Snowcrash
Based on Jason’s strong recommendation, I recently read the “breakthrough cyberpunk novel” Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. At first I was apprehensive, the term cyberpunk generally means that the plot involves superhero hackers in a future Earth. Or, in other words, what computer dorks want the world to be like if they take over. :-)
Initial apprehension aside, I did enjoy the book. The envisioned future is a world where private corporations run everything and there is a vast online parallel universe. The real world is a series of suburbs run by parent quasi-nation-corporation entities. And the only area that the United States is competitive in the world economy is pizza delivery.
Set in this vision of the future, Stephenson weaves a fairly straight-forward comic-book-esque plot. He adds a good amount of entertaining humor: for example, his main character, a hacker, pizza-delivery man, and expert swordsman, is named Hiro Protagonist.
The pace is a bit erratic, with fast action scenes mixed into slow, lengthy, and only moderately engaging discussions about Sumerian myth and biological viruses. This eventually ties into the main plot about computer viruses and how the antagonist attempts to use these viruses to destroy the world. The ending seems a little abrupt, but the sheer originality of the book makes up for that.
I enjoyed reading Snow Crash; I’d never read anything like it before. But I think I enjoyed it for the novelty rather than other intrinsic value (like plot, characterization, new interesting ideas). So I won’t be reading it again and probably won’t be reading more of the genre in future.
Jason wrote:
Correction — the US is competetive in TWO markets: pizza delivery and software.
I mostly love this book for four reasons:
1. NS’s vision of the future, and cultural observations in that setting, are very interesting, at times eerily prophetic and at other times cleverly satirical. Keep in mind this book was written in 1992, well before the internet was commercialized. And now, online worlds like Second Life are becoming very similar to the “Metaverse”.
2. The whole concept of religion as a virus is fascinating and really got me thinking. While there are some weak points in the verbose explanation and I certainly don’t buy it literally, it does provide a whole new perspective on some baffling cultural phenomena.
3. The dry humor and wit found throughout the book are great, especially in the opening chapters as the setting and characters are introduced. Unfortunately I guess NS was in rare form, because I have not found his other books quite up to the same level.
4. Hackers wield the real power in the world. Now, where did I put my katana…
Posted on 24-Jan-07 at 1:35 am | Permalink
Vijay wrote:
I forgot that it was written so long ago. You’re right that his ideas about the Metaverse are eerily accurate.
What’s more impressive is how developed his idea of religion as a virus is, considering that whole subject area wasn’t very mainstream until recently.
Most hackers aren’t very athletic though. They would be more likely to hurt themselves with a katana. :-)
Posted on 26-Jan-07 at 5:02 pm | Permalink
Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac » The Tipping Point wrote:
[...] in itself is a pretty old and established concept (for example, it’s an important part of Snowcrash). After all, if viruses are spread with people coming into contact with each other, and ideas are [...]
Posted on 23-Feb-07 at 3:07 pm | Permalink