I first read this book last year (2006) as an audiobook. It felt like a book written recently. I was so impressed at the foresight that this book exhibited, which is amazing considering that this book was the most fun I’ve ever had with a sci-fi book.

This book is what caused me to change majors from Computer Science to English (Creative Writing focus). I was standing in a Barnes and Noble, while in college, back in the mid-90’s.

I read the first paragraph and was hooked. I bought the book, went home, read it in a single night. I changed majors the next morning.

Yeah, fogetaboutit! I loved it. Neal has been my favorite author for a while now and I am glad that I have now read another of his better known works. Being cyberpunk, it had a more William Gibson feel to it than his later stuff. Still a good story and a fun read.

I’m loving this, and am about half way through. but I’m listening to it (the unabridged of course) and the guy keeps mispronouncing words and it’s iritating.

It is amazing, though, how Stephenson creates these completely believable worlds.

I’m not a regular connoissuer of the cyperpunk category, so I was a bit mesmerized by the style and setting. I found it particularly interesting to discover this “metaverse” and compare it to online MMO worlds and how they are evolving today.

Then I got completely sucked into the author’s idea of hacking the brain—controlling how we operate and reason at a BIOS level.That was really fascinating for me, as I wanted to be a neurologist growing up, am fascinated by communication, and am really getting into the issues of social networking systems these days. The allusions to religion, virus and hardware really opened up my thought processes.

Which is why I was so let down with the crappy ending. Rather than following its course and showing the outcomes/ramifications, it wraps up like a bad 80’s cop drama…..blow up the bad guys, kiss the girl, call it a day and go home. WTF? I really couldn’t have been let down more.

In retrospect, I talked about this to a friend and said something that was surprisingly apt: I guess it’s a lot easier to start writing a book than it is to finish one.

Cyberpunk is a niche of science-fiction where I found a fascinating milieu steeped in world cultures and technology but never really found what I considered to be great stories. Neal Stephenson doesn’t accomplish it here either with Snow Crash, but it’s nevertheless a fun ride. And one that isn’t so utterly bleak, in contrast to Gibson. The characters never stray too far from cookie-cutter personas with the exception of Y.T. Hiro mostly serves to move the plot along. And with the Librarian, he’s an exposition device for Stephenson’s elaborate ideas on language and cognition which provide the true value for the book.

The painting of this cyberpunk universe in the very first chapter is what resonates so clearly for me in these uncertain times. Ridiculous inflation of the dollar. Global trade imbalances. Utilizing data mining to reengineer the most mundane of business processes. All converging towards an empty backyard swimming pool.

A good book, but I found it a little improbable. Maybe I just don’t understand it completely?

It’s often said that Neal can’t write proper endings, and I have to agree to an extend. The ending seems a bit forced. But still, a very enjoyable book, the parallel with Neuromancer is often drawn; which seems fair. But Neuromancer was heralding in a new era; and this had less of an impact. But go on, read it!

this is my favorite book, diamond age is #2

I enjoyed this a lot when I was younger. I still think it’s good. Diamond Age is better, though. And there really is no comparison to Neuromancer. Geeks might like Snow Crash because it has a more realistic technical detail, but Gibson can write circles around Stephenson.