Cryptonomicon

Yes, the Baroque Cycle, published between 2003 and 2004, is a prequel series set in the same fictional universe roughly 300 years earlier. Characters in 'Cryptonomicon' like the Waterhouse and Shaftoe families have direct ancestors who are central figures in the Baroque Cycle.

The novel interweaves two storylines: one following World War II-era codebreakers and soldiers connected to Bletchley Park and Allied cryptanalysis efforts, and another following their 1990s descendants building a data haven in Southeast Asia while hunting for buried Nazi gold. Both timelines revolve around cryptography, digital currency, and the political power of information.

The novel runs roughly 900 to over 1,100 pages depending on the edition, and most readers report spending several weeks with it. Its density of technical detail, including actual descriptions of the Enigma machine and the modern cryptographer's toolset, makes it a slower but rewarding read than typical thrillers.

Yes, Alan Turing appears as a secondary character in the World War II storyline, depicted as a friend and colleague of the fictional protagonist Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse. Their relationship as mathematicians and codebreakers at Princeton and Bletchley Park anchors the historical thread of the novel.