I don't mind people going on and on and on. (I mean I loved Mervyn Peake!) What I hate about Stephenson is how he:
- Can't write people. At all. His "characters" are "concepts with a name attached". Ugh.
- He often goes on and on and on about stuff he's absolutely wrong about at a fundamental level. (Like his bizarre take on Chinese culture in that one with the nanotech; I've forgotten the title. The Diamond Age?)
One or the other above I can cope with. Both together made me cringe every time I set eye on a page.