Stephenson, Neal

• Snow Crash (7)

  • After getting some recommendations for this book in my mail bag, I thought I'd give Neal Stephenson a try. Of all the cyberpunk books I've read so far (admittedly few), Stephenson definitely has the best feel for what I really think the "MetaVerse" (or eventual next step in the evolution of MUD's/MOO's/etc.) will be like. Amazingly enough, after all these years, we find "Tron" (the old Disney movie) just might be right! :) Anyway, the "hipness" of this book really annoyed me at first, but I gradually got used to it and after a while enjoyed the writing style. It isn't for everyone, but it definitely has its moments. The plot revolves around a hacker, a courier (a la Michael J. Fox in "Back to the Future") and their companions as they try to unravel the mystery surrounding a computer virus that can spread to humans through the brain's own circuitry. About the only thing in the book that sort of put me off was a "romance" late in the book between the 15-year-old female courier and one of the main villains which I thought was pretty superfluous and actually somewhat disturbing. Other than that, though, the plot was very engaging and had many funny moments. I look forward to "Diamond Age" (when it comes out in paperback, of course).

Return to the Welcome Page of Doug's Library.