Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
By Nic on July 15th, 2009
In our age of ongoing digitalization, the idea of isolation and identity within cyberspace are becoming increasingly important. Twitter, blogs, and MMORPG’s such as World of Warcraft have demonstrated the ability of people to create digital proxies to themselves, and sometimes to inhabit a world almost entirely of their own making. In 1992, Neal Stephenson called it. All of it. Along with William Gibson’s Neuromancer, these two seminal works of “cyberpunk” not only founded an entire genre of literature, but established concepts and ideas that scant few years later have become reality. If you are in the mood for an illuminating trip through language, culture and identity in the digital age, mixed with a heavy dose of action-escapism, Snow Crash is a must read. Digital Samurai and rocket motorcycles abound, mixed with a heavy focus on digital universes, and the idea of language as biological programming. Even if you don’t like science fiction, Snow Crash will have something for you.
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Even though I don’t like science fiction and am not sure what “cyberpunk” is – maybe I’ll try it. When are you too old to read this stuff?
The term “Cyberpunk” was created in 1983, when Bruce Bethke wrote the short story, “Cyberpunk.” The term is a combination of the words “cybernetic” and “punk.” The genre itself largely focuses on the concepts of “high technology” and “low life”. Generally the protagonists are hackers, or some form of detective, often evoking a “hard-boiled” style of writing. The genre is usually set in the near future, and it is always portrayed in a dystopian fashion. I’m not going to be as ageist as to suggest an age when you are “too old” to read anything, but if you are not a fan of science fiction, this book might not be for you. However, if you read it with an open mind, there is certainly much more in here than what puts many off of the genre, (i.e. lasers, space ships, aliens). The technology is presented in a fairly easy to understand fashion, though there are many parallel plots in the book, so if you are easily distracted, it might be difficult to hold the narrative. Hope that helps!
Thank you for responding to my query. I have a better idea now of what a cyberpunk is. I had to look up the word “dystopian” and my husband decided it was the opposite of utopian. I think I will peek at the book just for the misma of it.
correction “miasma” is what I meant