“Snow Crash,” by Neal Stephenson, published in 1992, 540 pages, €9 (paperback, English edition)
A cyberpunk cult classic. A modern classic. Postmodern, visionary science fiction.
This is how the book is often described, and all of it is true. But the most crucial reason for my recommendation is this: “Snow Crash” is not just a must-read; it’s a book that’s truly enjoyable. What makes this book particularly stand out is the writing style, which originates from the author’s initial conception of the book as a “computer-generated graphic novel” (as Neal Stephenson reveals in the afterword of the newer editions). This directly influences the writing style, a manga aesthetic, and the exaggerated portrayal of characters with superhuman traits – in short, an explicit comic-like feel (just without the colorful pictures).
The protagonists in the novel are walking superlatives. The male lead, Hiro, is the “world’s best swordsman” and the last “independent hacker,” who played a major role in the development [=programming] of the Metaverse – essentially, a founding father of the Metaverse. The female protagonists (“Y.T.” and “Juanita”) are both super-intelligent “knock-outs,” and the antagonist “Raven” is an invincible fighter with superhuman abilities.
The book indulges in a love of fantasy, presenting a dazzling world full of quirks, all served with an ironic wink and at times a satirical exaggeration. Snow Crash can also be seen as a parody of the science fiction hype of the 1980s. It’s a fantastic storytelling journey, and the author frequently reminds readers of the fictional nature of the narrative. Just look at the main character’s (=Protagonists) name: “Hiro Protagonist” (sic!). And in another instance (in Chapter 6), you come across this:
“MetaCorps‘ main competitor, WorldBeat Security, handles all roads belonging to Cruiseways, plus has worldwide contracts with Dixie Traditionals, Pickett’s Plantations, Rainbow Heights, Meadowvale on the [insert name of river] and Brickyard Station.”
These references to fictionality grant Neal Stephenson the freedom to create an imaginative narrative.
A Brief Synopsis
To provide some context, here’s a rough overview of the plot. The website www.phantastik-couch.de has summarized it well, so I’ll include it here without any changes:
Hiro Protagonist is a programmer and co-founder of the Metaverse, where most people, whether rich or poor, spend a significant part of their lives or at least their leisure time. Incidentally, the term “avatar” for a virtual alter ego was coined by Stephenson. The story mostly takes place in L.A., in an America still full of endless possibilities but with a class problem.
The former constitutional state has shrunk to its core competency (the FBI), and life now takes place in private franchise-states, called Burbclaves (a neologism combining ‘suburbs’ and ‘enclave’). Even prisons operate like motel chains based on this principle. And the Mafia welcomes everyone with open arms. The law has been abolished, and each Burbclave has its own laws for its citizens. In contrast, the virtual world of the Metaverse adheres to relatively consistent rules.
In the Metaverse, Hiro is already a legend, a star who occasionally uses his two Japanese swords to reinforce his arguments. In real life, however, Hiro is currently – due to mundane financial troubles – a pizza delivery guy. Things get complicated when he fails to deliver a pizza within 30 minutes (which company patron Uncle Enzo personally guarantees), and Hiro ends up driving the Mafia’s pizza delivery car into a dried-up pool. The skateboarding courier W.T. helps him out of this mess, but soon Hiro faces a real problem: In the Metaverse, a guy named Raven appears, who systematically takes down Hiro’s fellow hackers with a virus.
The Combination of Visionary Science Fiction and Unrealistic Embellishments
What unmistakably makes this book a classic is its science fiction vision of the “Metaverse”, and the elements that would later become part of Silicon Valley’s vision of the Metaverse. Neal Stephenson cleverly explores several technical challenges and the genesis of the Metaverse throughout the book with striking foresight. Here’s an excerpt (from Chapter 63) where the author explores the interaction between the Metaverse’s program code and hardware:
”[Hiro] pokes his katana [=Japanese sword] trough the side of the cube and follows it through the wall and out the side. This is a hack. It is really based on a very old hack, a loophole that he found years a ago when he was trying to graft the sword-fighting rules on the existing Metaverse software. His blade doesn’t have the power to cut a hole in the wall – this would mean permanently changing the shape of someone else’s building – but it does have the power to penetrate things. Avatars do not have that power. That is the whole purpose of a wall in the Metaverse; it is a structure that does not allow avatars to penetrate things. But like anything else in the Metaverse, this rule is nothing put a protocol, a convention that different computers agree to follow. In theory, it cannot be ignored. But in practice, it depends upon the ability of different computers to swap information very precisely, at high speed, and at just the right times. And when you are connected to the system over a satellite uplink, as Hiro is, out here on the Raft, there is a delay as the signals bounce up to the satellite and back down. That delay can be taken advantage of, if you move quickly and don’t look back. Hiro passes right through the wall on the tail end of this all-penetrating katana.“
Neal Stephenson doesn’t limit himself to the “technically feasible” when crafting his imaginative setting. While the Metaverse (q.e.d.) showcases his technical foresight, the novel also features numerous gadgets that seem implausible even with maximum engineering genius. These range from various weapon systems to the skateboard of the female protagonist “Y.T.,” which, much like a James Bond vehicle, possesses some truly remarkable abilities. In short, readers are immersed in a fantastically designed world that seems to adopt Einstein’s famous quote as its motto: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.”
Conclusion
A refreshing read in both style and content. Although the book’s setting – typical of cyberpunk literature – depicts a dystopian future, the narrative’s dynamism, the wit of the characters, and the exuberantly imaginative design make it a feel-good book. Definitely worth reading.
