Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Sure, I guess I can understand why so many enjoy this book and have suggested I read it. I can also understand why it may be among Stephenson’s most favored books. What I can’t understand is why I didn’t particularly like it.
I finally did figure it out, it came to me while getting my morning coffee at the Ferry Building. Big surprise, it’s part of my day, in the same way waking up is. I was waiting in line reading and when it was my turn to order the barista noticed what I was reading and mentioned that she had just finished it. She continued by saying she had enjoyed it but there were definitely whole paragraphs that she felt she had to skip over due to the intense theories and conversations between characters (some of them not exactly human). She was right, that’s exactly what was irking me. There was just too much of that crap.
Here you have a book that takes place in the not so future America and in a virtual world (the “metaverse,” kind of like “Second Life” I guess) that is all broken up and frankly, one messed up place. What I wanted was more action, more metaverse and more carnage. I know it’s a little sadistic but that’s pretty much how the book starts off and how I wanted it to continue. You got this badass, Hiro Protagonist, carrying around swords, delivering pizzas and getting in fights and partway through the book he just goes soft. You know, going to the library in the metaverse and just talking to the librarian about history, religion and all kinds of stuff that, frankly, was a bit over my head. Sure it had to do with the storyline but come on. Maybe cyberpunk is just not my thing.
I did, however, like the overall story which was about a virus that not only affected computers but was also capable of infecting the human mind. Without giving too much away (really just an excuse cause I don’t know how to explain more) I’m not going to give you more details of the story.
Here’s the deal, the low-down, the situation, if you’re heavily into sci-fi, cyber punk, second life (with violence, admittedly I know nothing about “Second Life” so maybe there is violence?) and a couple of badass characters with fun futuristic toys, I think you’ll like this book. If you prefer to read books by Wally Lamb, Nick Hornby and Elizabeth Gilbert, you guessed it, this is not the book for you. And just so you don’t get the wrong idea… I’m somewhere in the middle, you know how I feel about Ms. Gilbert.
