Read this a while back and didn’t put up a review, So I guess I’ll do it now. Thoughts?
Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash was a book I thoroughly enjoyed even if it was a bit confusing in some parts. When it works it’s like a drug and Stephenson takes you on a fast paced and vivid adventure starring Hiro protagonist a character whose gone on to become something of a cult legend. Hiro is a simple pizza delivery guy who somehow manages to get a hold of a deadly virus that seems to be spreading throughout the world. No matter though in the course of his adventure our earnest Hiro will cross paths with ninja swordsmen, CIC hitmen (a fictional CIA?), a pretty decent Villian, megalomaniac preachers etc. He even manages to get into both swordfights and shootouts If I recall correctly.
What makes the book standout out though is the setting. I said earlier it reads like something out of a Grand Theft Auto game and I still stand by that claim. Stephenson did a good job of crafting the backdrop of his world and the neighborhoods and parties of the fictional metropolitan Los Angeles area the novel takes place in are really colorful and memorable without being lurid or even overly sexual. This is backed by characters like YT, NG, and of course the Raven who is always colorful and pretty wild. It even has techno geeks doomed to metamorphosize into greater lifeforms. Some of the religious backstory was hard to follow though, some weird stuff in their about Egyptian Gods.
I read on Wikipedia that Neal Stephenson invented the term Metaverse with this book. Unbelievable? Who knows. Anyway, I’ll call this book a pretty colorful adventure tale.