4 ms·

I strongly disagree about Snow Crash. I abandoned it halfway through because the style struck me as cringily cyberpunk. Relatively cool plot but the style just

I strongly disagree about Snow Crash. I abandoned it halfway through because the style struck me as cringily cyberpunk. Relatively cool plot but the style just wasn't for me. However, Seveneves to me is everything I could hope for in a sci-fi book, and I Anathem had amazing world building. I can't speak for Diamond Age, but based on the four books I've read (Termination Shock being the other), I thought Snow Crash was wildly different from the rest.

schnitzelstoat 3y ago
I thought Snow Crash was basically a satire of cyberpunk. I mean the dude's name is Hiro Protagonist.
- tonyg 3y ago
  Underlined rather emphatically in The Diamond Age by the literal murder of the clichéd cyberpunk character right out of the gates. Quite an unambiguous statement about What Will Not Be Happening In This Book From Now On.
- AlanYx 3y ago
  That's probably the key part. If someone goes in expecting earnest sci-fi like Neuromancer and the satire part doesn't click early on, they're likely to be disappointed. (That being said, IMHO there are some aspects of Snow Crash that come off as low-effort, independent of the satire.)
andyjohnson0 3y ago
> However, Seveneves to me is everything I could hope for in a sci-fi book Serious question: what did you think of the ending and plot closure?
- ghaff 3y ago
  To me, the first 2/3 of Seveneves was a good thriller, followed by and then a miracle happpened, followed by probably the book Stephenson wanted to write.
  - flybrand 3y ago
    This to me feels like most of his plots.
- themadturk 3y ago
  For me, the ending was a little rushed, but fine. It tied up at least some of the plot elements from the first part. Yes, it was like two separate books, as if Niven and Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer was mashed together with the TV version of Asimov's Foundation, but both parts were pretty good.
MOARDONGZPLZ 3y ago
I feel the same way. I’ve had a few false starts with Snow Crash, each time powering through about half despite my love of the imagery and the coolness. But have easily read Seveneves 2-3 times, with the last time somewhat skimming the third part, which isn’t as good as the rest.
pavel_lishin 3y ago
> I abandoned it halfway through because the style struck me as cringily cyberpunk. I believe that was fully intentional.
- tstrimple 3y ago
  The main character's name is Hiro Protagonist. He's definitely leaning into it.
- chrisshroba 3y ago
  Yeah totally! Just not my preference.
p_l 3y ago
Snow Crash was one of the archetypical cypherpunk stories, which was a trend that often mocked if not outright took a piss over cyberpunk. I find it a lot like a variation of "the cyberpunk dystopia arrived but not as cool as we imagined", but not as boring as what actually happens.

schnitzelstoat 3y ago

I thought Snow Crash was basically a satire of cyberpunk. I mean the dude's name is Hiro Protagonist.

tonyg 3y ago
Underlined rather emphatically in The Diamond Age by the literal murder of the clichéd cyberpunk character right out of the gates. Quite an unambiguous statement about What Will Not Be Happening In This Book From Now On.
AlanYx 3y ago
That's probably the key part. If someone goes in expecting earnest sci-fi like Neuromancer and the satire part doesn't click early on, they're likely to be disappointed. (That being said, IMHO there are some aspects of Snow Crash that come off as low-effort, independent of the satire.)

andyjohnson0 3y ago

> However, Seveneves to me is everything I could hope for in a sci-fi book Serious question: what did you think of the ending and plot closure?

ghaff 3y ago
To me, the first 2/3 of Seveneves was a good thriller, followed by and then a miracle happpened, followed by probably the book Stephenson wanted to write.
- flybrand 3y ago
  This to me feels like most of his plots.
themadturk 3y ago
For me, the ending was a little rushed, but fine. It tied up at least some of the plot elements from the first part. Yes, it was like two separate books, as if Niven and Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer was mashed together with the TV version of Asimov's Foundation, but both parts were pretty good.

MOARDONGZPLZ 3y ago

I feel the same way. I’ve had a few false starts with Snow Crash, each time powering through about half despite my love of the imagery and the coolness. But have easily read Seveneves 2-3 times, with the last time somewhat skimming the third part, which isn’t as good as the rest.

pavel_lishin 3y ago

> I abandoned it halfway through because the style struck me as cringily cyberpunk. I believe that was fully intentional.

tstrimple 3y ago
The main character's name is Hiro Protagonist. He's definitely leaning into it.
chrisshroba 3y ago
Yeah totally! Just not my preference.

p_l 3y ago

Snow Crash was one of the archetypical cypherpunk stories, which was a trend that often mocked if not outright took a piss over cyberpunk. I find it a lot like a variation of "the cyberpunk dystopia arrived but not as cool as we imagined", but not as boring as what actually happens.