false 3 31 22 true 5940248 read 1 true 5007884 currently-reading 8 true 5007877 to-read <![CDATA[Steve added 'The Atrocity Archives']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55641354 to: The Atrocity Archives (The Laundry, Book 1) by Charles Stross
]]> <![CDATA[Steve added 'Spook Country']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64090367 Spook Country (Hardcover) by William Gibson
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Steve added 'Pattern Recognition']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64090231 to: Pattern Recognition (Paperback) by William Gibson
]]> <![CDATA[Steve added 'Burning Chrome']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57501737 Burning Chrome (Paperback) by William Gibson
]]> <![CDATA[Steve is on page 74 of Burning Chrome ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57501737 Steve is on page 74 of 224 of Burning Chrome ]]> <![CDATA[Steve added '2001: A Space Odyssey']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55900084 2001: A Space Odyssey (Paperback) by Arthur C. Clarke
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Steve joined a group.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1233.Cyberpunk Steve joined the Cyberpunk and SFBRP Listeners groups. ]]> <![CDATA[new comment from Steve]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/142779-what-did-you-read-last Steve made a comment in the SFBRP Listeners group:

I recently finished Stephenson's "Snow Crash (SC)." The lackluster ending had me desperately searching Google for answers and ultimately is what lead me to Luke's SFBRP.

Did I like it? Uh, sure. It definitely had it's charm. The book started well but came to a grinding halt midway through in the dreaded "Librarian" chapters. I suffered in these chapters only to find out everything would be summarized in a big reveal near the end of the story. After the midpoint the story was all over the place. Characters I liked made decisions that completely went against their personalities, plot opportunities were missed by a mile and poor attempts were made at coaxing the reader into sympathizing with the "bad guys". All of this might sound harsh but the plot was still interesting and the humor was mostly in the right place, if a bit adolescent.

The technology was really interesting, especially for its time. Everything from adaptive tires (search "tweel" when you finish the book), MMORPGs (kind of), inflatable impact suits and even Google Earth are mentioned. Well, I'm sure the ideas had been around before Stephenson put his words to word processor but seeing these concepts in a novel published in 1992 is impressive.

The societal structure, however improbable, I found amusing. Would the US government just "give up" and allow the 50 states to be separated and franchised out as mini nations? Not likely. But at the time SC was written it was somewhat relevant. Coming out of 8 years of Regan and 4 years of Bush Sr., some believed the US government might end up kind of franchised. Some might say it unofficially is now. Yeah, I might have just contradicted myself a little. Oh well.

Don't worry, no spoilers. This is all either immediately explained in the book or isn't detrimental to the story.

And sorry for the rambling.

Would I recommend it? Yes. It is still cyberpunk and an overall fun book. I really liked some of the characters and I find that short period of time in the early 90's that the book seems to be drawing from fascinating.

Who would I recommend it to? Anyone who likes graphic novels. I kept thinking to myself, "this would make an excellent comic/anime/action Showtime or HBO series." I couldn't help but compare SC to shows like "Cowboy Bebop". It made even more sense when I read the note from the author at the end of my print.

Who recommended it? I mentioned to a friend that I had just read Neuromancer a few months ago and he immediately gushed over SC. He insisted it was essential cyberpunk and most of the reviews for it claim the same. So I took the plunge. ]]> <![CDATA[new comment from Steve]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55641927 Steve's review of Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami

Coming from the vampiric speed reader, this is truly a compliment. I am flattered! ]]>