Snow Crash in Q&A with Matthew Williams

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Apr 03, 2011 Matthew Williams rated it really liked it

This book is one of Stephenson's first published works and it pretty sums up what's so good (and not so good) about his writing. Released in 1992, Snow Crash predicts a world in the near future where the US has become Balkanized, the federal government is a shell of its former self, and the gap between rich and poor is enormous.

Communities are run as "franchulates" by privates interests and syndicates, corporate magnates have ridiculous amounts of power, and most people spend much of their time This book is one of Stephenson's first published works and it pretty sums up what's so good (and not so good) about his writing. Released in 1992, Snow Crash predicts a world in the near future where the US has become Balkanized, the federal government is a shell of its former self, and the gap between rich and poor is enormous.

Communities are run as "franchulates" by privates interests and syndicates, corporate magnates have ridiculous amounts of power, and most people spend much of their time in the Metaverse - an environment that is essentially the internet with VR on top. In this domain, regular people are able to circumvent and fight the absolute corporate control that exists in real life.

Sound familiar? Well, it should, because this is all traditional cyberpunk motifs.

From its setting, social commentary, and even the Metaverse itself (which is very similar to William Gibson's depiction of "Cyberspace"), this novel picks up where novels like Neuromancer and Islands in the Net left off. However, Stephenson combined this with his characteristic wit and sardonic humor, to the point that many readers think that this book was a parody of cyberpunk.

This is true to a point, as Stephenson was never big on dystopian or dark SF and has encouraged future writers to come up with more cheery visions of the future. In another sense, it represents the transition between the cyberpunk movement of the 80s and the post-cyberpunk 90s. It was at this point that SF writers stopped being all doom and gloom about the future and the role technology would play and began to look at it as more of an ambiguous thing.

However, the real draw of this book is the way it interprets ancient Sumerian myth (the Tower of Babel narrative) in terms of modern computer programming. In the beginning, it states, human language was like an operating system for the brain that was simple and universal. Then, a counter-program was introduced that confounded language and protects human minds from being controlled by a single entity.

Things become complicated when a ridiculously wealthy and powerful magnate finds a way to undo the counter-program using a virus called Snow Crash. The virus is derived from an ancient Sumerian tablet that shows how the human brain can be programmed by using the old ur-language. After stumbling onto the plot by accident, a young Hiro Protagonist (no joke) and his street-smart sidekick YT mobilize to take him down.

Personally, I loved this book! Not only was it a fun and insightful read, but it also had a serious influence on me as an SF writer. The setting, themes, and characters are just awesome (especially Raven!) The one drawback is the ending, which established Stephenson's reputation as a writer who couldn't nail a proper ending! Everything comes together, and then just ends!

No epilogue, no summation, no "and they all lived happily ever after..."

Pick it up, read it, and be prepared to tackle the companion read next: The Diamond Age! ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2010 James marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: edition-verified, sci-fi

Like

From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Matthew Williams…

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

What Members Thought

Q&A with Matthew Williams