I think I prefer Stephenson when his books aren't set now. The book was a bit long in the middle and somewhat gun-heavy for my tastes, but I would recommend it to any intersection of people who like spies and online RPGs. The most interesting parts of the book had to do with the virtual game world created by Richard Forthrast, but there weren't too many ways that Stephenson could shoehorn it in to a spy thriller with its jihadist plots.