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)

A Journey Into Escapism

This is one of my first audiobooks selections and I chose it for it's length (value) and my interests in computers, technology, and future predictions. I listened to the sample and it sounded a little too "off the wall" for me, but I decided to give it a go anyway.

At first I was distracted by the verbal landscape but soon I was drawn in and the characters began to become likable and someone that I could relate to.

Concepts that I really liked:
1. A cyber universe where one could almost live, die, and play in... an Internet on steroids?
2. A virus that could gap the digital world to the physical world.
3. An ancient language that was, and is, common to all people

The characters are inventive, interesting, and quite unusual. The plot takes all kinds of twists and kept me anxiously wanting to go back to listening. The reader does a great job and does not detract from the story.

Bottom line, I found this a strange, yet compelling, story that I enjoyed very much.

4.28 stars..................not great...but almost

Snow Crash was in my library for a few months before I got around to listening. I started it a few times but didn't like the sound of the recording. The issue was not necessarily with the narrator but the quality in general. It is an older recording, so it is not up to par with current releases. However, I soon got used to the vintage recording and started to really enjoy it. I usually don't like sound effects in an audiobook, but the ones in Snow Crash somehow fit.

This isn't your typical sci-fi novel. It's more complex. I really like this writer. I got Snow Crash as a Daily Deal, so it was certainly worth that. I would recommend Snow Crash to anyone who might like a well written, vintage cyber punk novel set in a dystopian future.

Overall rating: 4.28 stars

Genre Closeing

What an amazing book. From start to finish it is gripping and won't allow you to switch to another book. There are some odd ideas, but it is scifi. Like Star Wars this story is at least predicting if not forming the way some technologies will influence our lives.

I've listened to it twice and read it once, well worth your credits or the amount you have to pay. A great listen!!! A great Story.

Snow Crash

A weird, difficult, but cool book. Fantastic narrator. Really gets your heart pumping.

cant wait for next Stephenson

This is one of the best books I've ever listend to. I just couldnt stop listening and sometimes was even sitting in the car parking to wait for the chapter to end.

Snow Crash -- Highly Recommend

I'm not a huge science fiction buff, but tried this on the recommendation of one of the staff picks. I was blown away. It's not only well written with a great plot, it's inventive and savy -- both techologically and socially. Stephenson projects the very real state of the world today into the future with a steady eye. The result is both terribly funny and terribly horifying. On top of this extraordinary projection of the future, runs a great story. The reader is also excellent.

One of my top 5 favorite

I have been a subscriber for over 7 years now since Audible started and this has to be one of my top 5 books out of over 120 different books in the past few years. I could not stop listening. Pure science fiction set in a gritty broken up US of the future. The ending is a bit rushed and could use more closure but the details and charater build up is perfect. Narration is First RATE. For a science fiction book is it a must listen.

Sci-Fi at its Greatest!

Snow Crash has one of the most effective opening hooks in any science fiction book I have yet to read.It grabs you in with this "hook" and does not let go for the duration. As well this story offers some interesting and thought provoking ideas on how information technology is being used, and can be used to influence individuals. A must have for all Sci-Fi lovers, and technology "geeks" and internet addicts alike.

Good story, Good narration

I am a big fan of Stephenson, so Snow Crash did not let me down and Davis did a good job of 'telling' the story. I wish I could have given it 4.5 stars but it wasn't up to some of my favorites (Crypto, etc) so it didn't warrant a 5'er for me.

Good book, great narration

I'm not a big sci-fi person, but after reading "Cryptonomicon" I became an instant Stephenson fan. This book is not as interesting, but still held my attention, despite its length. The narrator did a masterful job of capturing the many characters with their accents and strange dialects. This would be a very difficult book to narrate, and he made good book even better.