Neal Town Stephenson, born in 1959, is an American Science-Fiction writer and futurist. Coming from a family of scientists, Stephenson studied geography and physics before publishing his first novel in 1984. Besides writing novels under his own name, Stephenson has also published novels written in cooperation with his uncle, historian George F. Jewsbury.
Stephenson has a keen interest in space travel and futuristic technological inventions which are often featured in his novels as well as interpreting and representing historical events. His writings are frequently categorized as speculative fiction, a literary genre featuring supernatural or unrealistic elements, and cyberpunk, literature set in a dystopian high-tech future.
The novel Cryptonomicon was published in 1999. The story switches between different time periods and features fictionalized versions of real-life people and events surrounding the Second World War and the Allies’ codebreaking efforts. The first edition of the novel was more than 900 pages long, which is a characteristic length of Stephenson’s works. In 2019 it was revealed that the novel is part of a wider fictional universe encompassing several of Stephenson’s works.
