Rob's Reviews > Snow Crash

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

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156533
's review
Oct 03, 09

bookshelves: all-time-favorites, science-fiction, own, 2009, time-all-time-100, 100-paperbacks
Recommended for: anyone
Read in January, 2009, read count: 8

When I first read Snow Crash, I thought to myself: "This thing is paced like a comic." Funny then to later discover that the novel was written after a comic book attempt at the same story fell apart.

Snow Crash is the paradigmatic Stephenson novel. Grabs you quickly, thrusts you head long into world that's so preposterous that he can't possibly be making it up, and the drags you along kicking and screaming until you're left startled and somewhat confused at a precipitous ending.

But don't let that fool you. This is probably Stephenson's best, most memorable work. It's certainly my favorite and it's certainly the one that's the most fun. (Which is probably why I've read it ten times.)

UPDATE: Yep. Still one of my all-time-favorites.

UPDATE: See also: Filet of Meta-Conflict.

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SEE ALSO
"10 Science Fiction Books That I Love (and you will at least like a lot)" at litreactor

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Quotes Rob Liked

Neal Stephenson
“Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, and devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad.”
Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash


Reading Progress

12/25/2008 page 35
7.95% "got a new copy (new cover!) for Xmas; just as good as I remember it"
12/26/2008 page 54
12.27% "I always kind of imagined that the MetaCops that arrest YT were Eddie & Lou (from The Simpsons)"
01/01/2009 page 183
41.59% "that wacky, lovable Y.T.!"
01/06/2009 page 279
63.41% ""...then the guy with the swords goes nuts in the gear shop.""
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Comments (showing 1-4 of 4) (4 new)

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selena I just finished this two or three days ago. And I cannot believe that it is over. I'm told that the Diamond Age also features Y.T. but like 60 years later or something. I think this one will get a re-read before the year is over.


message 3: by Rob (new) - rated it 5 stars

Rob selena wrote: "I just finished this two or three days ago. And I cannot believe that it is over. I'm told that the Diamond Age also features Y.T. but like 60 years later or something. I think this one will get a ..."

It's worth a re-read. I think I've read it 7 or 8 times over the tears. And yes, there is an oblique appearance by YT in The Diamond Age.


message 4: by David (last edited Jan 13, 2009 08:11pm) (new) - rated it 5 stars

David Katzman Yep, this is the most fun, but Cryptonomicon was brilliant.


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