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Snow Crash

by Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparison — a writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer and Snow Crash is such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age.

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosaNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about Infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous...you'll recognize it immediately.

Review:

"Stephenson has not stepped, he has vaulted onto the literary stage with this novel." Los Angeles Reader

Review:

"A cross between Neuromancer and Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. This is no mere hyperbole." San Francisco Bay Guardian

Review:

"Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the 21st century." William Gibson, author of Neuromancer

Review:

"Brilliantly realized....Stephenson turns out to be an engaging guide to an onrushing tomorrow." The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"Snow Crash takes on a whole slew of nasty contemporary trends and extrapolates them hilariously into a pessimistic and unlikely newar future....this is one book to chill out with this summer." Mondo 2000

Review:

"Stylish noir extrapolation becomes gloriously witty social satire...savor Stephenson's delicious prose and cheerfully impudent wit. Cyberpunk isn't dead — it has just (belatedly) developed a sense of humor." Locus

Review:

"A fantastic, slam-bang-overdrive, supersurrealistic, comic-spooky whirl through a tomorrow that is already happening. Neal Stephenson is intelligent, perceptive, hip and will become a major force in American writing." Timothy Leary

Synopsis:

First arriving on the scene in 1992 to critical acclaim, this definitive novel of the information age weaves virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between. Stephenson is author of the bestselling Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age.

About the Author

Neal Stephenson issues from a clan of rootless, itinerant hardscience and engineering professors (mostly Pac-10, Big 10, and Big 8 with the occasional wild strain of Ivy). He began his higher education as a physics major, then switched to geography when it appeared that this would enable him to scam more free time on his university’s mainframe computer. When he graduated and discovered, to his perplexity, that there were no jobs for inexperienced physicist-geographers, he began to look into alternative pursuits such as working on cars, unimaginably stupid agricultural labor, and writing novels. His first novel, The Big U, was published in 1984 and vanished without a trace. His second novel, Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller, came out in 1988 and quickly developed a cult following among water-pollution-control engineers. It was also enjoyed, though rarely bought, by many radical environmentalists. Snow Crash was written in the years 1988 through 1991 as the author listened to a great deal of loud, relentless, depressing music.

Mr. Stephenson now resides in a comfortable home in the western hemisphere and spends all of his time trying to retrofit an office into its generally dark, unlevel, and asbestos-laden basement so that he can attempt to write more novels. Despite the tremendous amounts of time he devotes to writing, playing with computers, listening to speed metal, Rollerblading, and pounding nails, he is a flawless husband, parent, neighbor, and all-around human being.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 5 comments:
julius, October 13, 2008 (view all comments by julius)
I have always found that in the genre of science fiction, that what makes a good writer is the ability to see what we have before us and following these to various possible conclusions. What makes the writer great, is when some of these conclusions come true. It was thus with Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov, so to with Neal Stephenson. Snow Crash introduces us to Hiro Protagonist and the "Street", a three dimensional virtual world that you plug into and interact in this world via an avatar. You can be anything in this world. Sound familiar? Sure we don't plug into our computers for full immersion participation, but anyone who has played World of Warcraft or socialized in Second Life can dig this! There is also the globe in Hiro's virtual office on the Street. Very like Google Earth. When I read this book, (my first by this author) in 2005, I checked the publication date and was surprised to see that the original publication date was 1992! Of course the story is very good and the characters are engaging as well. All in all a very exciting read!
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(14 of 24 readers found this comment helpful)
Susan Belhassen, September 27, 2008 (view all comments by Susan Belhassen)
One of my most favorite books -- and I greatly thank my friend Kris for turning me on to what has become one of my favorite authors.

Anyone else notice writing similarities between Neal Stephenson and Tad Williams (whose books I also very much enjoy)? Well, whatever. They both rock.

Snow Crash and the little Zodiac are my two favorite Stephenson novels (and I think I've read everything out in paperback).
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(15 of 22 readers found this comment helpful)
Arboreality, July 17, 2007 (view all comments by Arboreality)
Have to tell you a story ... I told my boss the theme of the book, and how I loved that the main character's name was "Hiro Protaganist", and he laughed and said he's never heard of Neal Stephenson. He poked fun at me for reading no-name "scifi" writers and said I was probably the only person in 20 blocks who even knew who Stephenson was. We were on our way to coffee, and when we walked in I turned to the people ahead of us in line and said "Have you heard of Neal Stephenson?", to which they responded "Of course! He's great! Have you read Snow Crash?". So there.

Also, the book is great. :)
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(10 of 20 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780553380958
Author:
Stephenson, Neal
Publisher:
Spectra Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Science Fiction - General
Subject:
Science fiction
Subject:
Science Fiction - High Tech
Subject:
High tech
Subject:
Science fiction, american
Subject:
American fiction
Subject:
Humorous fiction
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Bantam Trade Re
Series:
Bantam Spectra Book
Series Volume:
#97-752
Publication Date:
May 2000
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
480
Dimensions:
8.22x5.56x1.01 in. .81 lbs.

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