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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pretty much just as good as everyone and the book jacket promised. Pynchon-esque and all. Except I wanted more-- or the capacity to be a better/slower reader. Like, with a book like this you want to speed through the researchy parts because you want to know what happened/what's happening... and a lot of times the stuff that reads like a wikipedia page is super interesting but it's being explained during, like, a motorcycle chase or something, so you can't help but want to read quickly. I got the jist of the archeological stuff that drives the major conflict, but feel like I need to reread to really "get" it all completely.
Wow.
Juste wow.
Ce livre m’a mis une vraie claque. Et franchement, je ne m’attendais pas du tout à un tel développement. Ce livre est … Difficile à appréhender et à critiquer, parce qu’il part un peu dans tous les sens. Honnêtement, je me trouve incapable d’en faire un résumé (beaucoup de personnages, d’évènements et retournements de situation qui n’ont pas forcément de liens entre les uns et les autres), mais pour la faire courte, c’est du bon vieux cyberpunk comme on les aime, du genre à te retourner le cerveau sur des questions aussi diverses que la quête d’humanité/le transhumanisme, la religion, l’amour, le lien avec la technologie. Franchement un très, très bon bouquin, que je relirai avec plaisir. Et qui me refait tomber amoureuse du style de Stephenson.
Wow. Just wow. This book was a massive slap in the face. And, frankly, I did not expect such developments. This book is … Difficult to grasp and critic, because it follows quite a few storylines at the same time. Honestly, I find myself incapable of resuming it (lots of characters, events and twists that do not necessarily have links between each others), but to make it short, it is some good old cyberpunk like we love it, the type to turn your mind back and forth on questions like humanity/transhumanism, religion, love, technology. It is a very, very good book, and I will read again with great pleasure. It made me fall in love again with Stephenson’s style.
Wow. Just wow. This book was a massive slap in the face. And, frankly, I did not expect such developments. This book is … Difficult to grasp and critic, because it follows quite a few storylines at the same time. Honestly, I find myself incapable of resuming it (lots of characters, events and twists that do not necessarily have links between each others), but to make it short, it is some good old cyberpunk like we love it, the type to turn your mind back and forth on questions like humanity/transhumanism, religion, love, technology. It is a very, very good book, and I will read again with great pleasure. It made me fall in love again with Stephenson’s style.
Reading “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson was my first ever venture into the Science-Fiction sub-genre of Cyberpunk. I actually read it as part of a Sci-Fi Reader Challenge which has already helped introduce me to other types of Science Fiction novel. What I found was a book full of cyber-noir locations, eccentric but rather stereotypical personalities and a complex, roller coaster ride of a plot that brings together elements of science, technology and religious thought.
The story itself revolves around two main characters, a hacker known as Hiro Protagonist and a 15 year old skateboarding courier known as Y.T. The novel initially focuses on the accidental meeting between Hiro and Y.T. and uses this to highlight the dystopian United States, where everything has been privatised and communities are organised into their various franchised mini nations. However, the plot line soon develops into a mad cap and rather comic adventure as Hiro and Y.T. get pulled into fighting against a group conspiring to control humanity though a virus in both the real world and cyber world.
The first few chapters in the story really are quite superb, as they take the reader on an action packed, high octane narrative of a Pizza Deliverator who must deliver the pizza on time or he faces unknown punishment from the company that he works for which is owned by the Mafia. Stephenson did a great job with this early section of the novel as the quick pace and enjoyable thrills ensured that I was hooked right from the beginning.
Of course the pace doesn’t stay that fast for ever but the plot itself continues to provide many enjoyable and varied elements that have probably helped to give the novel such a high place in geek culture. There are TRON style motorcycle races, swordfights, supersonic attack dogs, nuclear powered Gatling guns and a rather intriguing if rather dry look at Sumerian myths and ancient viruses that help to create a fun and enjoyable read. The only issue that this vast menagerie of differing plot points is that it turns the book into a rather complicated and messy affair that is not easy to follow. However, due to the fact it was both entertaining and fascinating I was willing to put in the work so that I could understand it all.
Whilst the plot is quite original, the characters themselves seemed rather unimaginative. Yes, Hiro is quite likeable but there is very little development to his character and I felt that he was mainly used as both a way to infodump Sumerian history to the reader. Y.T. seemed a little bit more developed and I found myself being amused by her spunky attitude. However, at times I kept thinking that she just came across a rather stereotypical view of what many young teenage computer literate boys would fantasize over.
However, my biggest issue with the story was the ending; it was over rather suddenly and didn’t provide any real closure to the characters journey. I had thoroughly been enjoying the adventure so it was a bit disappointing to end the story thinking “Oh, is that it?” It would have nice to understand more about what happened to everyone after the various incidents that formed the finale to the novel.
Overall, I found this to be a really enjoyable foray into the cyberpunk genre and I am sure I will now sample other similar books. I am not sure how much someone who isn’t interested in the cyber world would get out of reading this book but it should be thoroughly entertaining for my fellow computer geeks, especially those who were around in the 90’s when virtual worlds and the internet really began their rapid growth.
The story itself revolves around two main characters, a hacker known as Hiro Protagonist and a 15 year old skateboarding courier known as Y.T. The novel initially focuses on the accidental meeting between Hiro and Y.T. and uses this to highlight the dystopian United States, where everything has been privatised and communities are organised into their various franchised mini nations. However, the plot line soon develops into a mad cap and rather comic adventure as Hiro and Y.T. get pulled into fighting against a group conspiring to control humanity though a virus in both the real world and cyber world.
The first few chapters in the story really are quite superb, as they take the reader on an action packed, high octane narrative of a Pizza Deliverator who must deliver the pizza on time or he faces unknown punishment from the company that he works for which is owned by the Mafia. Stephenson did a great job with this early section of the novel as the quick pace and enjoyable thrills ensured that I was hooked right from the beginning.
Of course the pace doesn’t stay that fast for ever but the plot itself continues to provide many enjoyable and varied elements that have probably helped to give the novel such a high place in geek culture. There are TRON style motorcycle races, swordfights, supersonic attack dogs, nuclear powered Gatling guns and a rather intriguing if rather dry look at Sumerian myths and ancient viruses that help to create a fun and enjoyable read. The only issue that this vast menagerie of differing plot points is that it turns the book into a rather complicated and messy affair that is not easy to follow. However, due to the fact it was both entertaining and fascinating I was willing to put in the work so that I could understand it all.
Whilst the plot is quite original, the characters themselves seemed rather unimaginative. Yes, Hiro is quite likeable but there is very little development to his character and I felt that he was mainly used as both a way to infodump Sumerian history to the reader. Y.T. seemed a little bit more developed and I found myself being amused by her spunky attitude. However, at times I kept thinking that she just came across a rather stereotypical view of what many young teenage computer literate boys would fantasize over.
However, my biggest issue with the story was the ending; it was over rather suddenly and didn’t provide any real closure to the characters journey. I had thoroughly been enjoying the adventure so it was a bit disappointing to end the story thinking “Oh, is that it?” It would have nice to understand more about what happened to everyone after the various incidents that formed the finale to the novel.
Overall, I found this to be a really enjoyable foray into the cyberpunk genre and I am sure I will now sample other similar books. I am not sure how much someone who isn’t interested in the cyber world would get out of reading this book but it should be thoroughly entertaining for my fellow computer geeks, especially those who were around in the 90’s when virtual worlds and the internet really began their rapid growth.
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
So fun. Such a zany ride through futurism and post-apocalypticish life. Even with the eye rolling religion takes, it’s just so weird and fun. Loved it.
Now that it’s 2025, it was interesting to see what Stephenson got right and wrong about ai. The “Librarian” character is just as helpful and knowledgeable as our real life AIs, but where today the AI would just make something up (or have access to some of the more basic questions Hero asks) the Librarian demurs. And where the Librarian makes wild assertions about history and religion, real life AIs are much more circumspect. Still, a fun view on what AI could have been (and might still be). Hopefully some of the darker sides of Stephensons world will remain fiction!
Now that it’s 2025, it was interesting to see what Stephenson got right and wrong about ai. The “Librarian” character is just as helpful and knowledgeable as our real life AIs, but where today the AI would just make something up (or have access to some of the more basic questions Hero asks) the Librarian demurs. And where the Librarian makes wild assertions about history and religion, real life AIs are much more circumspect. Still, a fun view on what AI could have been (and might still be). Hopefully some of the darker sides of Stephensons world will remain fiction!
This was one of my favorite books growing up and I'm happy that reading it years later I still find it insanely fun. It's definitely got a reckless vibe to it but I appreciate a book with attitude and just genuinely goofy writing and storytelling. The thing to remember though is even though a ton of this stuff now seems to have come to pass, this book was written in the early nineties so it's been eerily prescient. If you want a dorky fun cyberpunk (or post-cyberpunk according to some) I highly recommend this.
Is this supposed to be a spoof of Cyberpunk? Snow Crash is an enjoyable book; great world building, not much of a plot.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix