Reamde
Reamde by Neal Stephensonby Neal Stephenson
Ranked 3 of 7 thriller novels by recommenders
Readers praise its fast pace and readability for a novel of its length. Critics find the plot too action-heavy and the MMO economics poorly handled.
Readers praise its fast pace and readability for a novel of its length. Critics find the plot too action-heavy and the MMO economics poorly handled.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fast-paced and readable
“that was very fast paced and barely explained”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Meta workers can opt out of being tracked at work up to 30 min” “Reamde and Fall are quite readable”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “A Remarkable Assertion from A16Z” Quick to finish for its length
“it's definitely the fastest I've managed to get through a novel relative to length”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “Neal Stephenson responds with wit and humor (2004)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Action side trip dominates the book
“read like he got way too carried away with a side trip action beat and accidentally made it the whole book”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Meta workers can opt out of being tracked at work up to 30 min” Fast pace with little explanation
“that was very fast paced and barely explained”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Meta workers can opt out of being tracked at work up to 30 min” MMO economics farcically bad
“REAMDE's description of MMO economics is farcically bad. It undermines the whole book.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Meta workers can opt out of being tracked at work up to 30 min” Slow start, did not engage
“I struggled to get past the first few chapters of Reamde. Didn't engage me at all.”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “Neal Stephenson responds with wit and humor (2004)”
Other thriller novels people recommend
The four most recommended other thriller novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hunt for Red Octoberby Tom Clancy | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Freedomby Daniel Suarez | 7 | 1 | 88% | 4 | — | — |
| Reamdeby Neal StephensonThis page | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| Kill Decisionby Daniel Suarez | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Da Vinci Codeby Dan Brown | 3 | 2 | 60% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I struggled to get past the first few chapters of Reamde. Didn't engage me at all.”
“it's definitely the fastest I've managed to get through a novel relative to length”
“REAMDE's description of MMO economics is farcically bad. It undermines the whole book.”
“read like he got way too carried away with a side trip action beat and accidentally made it the whole book”
“that was very fast paced and barely explained”
“Reamde and Fall are quite readable”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.