About this title: Neal Stephenson staked out a piece of William Gibson's cyberterritory in this 90s slacker-hacker novel. In a Balkanized America run entirely by corporations, a computer hacker moonlighting as a pizza delivery guy and a tough young female courier take on a glass-knife-wielding Aleut who possesses a nuclear bomb and a mogul planning to use ancient ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780140232929ISBN:0140232923
Description: Good. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Description: Very Good. Creases to spine cover. Some tanning to edges. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Description: Acceptable. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: PENGUIN
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780140232929ISBN:0140232923
Description: Published by Penguin in 2002. Paperback. Number of pages: 448. Condition: Very Good. May show some slight signs of wear. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Spectra
Date Published: 1993-04-01
ISBN-13:9780553562613ISBN:0553562614
Description: Good. All books in Acceptable-Good condition. Books may NOT include Online Access Codes (InfoTrac, MyEconLab). Books MAY contain highliting/bent pages. We ship M-F. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin
Date Published: 29/08/2002
ISBN-13:9780140232929ISBN:0140232923
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780140232929ISBN:0140232923
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 448 pages. (448 pages) the only relief from the sea of logos is within the well-guarded borders of the burbclaves. is it any wonder that most sane folks have forsaken the real world and chosen to live in the computer-generated universe of virtual reality? in a major city, the size of a dozen manhattans, is a domain of pleasures limited only by the imagination. (Paperback) read more
"Once this story gets rolling, there's no stopping it. Slightly dated by the passage of 15 years, it's still rich in ideas, his reality a reasonable extension of our own. After reading, I bought a copy especially for the explorations into the origins of religion which are woven into the plot--but I'll enjoy re-reading it for the richness of the entire story."
"A blast front to back, even when its stabs at hipness get inevitably dated (I wonder if some weren't to begin with, but whatever). Fast, funny, and constantly surprising/inventive, takes as much from post-modern fiction as it does from cyberpunk (oh, book jacket quotes although I mean, duh obviously, maybe I shouldn't even write it oh whatever) resulting in really fun moments in this alternate (now past) present, like Bruce Lee heading a gang of vicious pirates and the entire world turning into a bunch of franchise countries and the US becoming a nearly impotent and completely uptight, intentionally somewhat primitive and completely paranoid country with almost zero consequence. And the Mafia delivers pizzas! Boy, you laugh and you get twisted into some new zany notion every other page - I'd love to see this get made into a movie but it'd probably cost a billion dollars, check it out! Occasionally technically flawed, and it feels a little rushed at moments partly due to its intentional breakneck pace getting ahead of itself and partially due to a legitimately abbreviated-feeling end section, but basically constantly satisfying and never a chore."
"You have to be impressed with the author's imagination of the near future (considering when this was originally written), but also with his ability to insert the f-word on every other page of the book :( The main character - Hiro Protagonist - is indeed a captivating hero and an engaging protagonist.
Not only was I a bit put off by the excessive language in the book, but I have also never been a real big fan of near-future cyberpunk kind of settings. Nevertheless, Snow Crash presented a futuristic, fallen-apart, America which was interesting, and accessible, enough for me to actually enjoy reading about. The main character, Hiro Protagonist, was the kind of heroic protagonist, a sword-fighting, motorcycle-riding, computer programmer, that I could connect with. This was a book that relied heavily upon its presentation of the author's vision of the world of the near future, introduced the reader to some intriguing ideas which had been percolating in the author's mind, but that contained only moderate explorations of the characters' development within the storyline. Basically, it was a fun adventure in a weird setting - the makings of good fluff fiction. However, the ideas that Stephenson plays around with are enough to remove this from the same shelf as the fluffiest fiction out there: What is the nature of language and communication? How is our increasingly computerized world affecting our use and understanding of language at the most basic levels? What is the true power of language, both in reception and production? Even, how has language use and meaning evolved over the centuries, going back to ancient Sumeria? So, it was not a total waste - not just "empty calories" as it were."
"I don't think that reading Snow Crash has the same effect in 2009 as reading it would have in 1992, the year it was published. Stephenson creates for us a world so absurd that you can't help but buy into it. The Mafia controlling pizza delivery, the US being a city-state and the Internet - or Metaverse - being your very own Sims game - all seemingly very plausible.
The story follows Hiro Protagonist - jack of all trades. He is the world's greatest swordsman (though in the Metaverse), a pizza-delivery guy, an information-collector for the Central Intelligence Corporation and of course, a renowned hacker. In fact, he helped create the Metaverse with his friend Da5id. He resides in a storage unit at the U-Stor-It with his friend Vitaly Chernobyl, a very famous rock star. I should also mention that Hiro organizes Vitaly's concerts. Like I said, jack of all trades. Apart from the storage unit, all Hiro has to his name is a laptop and some Japanese swords. One would think that a man with that much talent would have a penthouse or a club in the Metaverse, at least.
The story begins when his cocky friend Da5id tries this new drug called Snow Crash - which Da5id's ex-wife and Hiro's ex-girlfriend (same person, may I add) warned him against. Hiro, his ex-girlfriend Juanita and his 15-year old friend Y.T. - a modern-day skaterboarding courier - are left to figure out why Da5id has physically collapsed because of a bitmap on a screen.
The story goes beyond the typical action sword-fighting stuff. The tale dips into the history of Christianity, the story of Babel and Sumerian culture. Without bringing in these ancient elements, I don't know if the story would have been as appealing and enjoyable for me. The juxtaposition of past and future worked in his favor to create a plausible story.
I only read this book on the very persistent recommendation of my boyfriend. And I'm so glad that he kept at it. I'm not typically a fan of cyberpunk but I feel this book goes beyond that. I'm good with computers and technology in general but I can't code much at all. This didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book at all because even though Stephenson himself is incredibly tech savvy - he doesn't shove it in your face. I sincerely appreciated that the book did not make me feel stupid and instead let me figure out the story at about the same time as the characters did.
This is yet another book where I have to say that you should not let the cyberpunk label get to you. The ties to linguistics and former, nearly forgotten religions pushed the book past just being cyberpunk or science fiction.
And with a name as witty as Hiro Protagonist, how can you resist giving Neil Stephenson a chance?"
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