4 ms·

I would encourage people to read Snowcrash. I first read it like 20 years ago and have re-read it several times. It's funny, it's readable, it's prophetic, it's

I would encourage people to read Snowcrash. I first read it like 20 years ago and have re-read it several times. It's funny, it's readable, it's prophetic, it's wacky, it's thought provoking, there's a lot in a small package. It's also not as described in that article, the author is shoehorning something written a while go to fit a currently popular narrative. I don't think Stephenson really does dystopian / utopian, right / wrong, moral / immoral. He constructs plausible settings where people roam and do as people do. As a tangent, I hope this new hype results in a high production value adaptation of Snowcrash or one of his other works (seveneves!), Stephenson really deserves a higher place in our cultural pantheon.

mistersquid 5y ago
> Stephenson really deserves a higher place in our cultural pantheon. +1 (though I think his place is higher and more secure than this comment suggests. Or not!) Stephenson's place in the sci-fi canon (if such a thing can be said to exist) was sealed when he wrote, first, _Snow Crash_ and, later, _Cryptonomicon_ (though I find the latter a tad overwrought). With zero insight into the film industry's relationship to Stephenson's literary estate: Many of Stephenson's novels have trouble sticking their endings. _Snow Crash_ does not have this problem but _Cryptonomicon_ does. Same problem for _REAMDE_ which is very cinematic but takes a long way to wrapping its plotlines. Extrapolating from that speculative line, if Stephenson refuses to give the film/TV industry artistic license with regard to screenplays of his novels, producers may be unwilling to move forward. That said, I thought Amazon was going to do a version of _Snow Crash_… Taking a moment to sing Stephenson's praise names, _The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer_ is my favorite of his novels. Superb pacing, fascinating vision of technology, and strong sociocultural relevance. Plus, _The Diamond Age_ knocks the stuffing out its ending! If you've not read it yet, what are you waiting for?
- wintermutestwin 5y ago
  > _The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer_ is my favorite of his novels. Superb pacing, fascinating vision of technology, and strong sociocultural relevance. Plus, _The Diamond Age_ knocks the stuffing out its ending! That makes two of us! I always doubted there were others, so welcome to the club :) I tried to get my wife into it but failed because the intro to the book is very much not like rest. All the talk of implanting guns in the head made it seem like it was going to be action sci-fi. The intro to Snow Crash is also not like the rest, but it is so hilarious that I don't mind. I always assumed that his editor(s) didn't know what to do with it, but knew there was so much awesomeness that they just left it as-is.
filoeleven 5y ago
Neal was taking questions during some book tour or another, and someone asked a question about Snow Crash while calling it “dystopian.” Neal kind of smiled and replied that he didn’t think it was a dystopia. He had some more to say, which I don’t recall and cannot find unfortunately. Snow Crash has been optioned for one project or another for over 20 years. As of May 2020, HBO was adapting it to a TV series. Here’s hoping that’s still on track! https://www.cbr.com/snow-crash-hbo-max-adaptation-dream-cyberpunk/ https://www.cbr.com/snow-crash-hbo-max-adaptation-dream-cybe...
akkartik 5y ago
I would agree in some ways and disagree in some ways. Yes, the book imagines a richer world than OP's blunt characterization. But the book is also more frivolous and escapist than the OP's characterization. Dystopia has always been cool, offering readers consequence-free entry into a world where decisions matter more than in real life. Cyberpunk authors understand this well. The goal is to be real enough to suck in the reader, but not so real as to be a drag or buzz kill. So it's not surprising that Facebook would find cyberpunk a useful recruitment tool. Looking towards the next 200 years, it seems likely that there's a lot more hardship and privation in humanity's future. Whether due to climate change or the need to colonize Mars or some asteroid or whatever. Tech that can help make immiserated conditions more tolerable may well be hugely valuable to humanity. In a manner analogous to Christianity's role during the long decline of Ancient Rome. This may well be the greatest boon of the internet, when future historians look back at this time.
MivLives 5y ago
Snow Crash is one of my most lent books. People either get it quickly or it just fizzles out for them. I feel like a lotta his work is like that too. You gotta wanna read 20 pages of Sumerian mythology and a sword fight on motorcycles in the same book.

mistersquid 5y ago

> Stephenson really deserves a higher place in our cultural pantheon. +1 (though I think his place is higher and more secure than this comment suggests. Or not!) Stephenson's place in the sci-fi canon (if such a thing can be said to exist) was sealed when he wrote, first, _Snow Crash_ and, later, _Cryptonomicon_ (though I find the latter a tad overwrought). With zero insight into the film industry's relationship to Stephenson's literary estate: Many of Stephenson's novels have trouble sticking their endings. _Snow Crash_ does not have this problem but _Cryptonomicon_ does. Same problem for _REAMDE_ which is very cinematic but takes a long way to wrapping its plotlines. Extrapolating from that speculative line, if Stephenson refuses to give the film/TV industry artistic license with regard to screenplays of his novels, producers may be unwilling to move forward. That said, I thought Amazon was going to do a version of _Snow Crash_… Taking a moment to sing Stephenson's praise names, _The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer_ is my favorite of his novels. Superb pacing, fascinating vision of technology, and strong sociocultural relevance. Plus, _The Diamond Age_ knocks the stuffing out its ending! If you've not read it yet, what are you waiting for?

wintermutestwin 5y ago
> _The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer_ is my favorite of his novels. Superb pacing, fascinating vision of technology, and strong sociocultural relevance. Plus, _The Diamond Age_ knocks the stuffing out its ending! That makes two of us! I always doubted there were others, so welcome to the club :) I tried to get my wife into it but failed because the intro to the book is very much not like rest. All the talk of implanting guns in the head made it seem like it was going to be action sci-fi. The intro to Snow Crash is also not like the rest, but it is so hilarious that I don't mind. I always assumed that his editor(s) didn't know what to do with it, but knew there was so much awesomeness that they just left it as-is.

filoeleven 5y ago

Neal was taking questions during some book tour or another, and someone asked a question about Snow Crash while calling it “dystopian.” Neal kind of smiled and replied that he didn’t think it was a dystopia. He had some more to say, which I don’t recall and cannot find unfortunately. Snow Crash has been optioned for one project or another for over 20 years. As of May 2020, HBO was adapting it to a TV series. Here’s hoping that’s still on track! https://www.cbr.com/snow-crash-hbo-max-adaptation-dream-cyberpunk/ https://www.cbr.com/snow-crash-hbo-max-adaptation-dream-cybe...

akkartik 5y ago

I would agree in some ways and disagree in some ways. Yes, the book imagines a richer world than OP's blunt characterization. But the book is also more frivolous and escapist than the OP's characterization. Dystopia has always been cool, offering readers consequence-free entry into a world where decisions matter more than in real life. Cyberpunk authors understand this well. The goal is to be real enough to suck in the reader, but not so real as to be a drag or buzz kill. So it's not surprising that Facebook would find cyberpunk a useful recruitment tool. Looking towards the next 200 years, it seems likely that there's a lot more hardship and privation in humanity's future. Whether due to climate change or the need to colonize Mars or some asteroid or whatever. Tech that can help make immiserated conditions more tolerable may well be hugely valuable to humanity. In a manner analogous to Christianity's role during the long decline of Ancient Rome. This may well be the greatest boon of the internet, when future historians look back at this time.

MivLives 5y ago

Snow Crash is one of my most lent books. People either get it quickly or it just fizzles out for them. I feel like a lotta his work is like that too. You gotta wanna read 20 pages of Sumerian mythology and a sword fight on motorcycles in the same book.