handslive

I think one of Stephenson's goals was not to change events (as will be obvious from one specific example in TSOTW). But he does show how things might have been different in some regard, and does have some very interesting and informative things to say about the origins of the system of the world.

Also, TBS clearly takes place in an alternate world where places like Qwglmia exist :-)

It also seems to be a prequel to Cryptonomicon, which throws interesting light on the nature of the gold in the jungle, so I'm not sure it can be judged separately.