Snow Crash

By: Neal Stephenson

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparison - a writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer and Snow Crash is such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age.

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosaNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about Infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous...you'll recognize it immediately.

©1992 Neal Stephenson (P)2001 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Brilliantly realized...Stephenson turns out to be an engaging guide to an onrushing tomorrow." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the 21st century." (William Gibson)

It was alright

Not a bad story, although I don't love the ending. My biggest problem with the book is that it wastes a lot of time with anecdotal things without getting to its point. My biggest problem with the audiobook are the very frequent and annoying transitions between the chapters.

Lost in Time

First off I like the story but there were a few instances where I couldn't tell how much time had passed. Could have been months or it could just have been a few hours. Also I wish it had a better conclusion, it just seemed to kinda cut off at the end.

All that aside I loved all the cyber punk elements in the book and I can see why its considered a classic. It was worth the read.

great book!

absolutely perfect mix of religion, history, psychology, and technology. definitely recommend for everyone. buy the physical copy and support the author!

whoa!

This is a mind bending story that is probably more relevant today in 2017 than it was when it was first published. if you like sci-fi this is a must read!

The Original Ready Player One!

Ok, so comparing it to Ready Player One is probably a stale comparison at this point, but it has to be mentioned. Snow Crash is obviously more dated and not crammed full of pop culture, but their are a ton of similarities. I was really impressed with Snow Crash and it has catapulted up my all time list. They should create a new recording, but otherwise it was solid throughout. Enough action to keep you in it, but the story is what carries it throughout. Stellar book!

Strange audio transitions after each chapter

The book itself was okay. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. What really made this painful to listen to was the strange soundtrack Audible created and played during moments of transitions for each chapter. It's hard to explain but it was like nails on a chalkboard and at one point actually stopped listening to the book altogether because it was so annoying. Audible, Rule #1: Do no harm. Please don't mess up other books in this way. It makes no sense.

One of my favorite books

This is the third time I have listened to Snow Crash, and it never loses its humor and wild twists. It's funny that he anticipated the webbiverse, but didn't include cellphones. Still, with references to ancient Sumeria, a migrating floating city, the break-up of the U.S.A., and the Mafia take over of the delivery pizza business, there is more than enough to keep it interesting. Love it!

just ok

the 'deeper' narrative just didn't work for me at all. found myself rolling my eyes fairly often, much came off as dated.

I liked YT quite a bit. And I did finish it, despite feeling like maybe I should put it down. So, that's something, it was ok.

could just be that I wasn't in the right place to fully appreciate it.

Starts off great, goes off the rails and

begins with some epic world building with a weird future and a metaverse...then veers into weird mysticism before wrapping up hastily. eh

One of the better SciFi I've listened to lately

Why are people comparing this to Ready Player One? RPO came about a decade after this, and it sucked - Snow Crash was inventive, funny (the drop-my-jaw-laughingest part was Bruce Lee as a pirate on the hunt for man-box) and had a really interesting underlying plot.

Seriously, download this book and settle in for a great listen. Make yourself a roastbeef sandwich with some expensive mustard too. Ready Player One? Get yourself a McDonalds double quarterpounder and suffer well-earned heart burn (and something from the food too)...