スノウ・クラッシュ

Of all the Neal Stephenson books I've read, this is my go-to when it comes to sharing with others or reading again for the heck of it. Fast paced adventure and suspense melded with some history and anthropology (my favorite). It's a wild ride that might actually teach you something new, and I like that in novels. It's what makes them... novel.

This book drives along at a snails pace. In fact, rather than being called Snow Crash, it should be called Snails Pace. It is very well written and great for finding new vocab words but it is filled with superfluous descriptions that do nothing to move the story along. We get it, you know big words and how to use them, now tell us the damn story. Reading this book was like a long chore that seems rewarding at the onset but quickly becomes an exercise in drudgery. I think the main reason I did not enjoy this book was due to my inability to buy into Stephenson's fictional ideas, they seemed less plausible than most of the science fiction I read, even though I do secretly believe that governments will be superseded by corporations in the future.
One more thing. Is Hiro Protagonist really the protagonist, or just the person the author chooses to follow for most of the book. Am I the only one who hates that character? Cocky, inconsiderate, terrible-friend, one dimensional, no sense of humor, oh wow he's so good at sword fighting and hacking lets give him a freaking medal!
Hope I didn't leave any more spoilers in there, I would write one with spoilers but it would take too long.

Babel made clear in software entwined streams of physical and super accelerated metaphysical dueling, debate and massive data discovery as imagined by a unique mind and unrivaled authorship

A creative view of the future which hits close to the mark on many levels, pizza delivery, religion, and chaos theory. Stephenson writes with enough detail to visualize his world and is able to keep the story fast paced.

This book is alright. Maybe great when it came out?

It is a little strange for my taste read it as it was a book club book. Might try another book by this author to see it is different situ

This is like my all time number one book. I've read it once or twice a year since it was first published. So yep, I've ready it over 30 times now. It's really that good if you like this genre.

Really enjoyed Snow Crash. This was my first Stephenson novel and I found he has a unique style of writing. The book kept me engaged right to the end.

One of the best novels I've read in years.

Great

Another dark yet fun look at what our future may hold.
The seeds of much of Neal's vision are around us now..a very believable , ingenious and scary future world.
Great adventure, loved the characters. That said I loved the "bad guy" the least....he didn't work for me.

Lots of archane bits about ancient history, woven into a modern cyber-punk conspiracy theory. The protagonist is not as deep as similar novels (vis. William Gibson), but the overall story is unique and well thought out. The writing is TOP notch, and ironically, the supporting characters are awesome.
The book was published in 1992, and absolutely DRIPS with late 80's early 90's tech and imagery of future-tech.

Bottom line, despite its age and shortcomings, it's a fantastic read. A MUST read for sci fi and cyber punk fans.

Great book, moved at a good pace and characters and story-line were original and entertaining.
Interesting to finally read the source of so many pop-culture references.

if you haven't read it and you think you like sci fi, try a bit of old cyber punk.

My favourite book.

starting with a "known" (deja vú) set of sci-fiction topics, it turns out to be a bit far fetched and elementary plot and uncovincing development;

Awesome book! It came recommended by a friend. I don't usually like sci-fi, but this was stellar. The pace was good, I was invested in the characters, and the ending was conclusive and well done (a difficult feat). I am looking to read more by Neal Stephenson.

Meh.

At the time this book was written and published the technology it prefaced was avantgarde. To read this book over twenty years after it was published is fascinating. His ability to create and describe what would be the internet, viruses and hacker issues, virtual reality, and an a sundry of other technologies is quite amazing. The take on the future of religion, nations, politics, and the public franchising of common and governmental functions is quite interesting and remains to be seen as put into practice. Impressively presented. Than being said, the characters and the story wasn't as fulfilling as the science part of the fiction. Although I am being adamantly encouraged to read a few more of his books I think I will put my reading time to other pursuits. Not to say I won't read anymore from this author, just not a Stephensonian fanatic as some other people I know.

Unusual, one of a kind, cyber punk science fiction, very imaginative.