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Jackie "the Librarian"'s Reviews > Snow Crash
Snow Crash
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Here's what I think: This is not just a book about computers, although the shiny veneer of the Metaverse, and computer avatars, and Hiro Protagonist's (yes, that’s the name of the protagonist in the story) career as a hacker might make you think it is. But there’s a lot more going on here, beneath that flashy action-adventure SF stuff. This is a complicated, messy book, and not that easy to follow. But, it's fascinating and I WANTED to understand everything, so as soon as I got to the last page, I was tempted to turn back to chapter one and start over.
And wow, is it flashy, with its future world as neon-lit and noisy as a Las Vegas casino. On one level, this is a story about a hacker and a 15-year-old futuristic-skateboard-riding courier girl who team up to save the world from a religious cult on one hand, and a mutant motorcyclist Aleutian who has a nuclear bomb and a grudge on the other. It’s all very hip and edgy, with sword fights, commercialism run amok, and an interesting look at virtual reality as imagined by the author twenty years ago. I was on sensory overload trying to process everything.
But on another level, this is a book about language, and brain structure, and viruses, and religion. AND computers! And what the heck, mix in some Sumerian mythology, too. :)
What if you didn't have to learn language, what if we all were born able to communicate with each other? And what if that kept us from developing and progressing as a species? And what if the development of all the myriad of languages humans now speak happened because of a virus?
What if language ITSELF, and the concepts spread through the use of language, are viruses? And what if there were religious cults, worshippers of an ancient Sumerian deity, whose purpose was to spread those viruses?
Put all those levels together, and you’ve got Snow Crash. No, I didn't give it five stars, because it was all just a little too much. For me, of course. And there's no character development. And it's messy. But still, wow.
For fellow SF literature nerds out there, I suggest a compare and contrast with Samuel Delaney’s Babel-17, another SF classic that explores the impact of language on human behavior.
And wow, is it flashy, with its future world as neon-lit and noisy as a Las Vegas casino. On one level, this is a story about a hacker and a 15-year-old futuristic-skateboard-riding courier girl who team up to save the world from a religious cult on one hand, and a mutant motorcyclist Aleutian who has a nuclear bomb and a grudge on the other. It’s all very hip and edgy, with sword fights, commercialism run amok, and an interesting look at virtual reality as imagined by the author twenty years ago. I was on sensory overload trying to process everything.
But on another level, this is a book about language, and brain structure, and viruses, and religion. AND computers! And what the heck, mix in some Sumerian mythology, too. :)
What if you didn't have to learn language, what if we all were born able to communicate with each other? And what if that kept us from developing and progressing as a species? And what if the development of all the myriad of languages humans now speak happened because of a virus?
What if language ITSELF, and the concepts spread through the use of language, are viruses? And what if there were religious cults, worshippers of an ancient Sumerian deity, whose purpose was to spread those viruses?
Put all those levels together, and you’ve got Snow Crash. No, I didn't give it five stars, because it was all just a little too much. For me, of course. And there's no character development. And it's messy. But still, wow.
For fellow SF literature nerds out there, I suggest a compare and contrast with Samuel Delaney’s Babel-17, another SF classic that explores the impact of language on human behavior.
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Reading Progress
May 27, 2010
–
Started Reading
May 27, 2010
– Shelved
May 27, 2010
– Shelved as:
adultfiction
May 27, 2010
– Shelved as:
classics
May 27, 2010
– Shelved as:
sciencefiction
May 28, 2010
–
33.79%
"Great quotes in this book.
"Southern California doesn't know whether to bustle or just strangle itself on the spot." Ha!"
page
148
"Southern California doesn't know whether to bustle or just strangle itself on the spot." Ha!"
June 9, 2010
–
90.87%
"Language and viruses and Sumerian myths and computers... I'm confused, but it's cool."
page
398
June 15, 2010
–
Finished Reading
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RandomAnthony
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rated it 4 stars
Jun 16, 2010 06:02AM
Yes, I agree with you, Jacks, while the "Metaverse" concept may not seem as revolutionary these days this book's magic is all about the language/mythology/brain structure angle. I haven't read Snow Crash in a few years...maybe I'll go back and check it out. Also, this book was in the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, Washington:)
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Babel-17? Trotting over to the libe site!Jackie, PERFECT review, yes yes yes to everything.
I loved that good doggie too, Ko. He was the most loveable character in the whole book.
Yes, and because of that dog, I got rather depressed. Too sad.
PLS TO READ DIAMOND AGE NAO.
Nice review which has inspired me a) not to read Snow Crash (!) and b) find some way of explaining why I used to like a lot of sf and now they make it quite hard. This one would be a good example.
I think your writing on the book was much more fair than mine. I think we had the same issues with the book though but you presented them better.
The bits with the librarian (in the book!) Blew me away too. Not that much in books makes me go "Oh snap!" These days. Added babel 17 to want to read.
