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)

decent story, good performance

I'm always torn liking or disliking narrators.. but as a whole they usually do well.. this one also does well. I'm not a big fan of some of the .. logic Stephenson uses to describe the premise of the story, and he leaves a few items hanging uselessly, but it's a fun story. the world he creates is also interesting.

Interesting view of the metaverse

Interesting ideas on how "real" the metaverse can be - how it can directly affect physical life. Also interesting concept on ability to "encode" the human brain. Some pieces were a bit overwrought as in the government toilet paper rules. Overall an interesting and entertaining listen

Even better than I remembered

I had read this on paper many years ago and liked it, but didn't consider it Neal's best. At the time it seemed light-hearted and satirical (despite the violence that periodically occurs) and I considered it Stephenson's answer to William Gibson's Neuromancer, which is pretty high praise actually. Listening to it after mostly forgetting the story was a revelation. The satire seems much more prescient and incisive to me now. The question Hiro poses to YT "is this a virus, a weapon or a religion?" to which she answers, "what's the difference?" is a great example. The extreme commercialization of society, breakdown of government, ascendancy of crime gangs and corporations, lawlessness and apathy hit me harder this time. Themes of ancient religion, neurolinguistic programming, animal cyborgs, high-tech gadgetry, the roles of hackers, hired guns, Mafia bosses, refugees, zealots, tired useless bureaucrats and scrappy lead characters blend into a tale that does address serious societal themes from an action fantasy viewpoint. Great voice performance enhances the narrative as it rollicks from one "rapidly evolving situation" to the next.

Amazing voicing of all characters

Of course this is a seminal Science fiction novel. What was unexpectedly wonderful was Jonathan Davises narration. He voiced all the characters, including the 15-year-old girl YT in such a way that he embodied the characters and I always knew who was speaking even without being told. The listening experience was one of my favorites in sci-fi. Every bit as good as Rosario Dawson’s narration of “Artemis.” I’m glad I listen to this audiobook rather than having read it Dash really enjoyed!

Mind Bending Action Philosophy

So good I would sit in my car to finish chapters.

Good fun action, fascinating philosophy and history, well thought out interesting futuristic technology and society.

A must read namshub of the first order. You'll never look at the world the same after grocking this masterpiece of cyberpunk science fiction.

Read the book

The narrator was awkward. He put emphasis on odd words and was generally very unnatural sounding. The writing wasn't very skilled either. The story was ok though and the concepts of the book were very interesting. Overall, it's probably better to read this in book form and the comparison between human language and computer viruses is very interesting.

Nothing like it....

It defined Cyberpunk, and has never been surpassed. Period.

That being said, the character of YT is not a three dimensional person, and she is utterly psychologically invalid as a 15 year old. I guess this can be partially explained by the absurd notion common in the 80s that teens would just keep getting more and more promiscuous at younger and younger ages. Good ol' Neal hadn't hadn't seen the pendulum swing back in the NeoVictorian direction yet (to borrow his own term from the Diamond Age, where YT does in fact play a small but important roll!)

Never the less, this is a thought provoking and FUN book. Well worth the time, and the reader here is spot-on perfect.

Well Read

AWESOME NARRATOR! BULLSHIT PREMISE. GREAT WORLD TO BASE A CYBERPUNK RPG ON. Worth a listen.

Essential cyberpunk

What did you love best about Snow Crash?

This book has action, adventure, an intriguing sci-fi concept, and humor. A great performance keeps it moving forward at a quick pace. Essential reading for those interested in the cyberpunk genre, a great counterpoint to William Gibson's "Neuromancer."

Too close to home.

Wonderful story, but it's becoming less science fiction far to quickly. This book hits major notes on religion, corporations, government, and how technology changes the world we live in.