4 ms·

I agree as far as the novel/ridiculously-long-essay dichotomy goes. That said Snow Crash is usually called a satire of (post)cyberpunk and as a satire it needs

I agree as far as the novel/ridiculously-long-essay dichotomy goes. That said Snow Crash is usually called a satire of (post)cyberpunk and as a satire it needs to adhere to the formula more than just another entry in the genre.

asteli 9y ago
That explains a lot about my impressions of Snow Crash specifically. I felt that Stephenson wasn't being serious with his writing (contrast to, say, William Gibson's original treatment of cyberpunk). A bit toward the Terry Pratchett side of the writing spectrum. I found it to be a slight turn-off, but if what you say is true, I'm more inclined to give Stephenson's other work more attention.
- hinkley 9y ago
  I wonder how that lines up with people who hate the first chapter and think it’s a nonsequitur versus people who enjoy it for its absurdity, versus people who think it is perfectly in keeping with the rest of the book. Is it Gene Wilder doing a front flip in his first scene in Willie Wonka so you never quite trust him again?
  - Avshalom 9y ago
    >> Gene Wilder doing a front flip in his first scene in Willie Wonka so you never quite trust him again? ... ... Oh SHIT.
    - hinkley 9y ago
      You are one of today’s 10,000. Go read up on Gene Wilder and all the feedback he gave for WW. That scene was his idea. He got into that role like Daniel Day Lewis or Viggo Mortensen.
mattkevan 9y ago
Naming your main character Hiro Protagonist gives the game away somewhat.
- Avshalom 9y ago
  Unless you're 12 years old and Snow Crash is your first exposure to the genre. <.< >.> You know, speaking for a friend.
  - mattkevan 9y ago
    Even so, your ‘friend’ could have chosen worse places to start...
- taneq 9y ago
  To be perfectly honest, I did (and still do) oscillate on how I see that choice. Is it: 1) A clever if superficial name, 2) A dumb name because it's too obvious, 3) A clever name because it's satirizing the dumb choice of an obvious name, 4) A dumb name because the satire is also transparent... Basically it only works on odd "Yomi layers" (see http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/7-spies-of-the-mind http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/7-spies-of-the-mind). The rest of the book perfectly straddles the "haha-only-serious" line so I guess it's in keeping.
DanBC 9y ago
> usually called a satire Isn't that a post-rationalisation? Was anyone saying that at the time?
- Avshalom 9y ago
  I don't know. I first read it in like '98/'99 ish? and by the time I was reading reviews for it people were calling it satire or at least definitely winking at the audience (as a sibling points out: hiro protagonist) I don't know what the conversation was contemporaneously with release.
- svachalek 9y ago
  Oh yeah. I read it when it came out and it was definitely satire. The genre's tropes were very well set up by then, actually now that I think about it, it was probably the gravestone for the genre.
  - tialaramex 9y ago
    I think the point of the prologue in Diamond Age is to act as gravestone. Bud (Nell's father) is the prototypical cyberpunk character. And he's literally killed off by the events of that chapter. He plays no role in Nell's life, he's never brought up again, it's Stephenson saying this novel is literally post-cyberpunk.
    - saltcured 9y ago
      What is the relationship of the Young Lady's Primer to Colin, the souped-up, hand-held travel guide used by the Yakuza boss's little girl in Mona Lisa Overdrive? Satire or just hyperbolic derivative?
      - templar_muse 9y ago
        Mona Lisa Overdrive, published in 1988. A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, published in 1995.
deleted 9y ago
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asteli 9y ago

That explains a lot about my impressions of Snow Crash specifically. I felt that Stephenson wasn't being serious with his writing (contrast to, say, William Gibson's original treatment of cyberpunk). A bit toward the Terry Pratchett side of the writing spectrum. I found it to be a slight turn-off, but if what you say is true, I'm more inclined to give Stephenson's other work more attention.

hinkley 9y ago
I wonder how that lines up with people who hate the first chapter and think it’s a nonsequitur versus people who enjoy it for its absurdity, versus people who think it is perfectly in keeping with the rest of the book. Is it Gene Wilder doing a front flip in his first scene in Willie Wonka so you never quite trust him again?
- Avshalom 9y ago
  >> Gene Wilder doing a front flip in his first scene in Willie Wonka so you never quite trust him again? ... ... Oh SHIT.
  - hinkley 9y ago
    You are one of today’s 10,000. Go read up on Gene Wilder and all the feedback he gave for WW. That scene was his idea. He got into that role like Daniel Day Lewis or Viggo Mortensen.

mattkevan 9y ago

Naming your main character Hiro Protagonist gives the game away somewhat.

Avshalom 9y ago
Unless you're 12 years old and Snow Crash is your first exposure to the genre. <.< >.> You know, speaking for a friend.
- mattkevan 9y ago
  Even so, your ‘friend’ could have chosen worse places to start...
taneq 9y ago
To be perfectly honest, I did (and still do) oscillate on how I see that choice. Is it: 1) A clever if superficial name, 2) A dumb name because it's too obvious, 3) A clever name because it's satirizing the dumb choice of an obvious name, 4) A dumb name because the satire is also transparent... Basically it only works on odd "Yomi layers" (see http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/7-spies-of-the-mind http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/7-spies-of-the-mind). The rest of the book perfectly straddles the "haha-only-serious" line so I guess it's in keeping.

DanBC 9y ago

> usually called a satire Isn't that a post-rationalisation? Was anyone saying that at the time?

Avshalom 9y ago
I don't know. I first read it in like '98/'99 ish? and by the time I was reading reviews for it people were calling it satire or at least definitely winking at the audience (as a sibling points out: hiro protagonist) I don't know what the conversation was contemporaneously with release.
svachalek 9y ago
Oh yeah. I read it when it came out and it was definitely satire. The genre's tropes were very well set up by then, actually now that I think about it, it was probably the gravestone for the genre.
- tialaramex 9y ago
  I think the point of the prologue in Diamond Age is to act as gravestone. Bud (Nell's father) is the prototypical cyberpunk character. And he's literally killed off by the events of that chapter. He plays no role in Nell's life, he's never brought up again, it's Stephenson saying this novel is literally post-cyberpunk.
  - saltcured 9y ago
    What is the relationship of the Young Lady's Primer to Colin, the souped-up, hand-held travel guide used by the Yakuza boss's little girl in Mona Lisa Overdrive? Satire or just hyperbolic derivative?
    - templar_muse 9y ago
      Mona Lisa Overdrive, published in 1988. A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, published in 1995.

deleted 9y ago

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