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Summary: The Best Sci Fi Book Ever PERIOD
Review: Stephenson has written the jewel of all science fiction books with this one. I had to study for finals last week and still managed to kill the book in ten days. I've read quite a bit of sci-fi, and Stephenson's book is the best around. I think the story is much better than Neuromancer, while the book as a whole might not be as revolutionary. What makes it better is that Stephenson is one of the funniest sci-fi authors I've ever encoutered. I'm reading Cryptonomicon right now and can't get through three pages without erupting with laughter. READ BOTH!
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Summary: Harmless - should be in the junior literature section
Review: Obviously this book has some sort of market appeal - I guess if you put enough 'cool' things like pizza, swords, hot chicks, skaters, etc into a book it makes it cool... It's like, the book is seriously bereft of ideas and style - but it does have pizza in it. Give it to your teenage brother/son - he'll probably love it.
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Summary: One of the best...
Review: I haven't read a ton of books but this one was definitely one of the best I've read so far. I recommend it if you are into sci-fi and have a good imagination. I guess I liked this book a lot because I'm a software developer, so I like to think I'm like the main character (Hiro) hee hee.
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Summary: Best Cyberpunk book so far.
Review: Also, for a real twist, see what he does with Nanotech in The Diamond Age
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Summary: Fascinating, if a little hard to follow sometimes
Review: I found Snow Crash to be a very enjoyable read. I like the style that the author used to present the story. It almost seemed like a narration. The ending seemed a little rushed though. That said, I look forward to reading other books by this author.
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Summary: cyberpunk meets archaeology
Review: it is rare to find books that are as all encompassing as snow crash. i read this book for a sci fi class during college, and i was enthralled. stephenson portrayed a future corporate america - digital, territorial, with super pizza delivery boys. combined with a tantalizingly cyber take on ancient near eastern mythology, this book credits 'hackers' from 4000 years ago.possibly the best scifi book i have ever read.
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Summary: Like leftover stew, it's even better the 2nd time around
Review: Many of my fellow reviewers are correct; the first 150 pages are gripping, creative, and outrageous. The first time I read this book however, I struggled to follow the story through to the end. A year later, I could recall the opening pizza delivery scene in crystalline detail, and remembered nothing of the ending. But that's not so unusual for me; I tend to blast through books without digesting all of the content. So I sat down and devoured the book again. This time it made sense. Now that I am familiar with the world of burbclaves and loglo, I had excess processing power to absorb the Sumerian history and mythos. The ending was far more satisfying the second time also. I paid more attention to who and what Y.T. is. She's so competent and confident that it's hard to keep in mind that she's just a kid. Reading the ending with that in mind makes it far more satisfying. This is the most amazing cyberpunk novel I have ever read, Gibson included. It is well worth an attentive read. Don't read it just for the action and scenery or you'll miss out on characters with more depth than some reviewers believe.
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Summary: Lame. (unless you manage a pizza shop)
Review: So, over a decade ago I read Neuromancer, and I'm enthralled. At the time, I was a 13year old BBS geek moving into the internet (this is before gopher, and long before the WWW!). Neuromancer stuck out as being amazing. I loved the style and the concept of dark SF. Ahead 5 years, and I finally buy Count Zero and Mona Lisa OD. I realize I still love the entire concept, more now than ever, since I see how absolutely real its becoming. However, I never ventured past Gibson, as the "Mirrorshades" anthology pretty much told me that most other 'cyberpunk' authours bored me to tears. 5 more years, and someone recommends that I read Snowcrash. I also happened to find it the next day on a used rack. I bought it, read it, and hated it. Absolutely WORTHLESS. The plot was boring. The characters lifeless and stupid (I'm still reeling from how ridiculous it was to make the main character a katana-wielding wonderboy named 'Hiro Protagonist' -this isn't ground breaking, kids, its stupid). Skateboard kids who act as flippant, ultra cool couriers? Please. These are the sorts of things I'd have written as that snot-nosed 13yr old in an attempt to parrot Gibson. Then there's the constant Sumerian "plot" that keeps getting beaten over our heads (Gibson had voodoo, so I guess he needs something even more esoteric.. and unlike Gibson leaving us to figure it out, we get it all in MINDNUMBING MINUTAE). Yes, I'm glad you know more about that than I do, now shut up already, Neal. The whole religion thing with the boats, however, always struck me as somewhat interesting. I find it even more funny now that I've learned all about L Ron Hubbard's dead alien cult (scientology, see http://www.xenu.net), and I need to go back to further apprechiate this aspect of the sarcasm. Really, the only thing about this book at all that appealed to me was the opening about pizza delivery, and pizza in the future, and I figure that's because I managed a delivery store at the time and could almost relate. Skip this one, unless you're some sort of self-describe "hacker" or other, similar, techno-buzzword.
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Summary: Fun for programmers
Review: Stephenson exaggerates American culture to the point where everything (even cities), is owned by huge franchises. A multi-form virus threatens to wipe out the information age. Fun reading if you're into computer programming and the internet. Complaints: twists ancient history quite a bit (hard to tell what's real and what's fictional/apocryphal), and has a little too much reference to sex.
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Summary: of pizza and clay
Review: Ok, this one was fun. Stephenson's writing style and descriptives dragged me along with great aplomb. I found myself re-reading sections of the book for descriptions and turns of phrases. The only criticism I have is that his characters occasionally appeared to be doing the literary equivalent of mugging for the camera, and like Heinlein's heroes, things were often a bit too easy for them. But the level of research, both of the Sumerian myth and history and language/meta-virus theory was quite impressive. Enough to go and seek out some of his sources, myself. Off to read more of his work.
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