Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
by Neal Stephenson, Malcolm Hillgartner · first published 2019
33% recommend60% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Sprawling Stephenson novel on cryonics, brain uploads and an afterlife, plus a near-future internet flooded with misinformation and bots. Suits fans of his other work who like big ideas on identity and society.
Common criticism: Very long and sprawling; some find it tedious
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"In his youth, Richard "Dodge" Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia. One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his wi
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My favorite books about mind emulation: * "Fall, Or Dodge in Hell" by Neil Stephenson [1] * "Permutation City" by Greg Egan [2] [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PXM4VMD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Permutation-City-Greg-Egan-ebook/dp/B...
on “Mind Emulation Foundation” ↗Neal Stephenson's most recent novel "Fall; or, Dodge in Hell" is about cryonics. As usual, it's sprawling and arguably too long, but as usual, there are interesting ideas in there on the economics and politics of the idea, on simulation vs resurrection, etc. I…
on “Larry King has died” ↗…seen my actual friends (not FB 'friends'). It was 2014, FB DELETE (disable? Who really knoes with those bastards). Wish I never signed up to the toxic dump of a website. Check out Neal Stephenson Fall or Dodge In Hell. As usual, Neal called it.
on “To H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks with Facebook” ↗Neal Stephenson wrote a science fiction novel "Fall; or, Dodge in Hell" that came out in 2019 whose plot is about the uploading of people into computer systems. It covers a range of ideas and possibilities with plot lines outside and inside of the computer system. Highly…
on “No Implants Needed for Precise Control Deep into the Brain” ↗I've been thinking about this issue since reading Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson. It uses the concept of a Purdah: A pseudo-anonymous online identity. It's related to concepts of trust, fingerprinting, etc. It inspired me to built a WIP website where you create…
on “A Model for Identity in Software” ↗These stories (Casey Newton also wrote a great one two years ago[1]) were pretty well tackled by Stephenson in Fall, or Dodge in Hell I think. Increasingly there's a sanitized internet for the professional class with access to high quality information while an army of sewage workers has to crawl through the waste and clean it up, either…
on “TikTok sued by former content moderator over mental health impacts of moderation” ↗You might love Neal Stephenson's latest book "Fall, or Dodge In Hell" It's not quite about a world war on the Internet, but it is about what could happen if the Internet suddenly stops working somewhere.
on “Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp outages” ↗You would enjoy reading Neal Stephenson's new novel "Fall; or, Dodge in Hell." The middle part imagines how America would change as a consequence of exactly that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall;_or,_Dodge_in_Hell
on “The coming automation of propaganda” ↗Someone called Neal Stephenson imagined that to perfection in the first third of [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall;_or,_Dodge_in_Hell Amusing to read.
on “The coming automation of propaganda” ↗If you read the latest by Neil Stephenson, The Fall, or Dodge in hell (or the earlier Reamde), he completely predicts so many things happening today. Cryptonomicon was like an early business plan for crypto company plan. There is a game like world of warcraft, and ... I…
on “Key Change” ↗For any fans of the Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon, I can strongly recommend Fall; or, Dodge in Hell.
on “In the 17th Century, Leibniz Dreamed of a Machine That Could Calculate Ideas” ↗If you like this, check out Neal Stephenson’s newest book “Fall, or Dodge in Hell” for an interesting exploration. While you’re at it, it’s probably worth it to read “Reamde” first as they’re in the same storyline.
on “Dressing for the Surveillance Age” ↗Expected this to be a reference to Neal Stephenson’s “Fall; or, Dodge in Hell”. Midway through and it’s fantastic.
on “Coastline Paradox” ↗I enjoyed this story a lot—it felt like the perfect dose of futurism to start my day. I noticed some similarities with both the overall tone and the first chapter specifically of Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson, but I have to admit that for me personally that was a positive thing. edit: formatting
on “Show HN: The Age of the Spiritual Machine” ↗I will say that I found the end to the Baroque Cycle in Fall; or, Dodge in Hell to be really satisfying. I won't explain how it relates to your comment though - go read all of them!
on “Grabby Aliens” ↗