Rating: 
Summary: Neal Stephenson 'condenses fact from the vapor of nuance'...
Review:
This often tongue in cheek sci-fi adventure takes place in a
future that is a wonderfully cogent statement on our current
societal influences. While a youthful heart and humor are
prerequisites for this glimpse into the 'metaverse', it is a
ride that only those who can find no humor in themselves need
avoid.
Mr. Stephenson has woven an exquisitely visual narrative that
blends with the natural dialogue and self talk of his characters
so well, it left this reader wondering if I should research some history and buy some stock in VR technology.
If you surf the net, work in telecommunications, are involved
in any religion, have ever delivered a pizza, know what it means
to "code", ever rode a skateboard, or just plain want the best
sci-fi read of the decade, read the only novel ever honest
enough to feature as the lead character --"Hiro Protagonist".
Read Neal Stephensons SNOW CRASH.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant satire on the American Dream
Review: This book is a treat! From the first few pages you are drawn into a world that is so familiar to our own that we fail to notice how alien it really is!
This is the subtle beauty of the novel. Commenting on the trends that are gripping society in a way that fulfills and yet mocks them. With lines drawn from the dark worlds of William Gibson, this novel will help shape the way that information is shared in the future.
Rating:
Summary: excellent mix: technological SF, neurolinguistics, metaverse
Review: Lots of action, realistic extrapolation, and even a message built in, I did really enjoy reading this book.(incidentally, I was in Mumbay and got to wander why when you visit a temple they offer you a milky holy water: read the book and you'll wander too)Technically, I would recommend the author to consider compact light reactors (based on U233 and from Brasil in my extrapolations) rather then radioisotope sources as power supplies. The Diamond Age has more stile and is clearly more mature a job: Snow Crash has more action and frankly for me it was more fun to read. Re other reviews: what is the Big U?
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful fictional look at the future of virtual worlds
Review: I never did like any of William Gibson's work... "Neuromancer"
felt like what it was: a description of fictional technology
written by someone who didn't know much about the technology
itself. But "Snow Crash" is different; from the first few pages,
it's obvious Neal Stephenson understands his subject matter well. Sure,
there are hokey parts, like a motorcycle race in cyberspace (why
not just move to a different location?), but then there are
bits which are brilliant. This book is the Bible of people
building virtual world technology, and deservedly so. If you
work in the computer industry, consider this a must-read. Besides,
how can you not love a book in which the central character's
name is "Hiro Protagonist?"
Rating:
Summary: Razor sharp and RIGHT ON TARGET
Review: The novel "Snow Crash" is witty, intelligent, and accessable.
From the first chapter description of Hiro's job working for the Mob as a pizza delivery boy to skateboard-riding escapes
from the FBI, this book is simply fantastic. Stephenson's vision of a future run by socio-economic conglomerates may be slightly exagerated, but it is still probably quite close to where the world is going. While most science fiction can be (often accurately) described as vapid and uninspiring, "Snow Crash" is niether. Stephenson prose is engaging, you never want to
put it down. His vision of the future of the "Matrix" is plausible, You keep thinking,"Yeah, that's possible". Finally, his scenes are so memorable that you'll find yourself
think about them for weeks and pulling your friends over to read a particullarly funny or faced paced section. This book
is in my top five sci-fi and my top ten all time lists. Read "Snow Crash" -- You Will Love It!
Rating:
Summary: Frightening potential to be prophetic.
Review: This book grabbed me from the very beginning and was entertaining through the end. Perhaps what was most alarming about this book was that many of the "sci-fi" ideas that were presented were not that far off from present-day America. Everything a franchise, roads as towns, storage garages as living quarters, a parallel virtual world that joe six-packs escape to because the real one sucks, and the abuse of such a popular activity by the criminal underbelly to prey upon the masses. I initially snapped up this book because it was written by a fellow Iowan and have discovered an author with great potential in this, his second full-length novel.
Rating:
Summary: too too cool
Review: unputdownable. By the by, is it the best novel since "Neuromancer" - Uggggh!! - or do you mean "New Romance (r)" ? Give me more
Rating:
Summary: Innovative and hillarious cyberpunk
Review: An inceasantly clever and innovative piece of cyberpunk fiction, Snow Crash spins a complex web of intregue, technology, humor, swordfights, Sumerian mythology, skateboards and pizza. And watch for the coolest motercycle
accessory I've ever heard of.
Rating:
Summary: excellent ideas, weak plotting
Review: This book is packed with exciting and original ideas
about technology and the future. However, the plotting and writing would have benefitted greatly from tighter editing. This book is a good read but could have been
a real classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I just don't care much for the cyberpunk genre...
Review: ...but this has got to be the most disappointing novel I've ever wasted my time on! Okay, so I listened to the audiobook version while I was driving to and from work, and so I was kind of a captive audience anyway. But I would have been much better off spending that time listening to something like, "The Blue Nowhere: A Novel," by Jeffery Deaver (which I'm currently listening to), or maybe "Digital Fortress," by Dan Brown (which I've already read in book format). Although these novels may not have as much appeal to the true techno-geek/hacker types, they are much better suited to those of us who want to be engrossed in a truly riveting story while stuck in traffic. Most of the time I was confused about whether the characters were in reality or virtual reality at any given moment, and the rest of the time I was confused as to what the story was supposed to be about. Don't get me wrong - there was some great material in there, and the story might have bloomed in the hands of a truly gifted writer, but judging by this novel, Neal Stephenson is apparently not that writer. All in all, this novel was entirely forgettable.
|
