Reamde by Neal Stephenson

When I enter the room, Jack is sitting in my armchair, earphones in his ear; he is listening to something on his mobile. Since he is not drumming with his fingers, nor humming, I suppose it's an audiobook. I stand in front of him, looking at him expectantly. I can tell, he doesn't see me, his eyes are watching an imagined scene somewhere in the ether. I keep watching him, and finally his eyes focus on my belly, then slowly go up to my eyes. He holds up one finger, like saying "just a moment". I'm waiting, I'm a patient man. Finally he looks at his phone and starts tapping. I can see that the Audible application is running, and he just finished an audio book. I know this one, I recognise the cover, even if it's upside down: white letters on black background, it says 'Reamde by Neal Stephenson'.
"Hi uncle Gyula, sorry, I just wanted to finish this book" says Jack.
"I don't have problem with that." I emphasize on the word: that.
Jack finally realizes that I want to sit down in my armchair. He knows very well that this is my favourite place to read, in the semi-circular nook next to the window, with the view to the park.
"Oh, sorry uncle, please, have a seat. Really comfy chair you have here." He pats the armrest, and then stands up.
"Did you like it?" I ask, gesturing towards his mobile, while making myself comfortable.
"Reamde? Yes I did. I enjoyed it a lot."
"Interesting story, isn't it? With the computer game involved."
"Indeed" says Jack, taps his phone a few times, than puts it into his pocket. "Actually the very seed of the whole story is the the T'Rain game. I play a few role-playing games myself, and I would certainly give this one a shot. If it existed, I mean."
"True, everything started because of the game. It was a compelling addition to the story of fighting against terrorists."
Jack walks to the other armchair facing mine, and sits down.
"What do you think about the characters?" he asks.
"Sthepenson did a nice job drawing them. Actually, the plot and the characters work together just fine. You know that I hate when an action is forced on the characters just for the sake of the story. It's not the case here, not at all. The guys and gals acted exactly as their inner character dictated."
"Yeah, the plot seemed very logical. But I'm having trouble identifying the main protagonist."
"Why do you need one? I mean, why do you need only one? Reamde proves that more than one protagonist works well."
"Maybe. By the way, there were some interesting names, like Zula, Yuxia. I bet you liked Csongor."
"Sure." I smile. He knows we are from the same country.
"The terrorist, Abdallah Jones, he's a really compelling figure. Bad guy, but quite a personality. Smart, too."
"Did you realize that he spoke like an Englishman? "
"Of course I did. It was nicely done."
"My favourite was Richard. He did everything in his power to save Zula."
"Yeah. I liked that they weren't heroes, yet they showed exceptional spirit."
Jack seems to be lost in thoughts for a while. He finally says:
"You know, uncle, this one is not really like the other books of Stephenson. Very far from The Diamond Age, or Snow Crash."
"I know some people have problem with that. The Baroque Cycle was a big hit too, and while Reamde is very different, I don't mind it. Stephenson wrote something else, and I liked it. To be honest, the Snowcrash was too much for me, too abstract. Reamde was closer to the real life."
We sit in silence for a minute, then Jack says:
"Well, I should go to search for Jenny. She needs some help with her laptop. I should have helped her an hour ago, but you know how it is when you listen to a book like this?"
I know exactly. Jack stands up, and leaves the room. I gaze out of the window for a while, and then I switch on my e-reader. The next adventure is waiting for me.