I can't recall another novel with so many descriptions of
diagrams and equations that you begin to wish you simply
had the diagrams and equations themselves, if not a full
set of computer graphics.
In the February issue of Locus Egan responds:
Wolfe's wish to see the diagrams described in Diaspora has been
granted, though - at least for anyone with an internet connection and a
web browser - at:
http://www.netspace.net.au/~gregegan/
Most of the diagrams are static, but there are a couple interactive
ones for people with Java-enabled browsers.
Gregory Sullivan