Snow Crash

Neal Stephenson

Hiro Protagonist, self-employed stringer for the Central Intelligence Corporation, whose practice...more

Hiro Protagonist, self-employed stringer for the Central Intelligence Corporation, whose practice used to be limited to so-called "dry" operations, meaning that he sat around and soaked up information and then later spat it back into the Library, the CIC database, without ever actually doing anything. Now his practice has become formidably wet. Hiro is armed with two swords and a nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, known colloquially as a nine, with two ammunition clips, each carrying eleven rounds. I enjoyed reading Snowcrash and I recommend it to anyone who wants their first stint at reading a cyberpunk novel. Snowcrash is funny, fast paced and captivating enough to keep the reader hooked for the whole ride. The story begins with an introduction to the main character of the story, Hiro Protagonist, top notch hacker and sword weilding maestro. Stephenson has an excellent command over his prose and words are aptly used for describing a setting, person or event. As the story starts, Hiro is late for his delivery of a pizza to a customer. The catch is that not only do customers receive free pizzas when the delivery is late, the person delivering the pizza also loses his head! What follows is a vivid transcription of the events as Hiro tries to deliver the pizza while trying to negotiate traffic and warding off a pesky Kourier. And thats just the first few pages of the book. Stephenson injects humor and sarcasm wherever possible in his narrative, making the book lighter than most heavy cyberpunk novels like Neuromancer. He also employs just the right amount of words to describe his settings, without boring the reader. Using amazing skill, he compresses enough details using appropriate words throughout the book, which I felt was simply amazing. It's not just the writing that sparkles, Stephenson has also got an interesting plot to go with his writing style. And, unlike Neuromancer, the plot is the central point, thankfully. The plot revolves around a Snowcrash virus which not only destroys digital avatars but affects people in reality also. So you are thinking what's new about it, perhaps there is a feedback from the VR world back to reality? Fortunately, Stephenson avoids this cliche and clearly points out that no such link exists (i.e. no Matrix like hyper virtual reality). The plot is masterfully tied to ancient history and civilization arising due to a virus (this has got to be the most original explanation of all times!). Snowcrash is a blast. Its funny, action packed and does not require a detailed analysis of the characters once you have finished the book. I'm okay with that, as the last thing I want to be analyzing when I'm getting home is definitely not why an AI would want to assasinate another AI by hiring a human!   hide

I enjoyed the book, and really liked the whole Sumerian neuro-linguistic hacker virus stuff. That...more

I enjoyed the book, and really liked the whole Sumerian neuro-linguistic hacker virus stuff. That said, I really don't get what all the fuss is about. The characters don't have much depth (unless you use Dan Brown characters as your basis for comparison, that is), and sometimes seem like they're just there to carry around high-tech toys. There's also a Fifth Element kind of vibe here--lots of stuff that doesn't necessarily add to the story just thrown in because it's so KEWL. Finally, Stephenson seemed to completely change his mind a few chapters in about what kind of book he was writing. The first few chapters are over-the-top funny, basically parodies of typical cyberpunk. I like that, but once the story got moving it pretty much turned into typical cyberpunk. The humor's still there, but it's subtle. A more consistent tone would have been nice. Liked the book. Recommend it. But don't see why everyone is so in love with it.   hide

One of the best opening pages in contemporary lit, IMHO. It sums up what I love about Stephenson's...more

One of the best opening pages in contemporary lit, IMHO. It sums up what I love about Stephenson's approach: it comes in with a bang, all energy and attitude, firing off pyrotechnic action-flick imagery that drags you into the story face-first--all to describe a futuristic pizza delivery guy. It's funny from the get-go, packed with credible characters as brightly defined as cartoon heroes--but who go beyond two dimensions and occupy your world long after you put the book down. His beginnings are stronger than his endings but that seems a pretty minor glitch to bitch about when every page delivers wildly creative descriptions and developments that leave you laughing and thinking in equal parts. One of my favourite prose writers ever. Anyone reading Snow Crash now will be hard-pressed to understand how eerily prescient this book was--the virtual realities we all occupy right here were a long way from being a part of mainstream, everyday life when he wrote it, but he hit on the core concepts (as far as we've seen developing to date) with frightening accuracy.    hide

A cracking good read, with hysterically romanticised descriptions of the dark side of...more

A cracking good read, with hysterically romanticised descriptions of the dark side of today's/tommorow's capitalist economy (pizza deliverators, couriers etc). It is also fun on the ambivalence between organizated crime and legitimate business. Perhaps most notable is how prescient it was on the whole virtual reality thing. Populated by virtual avatars and computer-wearing gargoyles, Stephenson's novel blurs the boundaries between real-life and the internet in ways most of us can relate to today. I can't help but wonder what he'd make of Facebook... On the other side, if you want a really nice critique of the Californian libertarian politics of Stephenson's novel, and his conception of subjectivity and embodiement, take a look at the chapter dedicated to it in Katherine Hayles 'How we became post-human'. Another great read in its own right...   hide

This book came to me both oft and highly recommended. As such, it disappointed me at first. I found...more

This book came to me both oft and highly recommended. As such, it disappointed me at first. I found the supposedly futuristic language unimaginatively close to current terminology ("Burbclave") and, at times, embarrassingly outdated ("Smooth move, ExLax.") I also thought what was supposed to be a future culture seemed far too steeped in (at least a generation) old notions of skater and cyber cool. (And, of course, I felt bored by superfluous definitions of what a BIOS or daemon is.) But, I got over all of that and into totally into the book. Stephenson definitely entreatingly manipulates language. The plot moves along harrowingly and interestingly. The characters are well developed and engaging. I love myself a nice little cyber-skater-mob-drugs-geek-motorcycle-WWII-referencing-religious-awakening-mind-expanding jaunt around the wasteland of a future America. Who wouldn't?   hide