Yeah, but half a Stephenson book is like a full-sized normal book. All I’m saying is that I wasn’t too happy about the B plot. The stakes weren’t very high–by the end, it was mostly just waiting for everyone to die off and make their big entrance in Bitworld.
Stephenson loves to write quirky scary-smart characters embedded in some oppressive environment, only waiting for their chance to escape and do something. Fall already had one or two of them. Ameristan would be a great fount of these. Not to mention the numerous other breakaway states that might be expected (at least in the Nealverse) in the wake of a collapsing society.