>The Cryptonomicon "GEB" character was named for three other characters - Gunther, Enoch, and Bobbie.
> Now THAT is intruiging. Was I right that NS was tweaking someone and wrong about whom it was he was tweaking?
It's too carefully crafted to have been inadvertent, but I've never seen it addressed. Not that I've looked too hard. There are Neal Stephenson websites but I have't searched them for this.
> GEB was very enjoyable, but there were a few things I didn't understand very well.
Only a few ? Count yourself highly perceptive. I can share a few of my prouder insights if you're interested - PM probably the more appropriate forum for this. (The dialogue with Cops Silva and Gould in particular is my favorite, speaking of Indescribable Metal Alloy...)
>Cryptonomicon is my very favorite book.
High on my list too. I understand there is a whole trilogy laid out, with the second part in the works at this very moment - though I can't for the life of me figure out what he might be planning by way of follow-up.
By the way, for a prequel to Cryptonomicon, I found Enigma by Robert Harris to be a captivating introduction to the subject of cryptography, WW2 vintage.
