Rating: 
Summary: 7.5
Review: Stephenson creates a highly interesting and believable world. The first half of the book had me in stitches as he lays down the foundation of the future. Toward the middle, the discussions on history had me a little confused, but it was then all suddenly explained in one foul swoop. Very provocative! From that point on, the story looses a bit of its edge and kind of seems thrown in as an after thought. The ending was very weak. Overall a worthy read
Rating: 
Summary: A race to the future at sixty thousand miles an hour
Review: I have two words for this book: Simply Amazing.
From the very beginning of the book I was hooked on the fast paced action.
The main character, Hiro Protagonist, is an absolute genius.
Not only is he a master hacker, he's the world's greatest sword fighter.
When he teams up with Y.T., a local Kourier, they become an unstopable team.
Anyone who has at least a slight knowledge of computers should not pass this one up.
Stephenson has really created a classic with this fine piece.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, extremely funny, technologically sophisticated
Review: One of the problems I often have when reading a book with central themes like "cyberspace" and Artifical Intelligence is that very often the writer's lack of a core understanding of present technology doesn't allow him to plausibly predict it's probable evolution. In disagreement with a recent posting that stated that he "gets most of the technology wrong," I'd like to state that as a programmer and network engineer I was more impressed by this book in terms of technological realism than by any book of its type that I can recall. I have no idea what Neal Stephenson did for a living before he wrote, but if it wasn't programming, networking or computer engineering, he's studied it well or has friends who've coached him well. He never once used a plot deviced that seemed impossible or illogical, which is very rare indeed. This is in stark contrast to Gibson's Neuromancer, which although it entertained me, did not show in it's writing style that the writer had any underlying understanding of the functioning of a computer. In fact, Gibson can be forgiven for his lack of technological sophistication only because of the fact that his work was so ground-breaking for the time at which it was written. (Gibson has admitted he never even owned a PC or worked with a computer until after that book was written). This book has great satiric wit, and lies within the definition of "hard sf". A great combination in my book. It was so enjoyable and memorable I have to give it a 10.
Rating: 
Summary: Good start, weak finish
Review: I mainly read fantasy with occasional forays into scifi. I ordered this book on the strength of the acclaim from other readers. For the first several chapters I really enjoyed the read, with the biting satire and ultra hip characters. But the book lost steam mid way through, and was a bit of a chore to finish. Frankly the lectures on the nature of religion and verbal viruses were incredibly dull. It ruined the momentum created by the fast paced beginning. Also the humor virtually (pun intended) disappeared at the same time. I kept anticipating another amusing vignette but it never happened. As in many science fiction or fantasy hack jobs, the characters never rose above their stereotypic introductions. My advice is to check it out in your local library. When you get to the section involving the Librarian, if you still like it, then fork over the bucks for your own copy. Me, I'm rereading Hyperion.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book!
Review: I absolutely loved this book. Just don't examine the archeology too closely - I've heard here and from others that the archeology Stephenson uses is completely absurd. However, this is a book I reread every so often. I absolutely love the concept of the Black Sun, a place where the best hackers can gather in the Metaverse. The concept of a computer drug/virus that can kill is fascinating. This book stretches the mind. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Best Book I have ever read!!!
Review: I have to say this is the best book I have ever read. But I must say, you will either love this book, or hate it.
Rating:
Summary: Good... very good
Review: As someone who has never read any science-fiction at all, this caught me by surprise and I had a difficult time putting the book down. The reason I got it was because my professor in a terrorism class said it was the best book on terrorism ever written. So I got it and was kind of surprised when I read the words "No. 1 Science-Fiction Bestseller" on the cover. But I can see my prof's meaning.. this is a really good example of terrorism. Read it and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: great for starting a fire
Review: I really hate it when an author likes to tell me at every page turned how much he knows about how computers work. He sometimes talks down to the reader, and pretty much took everything good from Gibson, and added a new look to it. It is a funny book, But then again Neuromancer was a funny book too, and that was written in '83, and is STILL a better book than this will ever be...
Rating:
Summary: Are you alive? Read the first chapter and find out...
Review: You want to check if you are still a living, breathing person and not some TV addled, techno-zombie existing from one murk filled day to the next just for your daily fast food fix? Read the first chapter. If you aren't at LEAST chuckling aloud at times (I personally howled at "That Was Stale" and "Smooth Move Ex-Lax"), then give it up- you must already be dead and just ain't fallen over yet... Some of the most biting satire on our "popular" culture I have ever come across can be found lurking, like buried treasure, in the pages of this quite astounding novel. I have found myself returning to this book every year, like some demented pilgrim, discovering anew on each reading some gem of wit and/or malice to my infinite amusement. This combined with Stepehenson's laser-sharp prose and absolutely insane characters give this book an honored place on my shelf. Sell the cat if you must to afford a copy, but by all means... Read it.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a masterwork
Review: Snowcrash is a rip roaring trip through a future where the free market has gone to its logical extreme. The world concept is hardly original but Stephenson uses it as a backdroup and then throws in world domination, religion and meme theory and a lot of very accessible humour. Read Snowcrash as a graphical novel in words. Its almost a masterwork, but its science is imperfect. Hard SF fans might not find it to taste. Snowcrash is easy to read, easy to enjoy and a welcome change from some of the more turgid "Cyberpunk" authors.
|
