I have finished the first of the books I put on my 2022 reading list. I decided to start with the fiction story Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
This review is going to be short in order to try to keep spoilers out.
I cannot recommend this book enough!
This is great sci fi. Its not fantasy. The world presented seems like the technology could exist, a future like this could exist.
The Setting
The story is an wild adventure thru a crazy future west coast United States where almost everything has been broken up into “franchises”. Almost like if every fast food restaurant parking you turned into or suburban community was like visiting another country.
Technology is fairly advanced. Computers draw a virtual reality right onto the retinas. Skateboards have smart wheels that can change their shape to terrain and give a smooth ride.
There is a metaverse, maybe one of the origins of the word. A big digital planet with digital real estate. People interact, work, and communicate there.
The Heroes
The hero of the story, named Hiro Protagonist of all things, is a old school programmer who is also in a reading friend of mine’s words a “samurai pizza delivery driver.” He helped in the original creation of the metaverse.
Working alongside him is a young skateboarding delivery courier who goes by Y.T.
Both of their lives are at risk at various times throughout the story as they unravel the mystery of Snow Crash.
The Plot
The plot seems to be centered on the question, “What if your brain could be infected like the software in a computer?”
The story centers around a mystery virus called Snow Crash which is an old term for a computer crash that left your screen full of static or snow. The virus is actually a thinking virus. One that affects the brain at a fundamental level. Specifically the brains of people who understand how to program computers.
Who is making this virus and why?
Our heroes must dig up information, make daring escapes, and face the notorious big bad guy Raven.
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the story. It has a touch of the absurd that hits my sense of humor just right. Their is a good split between computers and programming and real world mayhem. The way mythological, historical and religious ideas are blended together is done in a way that makes them seem plausible.
The idea of someone being able to program your mind if they had the right words or images is something worth thinking about. Partially because there are people trying to figure out how to do that every day. Marketers trying to get you to buy their products. Governments and politicians trying to get you to support their policies. Friends and family who want something from you or think they are trying to convince you to do what is best for yourself.
What kind of guards or anti-virus do you have for your mind to keep out the garbage that is trying to infect it?
Keep getting wiser, stronger, and better.