Rating: 
Summary: Mixed bag.
Review: Snow Crash: The idea of a virus being both biological and technological. Intriguing concept - but its explanation, rooted in Sumerian myth, comes off as if the author knows way too much about the subject and couldn't make it accessible to his audience (but read the novel's acknowledgments to find out the truth). For the most part, explanations involving the application of Sumerian myth to the novel's conflict take part in long, involved passages, which equate to Hiro Protagonist having long, involved conversations with a computer program. This literary set-up smacks of Stephenson researching Sumerian mythology, and rehashing conversations that he might have had with experts on the subject. It is rather clumsy: The reader will cruise along Stephenson's action-packed, cyberpunky adventure, then suddenly hit a chapter that explains why it is all happening. Kind of like the bad guy telling you his plan before he executes you: It's not subtle. An essay on the possibility of verbal viruses - condensed from explanations in the novel - would be an enjoyable read.On the other hand, Stephenson is at his best when he dabbles in cyberpunk pursuits rather than scholarly ones. The idea of 'franchulates', corporate ownership, and religious fanaticism tying together in the near-future is a common one (suggest reading Palahniuk's "Survivor") but pizza delivery and courier service are envisioned especially well [Stephenson takes skateboarding to an entirely new level]. Snow Crash is full of puns, and bits of irony and wit, which shouldn't be overlooked. Although Hiro renders avatars with the greatest of ease in the Metaverse, Stephenson's main characters are a bit flimsy - on the whole, they give off the impression there was a labored attempt to make them three-dimensional. Or: Characters may be introduced once, serve a purpose, then simply fade away or are very conveniently disposed of. The characters are loosely tied together - or just ridiculously (read: the protagonist and his nemesis share a rather unlikely connection). Characters - especially secondary characters, which there are (in my opinion) far too many of them - also tend to come off as stereotypes: hero, nemesis, love interest, boss, fiesty girl, brooding sniper. The novel's structure is a bit disjointed and unbalanced. There are many loose ends. The first few chapters are unique; the ending is contrived. (Alternative title that involves harpooning - since Snow Crash seeks to tackle many varied subjects, including references to Moby Dick: Ahab's Wife.)
Rating: 
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: I was a bit out of my reading phases when I picked up Snow Crash. It was the same time that Cryptonomicon came out, and I wanted to see what Stephenson's style was like before diving into it's 900+ pages. Snow Crash is a very interesting story set in a futuristic world and meta-world. The main character, Hiro, is well developed, and you get a really good feeling of how things go through his mind by the end of the novel. Of the several books of Stephenson's that I have read (I've enjoyed them all as well), I can easily say that this is my favorite. I definately couldn't put the book down!
Rating: 
Summary: This is great fiction
Review: While the writing is sometimes sloppy, this is a fun book to read. The plot and characters are well fleshed out, the themes are appealing and well presented, and there is a nice streak of humor running throughout. Of course, it's also thought that Stephenson is prescient beyond the norm - there's a lot of science fiction that has become (or is becoming) science fact. Crash is almost a great book. Like Cormac McCarthy, NS demands a lot from his reader. You need to pay attention to really get at the meat of what this book represents. The themes are subtly interwoven, sometimes truly hidden amongst good dialog or a clever bit of prose. There are passages that bear re-reading, especially after you finish the book. What this book lacks is ... polish. For all of the layers, the humor, the plot lines, and the themes, there is a connectedness missing. I felt at times that I was watching a John Woo movie - all the pieces are there, but no glue. Don't worry - what NS lacks in sophistication as a writer, he makes up for by being a clever storyteller and a good journalist for a future that might yet come.
Rating:
Summary: Read this.
Review: Read this book. Yah...I know...the description sounds dumb... who'd want to read a book about a pizza delivery guy? The pizza delivery thing is just a vehicle for Stephenson's commentary on commerce/customer service. Plenty of stuff in here for the computer geeks (like me). I learned quite a bit about linguistics, too.
Rating:
Summary: A glimpse into the future ... oh yeah, and some other stuff.
Review: Not being into cyberpunk (as a genre), I took a friend's advice and read Snow Crash. I wasn't disappointed. Neal Stephenson's "in your face" writing, grabs you by the shoulders and rockets you through the not-so-far-away future, ruled by franchises such as Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong and The Mafia -- You've Got a Friend in the Family!, and policed by franchises like The MetaCops. A future with public street computer terminals on every corner, so you can log onto the MetaVerse, because virtual reality beats staring at the walls of your U-Stor-It 20x30 space. Published at a time when CompuServe, Prodigy, and AOL were just taking off, Snow Crash gives you a glimpse of how things might (and probably will) be, and as an added plus, gives you a lesson in ancient history. The main characters have just enough attitude to make you care about their mis/adventures through the prefab, neon landscape, and even though the history lesson slows you down, it's not as if you aren't learning anything in the process. I recommend this book to everyone whose social life consists of booting up and logging on, and to whomever appreciates the type of fast-paced, creative, and humorous writing that Neal Stephenson seems to excel at.
Rating:
Summary: Hackers and skaters save the day...
Review: While the world is set only slighltly after it's writing in the early 1990s it is not the world as we know it though it might actually go that way. The American government is basically extinct and the country is ruled by franchises like Mr. Lee's Greater HongKong or New South Africa. Hiro Protagonist, a hacker, finds himself pitted against a virus called Snow Crash that destroys the brain of hackers, there is a drug by the same name, too, and people infected by it start talking in tongues. Y.T. is a fifteen year old skater who works as a Kourier and forms a intel gathering partnership with Hiro. She is a spunky girl who has a way of making strange acquaintances: Uncle Enzo the DON of the Mafia being among them. I thouroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and the plot turned unexpected corners every now and then. There is some ideology involved as in all scifi, but since Sumer is an interest of mine anyway this was an additional bonus, but you can enjoy the book without this too.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to the hype
Review: I had to read this book for a Science Lit class in college. When the professor told us about it, I thought this book sounded really interesting. I'm not a Science Fiction fan at all, but I thought this sounded like something I would like. I was wrong. It held my interest for about the first quarter of the book, but once Stephenson started getting into all the Sumerian stuff, I quickly lost interest. I had no desire to finish this book. I also don't think that the characters were very well developed at all. They all seemed like very flat characters. I couldn't relate to them, and I certainly didn't sympathize with them. This book is confusing in a lot of ways and Stephenson seems to be rambling and trying to impress the reader with how big his vocabulary is and how smart he is. Reading this book was a big waste of time. It seems like Stephenson couldn't decide whether he wanted to write a fictional book or a non fiction book. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone and don't really understand why there is so much hype surrounding this book. To Stephenson's credit, the book is fairly easy reading. But I don't think that this book is ENJOYABLE reading, which to me is the first thing a book should be. Someone who is really into Science Fiction might really like this book, but most other readers probably won't. Don't buy into the hype surrounding this book. Skip it.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Genre
Review: _Snow Crash_ followed William Gibson's _Neuromancer_ in much the same way that dungeons and dragons fantasy followed Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy. It doesn't start a new genre, but the story moves faster and the character development is easier because the foundation is already there. _Neuromancer_ was first, but all other cyberpunk novels have to be compared with _Snow Crash_, a combination of mature cyberbunk ideas with the best wit and satire of Neal Stephenson.
Rating:
Summary: Snow Crash
Review: Stephenson's work is hard to describe, because it embraces so many subjects! This one has a Japanese/American Samurai Warrior/ Computer Hacker for a hero... Hiro: Hiro Protagonist. There's a (computer) virus being spread by this 7 foot deviant Eskimo genius wielding an incredibly sharp blade made of all natural ingredients. This virus is able to cross the information/biological barrier, to "wipe clean" a person's mental slate, leaving their mind's eye as empty and chaotic as the "snow" you can see on TV, after the station signs off. Very dangerous. I loved it. His "Diamond Age" follow up is great too.Different.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a great science fiction book
Review: This is somewhat of a new venture for me. The only other science fictions I have read were: Cobra Event, and Area 51. This book was pleasently surprising. The way Neal Stephenson writes will keep you interested throughout the book. His use of humor makes the pages fly bye. My only two complaints are that the book gets a little tedious in the section regarding ancient sumer(mainly history), and also, a book this great deserves a much better ending. Even with these downfalls, this is still an excellent book that I would highly recommend to all readers.
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