Times are hard for people forced to make a living. The mob controls even the pizza world, and a job as harmless as pizza delivery can be life threatening. If you take longer than the allotted time to deliver a pizza you stand to lose more than just your job. But Hiro Protagonist, the protagonist of Neal Stephenson’s SNOW CRASH has bigger problems than that. People are dying in the Metaverse, a virtual cyber world, apparently because of a computer virus that works like a drug. If you download it into your computer you lose more than just your data. Hiro, in addition to his other talents, is a gifted hacker, and he uncovers a conspiracy that has its roots way back in the past.

At first it is hard to find the thread running through SNOW CRASH. The story progresses rapidly right from the start and jumps from one scene to the next without revealing the connection between the events. There’s a new twist on every other page. Stephenson’s dry humor makes you laugh out loud more than once.

The novel, considered one of the classics of the genre, is also a linguistic roller coaster ride. The author doesn’t hesitate to make up words for new things and concepts as he goes along. The style takes getting used to. I don’t know if I would feel this way if I had read a dozen books of this kind, but for me it was new and refreshing, a very special experience. Another interesting aspect is the combination of the ultramodern computer world, represented by the Metaverse, a more developed version of the internet, as we know it, and ancient myths. This way you learn something about the Sumerians, the people with the oldest known written language. Before you finally find out what "snow crash" actually means you have time to explore a world that doesn’t seem as utopian as Stephenson would like us to believe. The author, who is also a programmer, knows what he can expect his readers to accept without losing his credibility. SNOW CRASH is a well-written novel that made me curious about Stephenson’s other books.

Bantam Books, 1992