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A review by markproxy
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
3.0
Why this title shows up on Best of Science Fiction lists is beyond me. Entertaining book, but nothing particularly thought-provoking. Stephenson clearly had a lot of fun with language in this book, with results that were sometimes delightful, sometimes laughably bad. An example of the latter, from page one: "A bullet will bounce off its arachnofiber weave like a wren hitting a patio door, but excess perspiration wafts through it like a breeze through a freshly napalmed forest."
If you can get over -- or perhaps even relish -- the over-the-top Genre voice, then you can look forward to a fairly well paced adventure novel (aside from a few awkward multi-page expository dialogues), set in an amusing alternative-modern-day world. The characters aren't particularly compelling, but they're likeable enough. I found the book easy to set aside, and easy to get back into, with an ending that doesn't try to be more than it is.
If you can get over -- or perhaps even relish -- the over-the-top Genre voice, then you can look forward to a fairly well paced adventure novel (aside from a few awkward multi-page expository dialogues), set in an amusing alternative-modern-day world. The characters aren't particularly compelling, but they're likeable enough. I found the book easy to set aside, and easy to get back into, with an ending that doesn't try to be more than it is.