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The most helpful favourable review
The most helpful critical review
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Style over Substance
A book with brilliant ideas and plenty of substance, but even more style. Every cariacature and cliche is here, but taken to the slickest, coolest, and baddest end. It's not a complex plot, but it's a complicated one. With multiple story threads, that means that when the time for a re-read rolls around, you'll feel like you're reading a different story. I'd like to...
Published on 3 Feb 2000
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
All a bit slapdash, really
Never understated, often ridiculous, Snow Crash is still rather entertaining. The story is pulled all over the place, with the author packing in incidents to give flavour to this near-future, sometimes purposefully, sometimes not. The explanation of people's rationales is sometimes highly detailed, which unfortunately conflicts with the many seemingly arbitrary and...
Published on 30 May 2001
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Style over Substance, 3 Feb 2000
By A Customer
A book with brilliant ideas and plenty of substance, but even more style. Every cariacature and cliche is here, but taken to the slickest, coolest, and baddest end. It's not a complex plot, but it's a complicated one. With multiple story threads, that means that when the time for a re-read rolls around, you'll feel like you're reading a different story. I'd like to believe this was intentional on his part (the Diamond Age has a similar feel to it) The scope of this book ranges from the bizarre to the absurd, from the civilised to the savage. The future Stephenson shares with us is hopefully not prophetic, but is realistic enough to come true, and is still near enough to the real world to see trends in society making it come true. Inspiring, frightening, exciting and amusing all at once, I don't think I've read any book more times than Snow Crash. Read 'The Diamond Age' (same author), 'Interface' by Stephen Bury (pseudonym). Also excellent books. As another reviewer mentioned. For a similar style of read, read the also excellent 'Only Forward' by Michael Marshall-Smith. Buy it, now.
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
Deliverator, 1 Oct 2003
Snow Crash was Neal Stephenson's breakthrough novel and is the one that saw him being labelled inaccurately as a cyberpunk novelist. Snow Crash is a brilliant witty science fiction adventure. In the near future the nation state of America has broken down and people live in corporate owned mini city-states. The Mafia control pizza delivery and Hiro Protagonist a samurai sword wielding deadbeat hacker is a Deliverator of pizzas. Hiro is drawn into a complex plot to enslave people's minds when a computer virus/drug called Snow Crash is released onto the Metaverse. Trying to stop Hiro in his quest to save the world is Raven an Aleutian psychopath with razor thin glass knives and a Nuclear Weapon strapped to his motorcycle. This book is responsible for bringing into public consciousness many cyberspace concepts that are now becoming commonplace. The concept of the Metaverse and Avatars is now mainstream in MMORPGs such as Everquest and The Sims Online. Also the idea that the human brain is programmable and is capable of crashing has become accepted by neuroscientists and can be seen in the science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Stephenson demonstrates an ability here to dump a lot of information into your brain without you noticing, and although there are a few missteps along the way generally his science is sound unlike many SF writers. The one failing of the book is that the over-arching threat posed by L. Bob Rife and his plan to take over the world never seems threatening enough and dwindles in comparison to the actual physical threat of Raven. The world conceived of in the book is both a brilliant backdrop to the plot and a credible possible future that we may be facing. When governments lose the power to collect taxes then they cease to be of any use and citizens will seek the services of protection and education from corporations. If the first 25 pages don't get you hooked then put the book down, step away carefully and go numb your mind by watching television game shows.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Control Alt Delete Restart, 11 Nov 2002
To the extent that a book can be described as original, "Snow Crash", by Neal Stephenson is deserving of the moniker. About the only common ground that his work shares with others is that ink is applied to paper using the same letters, and then pages are bound to create a book. Much beyond that and you are in the midst of this Author's view of a given world he has modified and created. He is not only incredibly unique; his wit passes the cutting edge to the bleeding edge of razor sharp sarcasm, and irony. And when he uses words he assembles them in arrangements you have never listened to before. An important aspect that sets his work apart in this genre is that while delivering enormous amounts of information, he keeps the reader informed, he does not lose you, he ensures you stay with his wickedly fast pace by keeping you educated. Other Authors of Science Fiction are weak on this point, and it weakens their books.
One date to remember when reading this work is that it was first released in June of 1992 after three years in the making. This is critical, as so much of what was absolute fiction then, may now be found within the pages of Wired Magazine. There are even words he originated that are common to most people who use a computer, especially if you have ever tried what he calls the Metaverse, touring it as an Avatar.
One of the reasons his work is so authentic and exceptionally good is that he knows his material. If he talks about code he's qualified, as he has written it. When he is speaking of Sumerian Mythology an Author who spent years researching his material is again relating it. And when he just lets go with dialogue or descriptive prose it is mind binding for being clever, unique, and hilarious. He also has raised sardonic prose to an art form. If he were any less a craftsman, a main character named Hiro Protagonist that at one point delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's Cosa Nostra Pizzeria, would be moronic.
Technology, a version of what today's society might look like one day, viruses that share traits whether attacking a human or a silicon life form, the origins of language based on Biblical text, it just never stops. He is an extraordinary artist who chooses to express his art through words. It is a unique ride if you have yet to take it, and one that you will never forget.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good yarn based round a vision of the future of the internet, 20 Dec 1999
By A Customer
Not one I'd recommend for its complex, intricate plot with a clever twist at the end - because it doesn't have either - but the setting of the novel, where the Metaverse [cyberspace] exists alongside reality, is described in such detail, and sounds so plausible, that it is well worth a read. For a vision of the future of the internet, and one which could be here in a very few years, it's the best I've seen.The novel is also about the rampant progress, if progress is the right word, of consumerism, and is rather more chilling if that aspect of it is to be taken as a vision of the future we're heading for. However, this element of the story seems to me to be something for the much more distant future at least. In its description of the society of the future at least, "Snow Crash" is reminiscent of Michael Marshall Smith's "Only Forward" - another five-star candidate in my book. Buy them both today.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
If you only ever read one cyberpunk novel..., 14 Aug 2003
If you only ever read one cyberpunk novel, read this one. The publishing of this book in 1993 was a defining moment in the evolution of cyberpunk with the book instantly becoming the genre’s paradigm. It was the ultimate in computers, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s vision of cyberspace connected intimately with the expectations of the ‘Doom’ playing computer generation and made William Gibson’s cyberspace of raw date look as obsolete as the computers that had inspired it.But Snow Crash is more than just a great cyberpunk story, it is a great novel. Here is a boisterous book that is endlessly inventive, with a fine cast of characters moving in lavishly described surroundings, with a plot that encompasses the world, with a great sense of humour and irony throughout. With its mix of technology and mythology, hard science and ‘X-Files’ fantasy, and humour and cynicism the novel was a great reflection of popular culture. In Neal Stephenson, cyberpunk and science fiction had found their Dickens. However, to experience the real sensation that is Snow Crash, you shouldn’t try to read it too deeply. To do so is to risk becoming roadkill under the thundering wheels juggernaut that is this book. Instead, like it heroine, ‘poon a ride on the back of Stephenson’s speeding narrative and thrash your way through his cyber-cityscapes. It’s a trip worth taking.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
excellent, 19 Dec 2005
Now, you will read some reviews here that say it isn't Neuromancer. Of course it isnt, its not trying to be Neuromancer. I personally like Neuromancer, however, I think Stephenson add more to this genre than Gibson ever could.
Stephenson has managed to outwit Gibson by giving the book likable characters that have an amusing side, rather than the dreary, boring characters Gibson tends towards.
Stephenson also managed to make the metaverse, matrix, cyber space, whatever you want to call it, imagineable, you can picture what Snowcrash is trying to describe the metaverse to be.
Overall the book is a great read, but you do have to have an imagination unlike most of the reviewers who gave this book a 1,2 or 3 star. Simple as.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
prophetic, 6 Jun 2007
I found this a bit slow to begin with but after 100 pages or so the story really starts to motor, taking you along at a fair clip. The prose sizzles with stone-hard description, cool tech and a sassily cool main character. It's funny in places too, properly funny.
The ideas in here mark it out for special attention. Set in a chaotic, privatised, broken up, lawless future world, and inside a 3-D virual one, the story explores the nature of language, religion and hacking. Orbiting the central ideas, which I'm not sure gel completely convincingly (but are still convincing enough), we encounter other fine fruits of Stephenson's imagination like the massive floating refugee camp, Kouriers with their fantastic skateboards, and guard dogs from hell.
The rest of it works. Fine characters, some really great set pieces and a good ending. A super read - well worth the time invested.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
(Snow)Crashed and Burned!, 21 April 2007
It's almost 10years since I 1st read this, I've lost count of the times I've re-read it! This is what real sci-fi should be about, possible futures, read this, look at the publication date and then marvel at how spot on many of the concepts thru this novel are now reality. Not only did Neal Stephenson create a gripping read, but incorporated fact and future worlds..... still waiting for the kick ass movie this would make!!!!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A fascinating, thrilling ride , 24 Mar 2007
Snowcrash is a brillant book - populated with incandesent characters, densely packed with ideas yet still with a plot that rattles along.
The descriptions in the book are superb. The dysfunctional, decaying choas of Reality is wonderfully realised; and a stark contrast to the rule-bound, beautifully logical Metaverse. Those opening few pages are entrancing - the world of the Deliverator is clearly mad, clearly widly over the top, but it's so refreshing to have the action and characters positively sizzle off the page with the force of the author's vision.
The characters are wonderful drawn - Hiro, YT, Raven and Uncle Enzo especially so. These are characters that don't just have avatars in the Metaverse - they each have a mask or a character to provide a front for them in Reality to. (Like Hiro's Deliverator or YT's Kourier.)
Hiro really is a hero. Both he and YT are intensely likeable, compelling protagonists (excuse the pun.) I love Hiro's geek / warrior duality. But most of all it's the fact that both he, and YT, are 'good' people - on the side on the righteous even in a world where you could be left wondering if anyone was.
It's also very funny. It's not always an obvious humour, but there's a dry, occassionally subversive wit throughout - whether it's the name of the lead character, the fractured city states that dot the former USA or listening to Reason.
Occasionally you almost feel like you're stepping into a hall of mirrors. The Metaverse v Reality; Inanna / Enki v Hiro / Juanita and the coincidence of Hiro and Raven's fathers' fateful meeting. I like that the fact that it's tough to tell whether the author is trying to make a deeply profound point or if he's just having a bit of fun.
Oh, and you have to love the Rat Things, especially poor Fido.
I'm not sure what I think about about all that Sumerian mythology and its links to language and hacking - and I don't think it matters - it works in the book.
My only regret is that I didn't read this book when it first came out in 1992, which meant I didn't get to read it when it would have been even more startling an experience.
Very, very highly recommended.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Science fiction at its best, 3 Mar 2005
When I first read this book (over 10 years ago) I was of the opinion that it was the best science fiction book ever written. On re-reading it recently I am no longer sure that it is the best but it certainly is excellent.Snow Crash is well written, with a strong well-paced plot and an interesting, well realised, cast of characters. Most importantly it bristles with ideas. I loved his bizarre vision of the future. The USA in terrible economic decline (worthless trillion dollar notes) with no law, just a franchise system of government (or independent Burbclaves). A brilliant reworking of the Babel myth utilising a type of direct linguistic programming - allowing people to be directly controlled through language. On first reading I was impressed with the Metaverse (a kind of equivalent of Gibson's cyberspace) but 10 years later it is much less impressive - it is far too literal and too closely modelled on reality to fire the imagination. The action proceeds at breakneck speed - Hiro is a good hero and Raven is a fantastic bad guy. His physical threat almost leaps from the page (although he is such an excellent character that he does tend to overshadow the more sinister threat of the main villain L. Bob Rife). I love Stephenson's work, particularly the early books, but as other reviewers have noted endings are not strength. This is one of his better efforts (certainly better than the ending of the otherwise excellent The Diamond Age) but is still rather abrupt and not entirely satisfactory. None of the problems really matter, at the end of the day they are just quibbles - it is still a totally fantastic book! Buy it, read it, enjoy it
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This product
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Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (Paperback - 29 Aug 2002)
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