Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

[The Master™]

Just been recommended this book by an acquaintence ... Wondered if anyone else had read this, and their thoughts on the book...

 

[dwndrgn]

Haven't read that one but I've read a couple of others by him and thoroughly enjoyed them. You can see reviews of those two that I read in the reviews section. Shux, now I'm going to have to find this book. Master, you really are evil

 

[The Master™]

Shux, now I'm going to have to find this book. Master, you really are evil

Me, evil??? hehehehe

You know I only do it to make your life more difficult... And to make you all poor!!!

 

[Brian G Turner]

I seem to recall this as a book discussed that has a very disappointing ending. Any thoughts on this from your acquaintance?

 

[The Master™]

My acquaintance hasn't said anything about the ending, but said that the book was really good and couldn't shove a copy in my hand quick enough...

There is a great couple of lines at the beginning of the book, and as soon as I get a chance, I'll put it up...

 

[guthrie]

I read it a few years ago. Its pretty good, but kind of spoilt by some of the "fun" that Stephenson has throughout the book. The ending is a little disappointing if you only like mainstream type endings, and could still have been handled better. And it is a little too "and with a wave of her hands order was restored". But theres lots of ideas, some fun and games, and its definitely worth reading.

 

[stencyl]

I've read Snow Crash. The concepts are great: the franchising of America, language as a disease, the metaverse. However, he can be heavy-handed: naming the hero Hiro Protagonist, for example. And I agree that his endings can be, well, over-the-top.

That said, I think that it is well worth the read, and I would recommend The Diamond Age as well. It's a good Steam Punk novel.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Hiro Protagonist? Oh...I have read this then. When I was in college, a friend dumped a whole carton of sf novels he thought I should be reading on me. It included books I remember reading - Lords of Light, A Canticle for Liebowitz, Dune, Neuromancer - and evidently some I don't really remember much about. Perhaps I shall give it another read.

 

[Lyrebird]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Twice. Fresh and Exhilarating (At the time of first read, anyway )

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I thought it was really good.was not so keen on his steam punk ones
some of the concepts seem to be coming true ie all the refugee's or illegal immigrants streaming into Europe as opposed to the States.

 

[kythe]

I've read it twice and loved it, though it has been a few years.

I don't see it as "heavy-handed" that the characters are named after their roles. If anything, it is a satirical illustration of what the author believes our world is like. Don't take it too literally.

 

[vurtomatic]

This was my first Stephenson novel and I enjoyed it back then. It's not a 'serious' novel like his recent ones, a lot of fun to read. Also recommend The Diamond Age.

 

[Rane Longfox]

I think Snow Crash is probably Stephenson's best book, but I haven't read Cryptonomicon yet, so I can't really pass judgement. Diamond Age was ok, but not as good, imnsho.

 

[stellarexplorer]

Loved this book, and I hate a lot of what I read...

Fresh, inventive, manages just the voice to be taken seriously, but not too seriously. An achievement.

 

[geoff_360]

A great book - for its time really far sighted, lots of emergent cyberpunk themes - and it doesn't really date that much now. Some of it a bit heavy - all the Sumerian mythology and stuff, but some of the concepts it handles are really intriguing - the franchising, the burbclaves, the Metaverse.

The Diamond Age is also well worth it - in some ways a sequel (Stephenson hints that YT in Snow Crash is Miss Matheson in the Diamond Age) - that was my first Neal Stephenson novel and still my favoruite

 

[Kanazaka]

Well, if Hiro Protagonist is a bit heavy-handed, then Hiro Nakamura (from "Heroes) is only slightly less so . On-topic, I feel that this is "one of the best movies I've ever read", since the action seems so cinematic. I'm not surprised that this was also almost a graphic novel, since it's a very visual book.

 

[Connavar]

What kind of story is it? Is it cyberpunk?

Many people have recommend this to me and i have decided to try it.

Anyone can give a short summary of the story?


I usually check wiki for that but sometimes i read too far and see spoilers...

 

[JonCG]

A great book - for its time really far sighted, lots of emergent cyberpunk themes - and it doesn't really date that much now. Some of it a bit heavy - all the Sumerian mythology and stuff, but some of the concepts it handles are really intriguing - the franchising, the burbclaves, the Metaverse.

If I remember Snow Crash was going to be a game but coding/tek wasn't advanced enough to do what NS wanted so it ended up as a book instead. That might explain some of the heavier info dumps. Brilliant book though. So's Cryptonomicon but in a much less cyberpunky way.

 

[Allegra]

What kind of story is it? Is it cyberpunk?

Many people have recommend this to me and i have decided to try it.

Anyone can give a short summary of the story?


I usually check wiki for that but sometimes i read too far and see spoilers...

Yes it is cyberpunk, quite punky. Worth reading if you like this sort. I liked the first half better. Summary without spoilers:

In the future the only relief from the sea of logos is the computer-generated universe of virtual reality? But now a strange computer virus, called Snow Crash, is striking down hackers, leaving an unlikely young man as humankind's last hope. This book is shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. (Play.com)

 

[Connavar]

Thanks Allegra.

It sounds interesting. I have been interested in trying cyberpunk.