mistitsizmom i dazhe nebolshoj tolikoj romantiki, eta masshtabnaja saga stoit na ves zolota (Solomona)". - Pol Allen "Tsikl issleduet filosofskie problemy sovremennosti cherez ostroumnye, naprjazhennye i zabavnye povoroty sjuzheta". - New York Times "Masshtabnaja, zakhvatyvajuschaja istorija". - Seattle Times "Dejstvie tsikla proiskhodit v odin iz samykh zakhvatyvajuschikh periodov istorii, s 1600 po 1750 gody, i on blestjasche peredaet intellektualnoe volnenie i kulturnuju revoljutsiju toj epokhi. Blagodarja realnym personazham, takim kak Isaak Njuton i Vilgelm Lejbnits, v romane tak lovko sochetajutsja fakty i vymysel, chto prakticheski nevozmozhno otdelit odno ot drugogo". - Booklist "Skrupuleznaja podacha informatsii i nauchnaja stilistika idealno sochetaetsja s zakhvatyvajuschim sjuzhetom i bogatoj obstanovkoj mira Barochnogo tsikla". - Bookmarks Magazine

V period Vtoroj mirovoj vojny molodoj matematicheskij genij Lourens Uoterkhaus uchastvuet vo vzlome nemetskikh shifrovalnykh sistem. V nashe vremja ego vnuk Rendi, kompjuternyj khaker, pomogaet postroit avtonomnuju "gavan dannykh" v Jugo-Vostochnoj Azii. Sudba vnuka svjazana s rabotoj deda, s mezhdunarodnym zagovorom, kotoryj mozhet prinesti miru kabalu novogo totalitarizma.Inogda veselyj, plotno nabityj informatsiej na samye raznye temy, ot kriptoanaliza i khakerstva do poiska sokrovisch, etot roman - nastojaschij sovremennyj epos. S odnoj storony - udivitelnyj, sovershenno originalnyj portret epokhi voennogo vremeni. S drugoj - provokatsionnoe razmyshlenie o tom, kak nauka i tekhnika pomogajut formirovat-i izmenjat-khod chelovecheskoj istorii. Proizvedenie bolshoj eruditsii i stol zhe bolshoj tvorcheskoj sily, ono javljaetsja-i ostanetsja-odnim iz znachitelnykh literaturnykh dostizhenij sovremennoj epokhi.

Premii "Lokus", "Portal", "Mramornyj favn". 1689 god. Otkrytoe more. Dzhek Shafto, izvestnyj takzhe kak Korol Brodjag, stal rabom na berberskikh galerakh. No u nego est derzkij i opasnyj plan. Shafto vernet svobodu, a zaodno i razbogateet. Tak nachinaetsja ego velikaja pogonja za legendarnymi sokrovischami. Evropa. Eliza, grafinja de lja Zjor, okazyvaetsja vtjanuta v mezhdunarodnye politicheskie intrigi, a tekh, kto khochet zapoluchit ee, libo tolko ee golovu, stanovitsja vse bolshe. Daniel Uoterkhauz stremitsja spasti mir ot bezumija, v kotoroe ego pogruzhaet nezrimaja vojna mezhdu adeptami alkhimii i storonnikami estestvennykh nauk... Perevod Ekateriny Dobrokhotovoj-Majkovoj. "Mnogoplanovaja, velikolepnaja i zakhvatyvajuschaja kniga". - Publishers Weekly "Tochnyj istoriko-fantasticheski-epicheski-piratski-komedijno-pank-ljubovnyj roman. Nelegkij podvig". - Entertainment Weekly "Skrupuleznaja podacha informatsii i nauchnaja stilistika idealno sochetaetsja s zakhvatyvajuschim sjuzhetom i bogatoj obstanovkoj mira Barochnogo tsikla". - Bookmarks Magazine "Dejstvie tsikla proiskhodit v odin iz samykh zakhvatyvajuschikh periodov istorii, s 1600 po 1750 gody, i on blestjasche peredaet intellektualnoe volnenie i kulturnuju revoljutsiju toj epokhi. Blagodarja realnym personazham, takim kak Isaak Njuton i Vilgelm Lejbnits, v romane tak lovko sochetajutsja fakty i vymysel, chto prakticheski nevozmozhno otdelit odno ot drugogo". - Booklist "Ideja o dengakh i raschetakh stanovitsja uvlekatelnoj blagodarja tomu, kak avtor pokazyvaet ikh v svoem povestvovanii. Bolshoj masshtab - bogataja detalizatsija. Eto strannoe, udivitelnoe stolknovenie nauchnogo i khudozhestvennogo povestvovanij ne imeet analogov". - Time Out "Burnyj, zakhvatyvajuschij roman s bolshoj bukvy "R". Propitannoe krovju i napolnennoe serebrom izobrazhenie zhizni 17-go veka, s dostatochnym kolichestvom ambitsioznykh, golovokruzhitelnykh, sbivajuschikh s nog zagovorov, chtoby vpechatlit chitatelej s samymi raznymi vkusami". - Ink "Avtoru prekrasno udaetsja sochetat nauchnyj slog s bujnym razvitiem sobytij. Kogda on opisyvaet bitvu ili duel, ego proza priobretaet zakhvatyvajuschij pafos". - Guardian

'Inventive' THE TIMESFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new trilogy-an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.

'Inventive' THE TIMES From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new trilogyâ??an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.

Daniel Uoterkhauz, odnovremenno i blestjaschij uchenyj, i strogij puritanin, stremitsja poznat vse tajny vselennoj. Alkhimija javljaetsja odnim putej k znaniju, no vidja rabotu svoikh genialnykh kolleg, Daniel otvergaet etu nauchnuju distsiplinu. Tem vremenem Korol Brodjag, on zhe Dzhek Shafto, stanovitsja evropejskoj legendoj blagodarja svoim pokhozhdenijam v poiskakh nazhivy. On spasaet iz turetskogo garema talantlivuju Elizu, blagodarja chemu u toj pojavljaetsja shans stat gertsoginej i shpionskoj korolevskikh osob.I eto tolko nachalo.Istoriko-fantasticheskaja epopeja s intrigami, prikljuchenijami i volnenijami na fone politicheskikh potrjasenij nachala XVIII veka i zarozhdenija sovremennoj nauki.

Finalist premii Gudrids. "100 vazhnykh knig goda" po versii The New York Times. V molodosti Richard "Dodzh" Fortrast osnoval korporatsiju "9592", kompaniju po razrabotke videoigr, kotoraja sdelala ego milliarderom. Teper Dodzh zhivet bezbedno, upravljaja svoimi mnogochislennymi delovymi investitsijami i provodja vremja s ljubimoj plemjannitsej i ee malenkoj docherju Sofiej. V odin prekrasnyj osennij den, kogda on prokhodil obychnuju meditsinskuju protseduru, chto-to poshlo ne tak. Dodzha priznajut mjortvym i perevodjat na rezhim zhizneobespechenija, ostavljaja ego oshelomlennuju semju i blizkikh druzej pered trudnym vyborom. Davnym-davno, kogda Dodzh byl gorazdo molozhe, on sostavil svoe zaveschanie, v kotorom rasporjadilsja peredat ego telo krionicheskoj kompanii, kotoroj vladeet zagadochnyj predprinimatel Elmo Shepard. Nesmotrja na vse somnenija, semja Dodzha objazana vypolnit eto rasporjazhenie. Mozg pokojnogo skanirujut, a struktury dannykh zagruzhajut dlja khranenija v oblako, poka ne pojavitsja vozmozhnost ozhivit Dodzha. V blizhajshie gody chelovecheskomu geniju udaetsja pobedit samu smert. Sozdaetsja vechnyj zagrobnyj mir - Bitmir, v kotorom ljudi prodolzhajut suschestvovat v vide tsifrovykh dush. No unikalnyj novyj bessmertnyj mir - otnjud ne raj, kak mozhet pokazatsja na pervyj vzgljad... Pered vami grandioznaja drama o tsifrovom mire, cheloveke i mashine, angelakh i demonakh, bogakh i posledovateljakh, konechnom i vechnom. V etoj zakhvatyvajuschej epopee Nil Stivenson podnimaet glubokie ekzistentsialnye voprosy i zatragivaet revoljutsionnye proryvy, kotorye preobrazujut nashe buduschee. Soediniv tekhnologicheskoe, filosofskoe i dukhovnoe v odnom grandioznom mife, on sozdaet umopomrachitelnuju literaturnuju sagu dlja sovremennoj epokhi. "Novyj roman "postkiberpanka" Nila Stivensona - eto POTERJANNYJ RAJ v dukhe Filipa K. Dika". - AMAZON.COM "Futuristicheskie idei, osobenno svjazannye s II i tsifrovym soznaniem, zaintrigujut ne tolko gikov i ljubitelej fantastiki". - BOOKLIST "Edinstvennyj v svoem rode sintez smelosti i originalnosti, bez bojazni riskovat na dikoj i neizvedannoj kontseptualnoj territorii". - NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW "Stivenson ne prosto igraet slovami, on igraet neshutochnymi idejami. On - velikaja "belaja vorona" nauchnoj fantastiki, i "PADENIE" zasluzhivaet otsenki kak odin iz velikikh prorocheskikh i filosofskikh romanov nashego vremeni". - WALL STREET JOURNAL "PADENIE" Nila Stivensona issleduet voprosy vysshego soznanija, buduschego seti Internet i sozdanija virtualnogo mira - vse v odnom umopomrachitelnom prikljuchenii". - SLATE "Kak i Dodzh, Stivenson sozdaet novuju vselennuju s nulja, srazhajas v bitvakh i realizuja Bolshuju ideju. Te iz nas, kto privjazan k meatspace, mogut tolko molcha sidet i s udivleniem nabljudat za etim zrelischem". - NATURE "Stivenson ne prosto fantast buduschego, on prorok nashego nastojaschego, virtualnyj arkhitektor idej, opredeljajuschikh nash mir... avtor nauchnoj fantastiki, kotoryj ne prosto khochet razvlekat, no khochet sdelat mir luchshe - dazhe esli emu pridetsja samomu izobresti buduschee". - REASON

Kontsent svetitelja Edkhara sluzhit dlja matematikov, uchenykh i filosofov obitelju-ubezhischem ot ekstramurosa, vneshnego mira s ego gubitelnym i razvratnykh vlijaniem. No raz v desjat let nastupaet den obrjada apert, kogda vorota kontsenta raspakhivajutsja pered ljubopytnym ljudom, a uchenye mogut vyjti naruzhu.Erazmas - molodoj monakh-inak, s neterpeniem zhduschij aperta, chtoby vstretitsja s rodnymi. No menshe chem za nedelju beda postavit pod ugrozu i ego proshluju zhizn, i nyneshnjuju, i privedet k katastrofe ves mir. Erazmasu pridetsja otpravitsja v puteshestvie po planete i dazhe za ee granitsy, chtoby najti vozmozhnost ostanovit nepopravimoe.

Dalekoe buduschee. Natsionalnye pravitelstva pali, granitsy gosudarstv sterlis, nastalo vremja anklavov, obedinjajuschikh ljudej na osnove obschej kultury ili ideologii. Naibolee dinamichno razvivaetsja obschestvo "neoviktoriantsev", sovmeschajuschikh vysokie tekhnologii i moral XIX veka. Ikh glavnyj oplot - Atlantida na poberezhe byvshego Kitaja. Odin iz liderov i glavnykh aktsionerov "neoviktoriantsev", lord Finkel-Makgrou, zakazyvaet razrabotku "Bukvarja dlja blagorodnykh devits" - interaktivnogo superkompjutera v vide knigi - dlja printsessy i svoej vnuchki. Etot gadzhet dolzhen zamenit kak uchitelja, tak i roditelja i pomoch im stat istinnymi predstavitelnitsami elity. Talantlivyj inzhener po nanotekhnologii Dzhon Persival Khakvort pokhischaet razrabotannoe im ustrojstvo u svoikh khozjaev i khochet peredat ego svoej docheri, chtoby ona mogla nauchitsja svobodno myslit, bez ramok, nakladyvaemykh "neoviktorianstvom". Odnako sluchajno "Bukvar" popadaet v ruki molodoj Nell, devushki s samogo dna etogo dikkensovskogo raja. Teper u nee v rukakh ustrojstvo, sposobnoe pereprogrammirovat buduschee chelovechestva. I eto menjaet vse...