The glory that is Snow Crash

[mauldooku]

So this seems to always convince people to read the book who've never heard of Stephenson.

Read the first chapter here: http://www.ereader.com/product/book/excerpt/12128


Then just TRY to tell me that the rest of the book doesn't interest you. Just TRY.

It is by far, my favorite/most powerful first chapter, of any book.

So yes, Snow Crash = one of the greatest pieces of writing I've ever seen. Thing inspires me and disheartens me, because I know I will never be Stephenson. Little turns of phrase that he throws in here wind up, somehow, in my own pieces, just because it's that awesome.

Thoughts?

[LapsedPacifist]

He has decent prose, but his endings are bad(Snow Crash is probably the best of his novels) and he occasionally has god awful bad verisimilitude.

LP

[Nyrath]

Well, the book appeared on Time magazine's list of 100 all-time best English-language novels written since 1923. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"If they listen to nothing else, they will alway listen to Reason."

I also enjoyed his The Diamond Age.

[Mobiboros]

Stephenson is great if you accept one thing. His endings are written as if he drank way, way to much soda, and really had to take a piss. So he wraps up everything almost too quickly and runs to the bathroom.

I've enjoyed all the books of his I've read.
Snow Crash, Diamond Age, The Big U, Zodiac, Cryptonomicon. I haven't read his baroque series yet however.

[Winter]

I'm a big big fan of Snow Crash, probably my #1 favourite book ever. I also enjoyed The Diamond Age, although that one did turn . . . weird.

Most people to which I've personally recommended Snow Crash were sold when they learned the main character's name is 'Hiro Protagonist'.

Regards,
Winter

[Melchior]

I like Snow Crash too, but it doesn't seem right to say that it has the "most powerful first chapter", even in the genre: "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...".

[LapsedPacifist]

Nice catch Melchior!

I will admit that my favorite line in Snow Crash is (paraphrasing here) "Until a man is 25 he still thinks, every so often, that under the proper circumstances, he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world."

[ThatGuyFromThatPlace]

I like Snow Crash too, but it doesn't seem right to say that it has the "most powerful first chapter", even in the genre: "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...".

I always thought that line was kind of hokey for the rest of Neuromancer.

The Deliverator sets the tone for the rest of the book, it's ridiculous, but so is the rest of Snow Crash and it's that kind of over-the-top style really sells it.

[Stark]

The constant forcing of nerd-chic into dialgoue and plots irritates me almost as much with Stephenson as it does with Gibson. His ideas are good, but the prose itself is just so hopeless. Is the main character an emotional retard, but also super-wise and awesome? Then it'll sell to nerds! It's already been mentioned the climax - Snow Crash is quite guilty of this - suck absolute ass. Whoops, no time for meta-nerd references now, it's time for actual plot! Rush rush rush!

I think his other work is stronger, to be honest. It's a shame he can't keep his comicbookguy stuff out of his books, because they're really good ideas (well, not Snow Crash, that's a stupid idea, but his other books). He needs to turn down the sizzle and work on the steak - Cryponomicon is much better signal/noise-wise. Of course, most Stephenson fans want high-concept comicbooks, so I guess there's an audience for it.

[DesertFly]

I read Snow Crash. I thought the whole idea of a "human operating language" was a little silly, as well as the assassin that's so good he kills an entire submarine full of people, but it was an enjoyable read.

[Ford Prefect]

Well, I read the first chapter. It was pretty fun, actually - pizza is serious fucking business guys. That said, it has not convinced me to want to read the book further. I felt it was pretty hollow, really; while it couldn't possibly kill Snow Crash for me, if I actually had the book in my hands, this has not convinced me to seek it out.

[LapsedPacifist]

Ford, it's a classic Stephenson problem. That chapter is really really cool, excuse my affection for geek-chic... The rest of the book has a different tone and feel to it, with the exception of going back to the occasionally really really cool (line/phrase/paragraph/bit) from time to time. Then there's the dry and impractical stuff tossed in to up the noise, and at the end it's like a really long article in Wired.

LP

[Erik von Nein]

I honeslty hope the book gets better from there because, aside from a few somewhat amusing analogies (and quite a few that were just trying way too hard to be geek cute), that really did not sell the book for me. What's the freakin' plot, anyway?

[Molyneux]

Snow Crash was wonderful...except for the very end. Mr. Stephenson really needs to learn how to wrap things up satisfyingly...

Also, the vagina dentata was a very cool idea...if just a bit unrealistic. How the heck does she keep it from jabbing HER, for one thing?

[Stark]

Well, I read the first chapter. It was pretty fun, actually - pizza is serious fucking business guys. That said, it has not convinced me to want to read the book further. I felt it was pretty hollow, really; while it couldn't possibly kill Snow Crash for me, if I actually had the book in my hands, this has not convinced me to seek it out.

Much of the 'cool' stuff in Stephenson novels is pretty unrelated to the actual plot. As people have mentioned, the further his novels go on the less he can keep up the 'lolz nerd' stuff and the dryer and more rushed his writing becomes. We can't really blame him for that, though, Neuromancer was just as bad and it invented the genre.

[LapsedPacifist]

Much of the 'cool' stuff in Stephenson novels is pretty unrelated to the actual plot. As people have mentioned, the further his novels go on the less he can keep up the 'lolz nerd' stuff and the dryer and more rushed his writing becomes. We can't really blame him for that, though, Neuromancer was just as bad and it invented the genre.

No, Neuromancer came naturally and completely to the climax and finished up the plot. It was silly, but it did it, and it slowed way down to get there. The only thing I really fault Neuromancer for is rage/anger somehow improving Case's ability to do his hacker thing. I guess Lady 3Jane's actions also have to be explained.


LP

[Stark]

No, Neuromancer came naturally and completely to the climax and finished up the plot. It was silly, but it did it, and it slowed way down to get there. The only thing I really fault Neuromancer for is rage/anger somehow improving Case's ability to do his hacker thing. I guess Lady 3Jane's actions also have to be explained.


LP

Sorry, my post was unclear. I don't think Neuromancer shares Stephenson's pacing problems, but established the genre of writing average 'speculateive' fiction but covering it in pretentious nerd stuff. It can be forgiven a lot of sins for being new, and Stephenson doesn't get that free ticket.

[Ford Prefect]

If anything, I feel completely detached from Hiro, even if he does have one of the coolest cars around. Even if it is the first chapter, I'd have liked to have known about him: while we did learn something of his attitude, we learnt about six million times more about the pizza industry in America.

[LapsedPacifist]

Sorry, my post was unclear. I don't think Neuromancer shares Stephenson's pacing problems, but established the genre of writing average 'speculateive' fiction but covering it in pretentious nerd stuff. It can be forgiven a lot of sins for being new, and Stephenson doesn't get that free ticket.

I can definitely see where you're coming from. Another thing that just put me up a wall was the diving in Cryptonomicon. It's a minor scene, but the diving they're doing is impossible on air, from what I remember. A more serious impact of that was I honestly believe some of the depths mentioned in the escape from the mine would have been impossible.

If anything, I feel completely detached from Hiro, even if he does have one of the coolest cars around. Even if it is the first chapter, I'd have liked to have known about him: while we did learn something of his attitude, we learnt about six million times more about the pizza industry in America.

How are you supposed to become attached to a guy named "Hero the Hero" it's not really the point.

LP

[Ford Prefect]

How are you supposed to become attached to a guy named "Hero the Hero" it's not really the point.

LP

Jeez, I don't know. I just thought that if the book is apparently as awesome as some have suggested, that the main character might actually be compelling to read. You know there's a problem when I can't even determine whether I dislike him. No character traits are present at all.

It doesn't even matter that it's obvious that he's not supposed to be anything more than the hero character - I can still judge that it was a poor effort at introducing said hero.

[ThatGuyFromThatPlace]

Sorry, my post was unclear. I don't think Neuromancer shares Stephenson's pacing problems, but established the genre of writing average 'speculateive' fiction but covering it in pretentious nerd stuff. It can be forgiven a lot of sins for being new, and Stephenson doesn't get that free ticket.

I can definitely see where you're coming from. Another thing that just put me up a wall was the diving in Cryptonomicon. It's a minor scene, but the diving they're doing is impossible on air, from what I remember. A more serious impact of that was I honestly believe some of the depths mentioned in the escape from the mine would have been impossible.

I'm pretty sure the impossibility of diving that distance on air is mentioned in that scene, when Randy is reading up on writing his diving plan and finds out just how beyond him it would be. I'd have to read it again to be sure.

[Ender]

Great book, but I still think Cryptonomicon is better. His observation about every guy going through the stage where they think they can be the most badassmotherfucker in the world struck me as incredibly insightful. But as always, his real strength is his dialog


"Make sure you kill the guys with the swords first"
"What, because they are the officers?"
"No, because they have fucking swords! Have you ever been attacked by a guy with a fucking sword!"
- Cryptonomicon