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Greg's Reviews > Snow Crash
Snow Crash
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This book felt like a really good idea. One of those really good ideas that you know will make a good novel (or whatever it is you think about making), and you have all these other really good details so you add them to your good idea. And you come up with some more characters and they are really good and some awesome organizations and maybe have another good idea or two and you just keep adding them on, like paint in some Clement Greenberg adored jizz-fest of painting, layer upon layer and more layers you have all this great stuff going on, and then you realize you have to make it all do something. And something happens and it's really pretty unspectacular, like in the painting analogy there is all this great layering going on and what is produced is some big yellow smiley face, but this book is better than that but it was still something of a let down when you realize that all the build up, all the different organizations and people and neat ideas were all just so that what happened could happen in the book.
Oh and then as soon as the plot stuff climaxes the book comes apruptly to a halt, like if Star Wars cut to credits right as the Death Star started to explode (not that the stuff left in the movie after that was anything great, but it would still feel very abrupt).
Yeah, that is what this book felt like. Great ideas. Great build up, and then, 'oh, that's it?' *
*don't give me this Neal Stephenson was prophetic shit in defense of why this book should get 5 stars or more. Yeah, he named some things, but it's not like he predicted things existing, he just influenced things being named.
Oh and then as soon as the plot stuff climaxes the book comes apruptly to a halt, like if Star Wars cut to credits right as the Death Star started to explode (not that the stuff left in the movie after that was anything great, but it would still feel very abrupt).
Yeah, that is what this book felt like. Great ideas. Great build up, and then, 'oh, that's it?' *
*don't give me this Neal Stephenson was prophetic shit in defense of why this book should get 5 stars or more. Yeah, he named some things, but it's not like he predicted things existing, he just influenced things being named.
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Reading Progress
September 30, 2011
–
Started Reading
October 2, 2011
– Shelved
October 2, 2011
– Shelved as:
sf-fantasy-and-other-dorky-shit
October 2, 2011
–
Finished Reading
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Duffy
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rated it 4 stars
Oct 10, 2011 08:07PM
The book is worth four stars for the comedy of the first chapter alone. Best first chapter of any book I've read in years and years. But after that, there was almost bound to be a letdown. (Else it would have been one of the best books ever.)
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The book started off great. And I loved a lot of the things he put in the book, but I just wanted him to actually do something more with it all!
Yeah I gave up on this after like 70 pages. The zippy tone was fun up to a point but I just didn't care about anything that was going on.
Other than in Zodiac, Stephenson can't write a satisfying ending to save his ass. I liked a lot of the ideas like the Sumerian nam shub (I think that's what it was called) and The Raft but I don't think I'd enjoy the book as much as when I was 19 if I attempted a re-read.
I loved this as fun, casual beach ready sf, but there's an ugly infodump that's hard to forgive.
I didn't realize until a lot later that Rife and his whole organization is modeled after L Ron Hubbard and Scientology, specifically Sea Org. Kinda makes me want to read it again with that in mind, but I doubt I will.
I didn't realize until a lot later that Rife and his whole organization is modeled after L Ron Hubbard and Scientology, specifically Sea Org. Kinda makes me want to read it again with that in mind, but I doubt I will.
When your hero/protagonist is named "Hiro Protagonist" and he's the World's Greatest Sword Fighter, not to mention the World's Greatest Hacker, that's worth three stars by itself. I gave it another star for the sheer coolness, but couldn't give it five cuz of the massive infodump.Oh and I loved the audiobook version. The narrator added just enough corny-fake-drama inflection in his voice to add to the coolness and humor without going over the top.
When I was reading this I thought my review would be about if it was awesome or not that the hero's name is Hiro Protagonist. I also thought I'd write about the creepiness surrounding YT, the fifteen year old all-American blond skateboarder with the ass that every guy keeps checking out. Dan, I haven't read Zodiac, but now that I think of it the actual action / story of Cryptonomicon and Anathem didn't live up to the amount of details in the build-up. I also just realized I never rated Cryptonomicon.
I still haven't read this one, but what you said about the ending is sort of what I said about the ending of The Diamond Age, and is widely recognized as the Neal Stephenson Problematic Ending.(Although Cryptonomicon ended a bit better IMHO.)
