Book Recommendation: Snow Crash

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FlyingPenguin
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Book Recommendation: Snow Crash

Post by FlyingPenguin »

This is one of the all time cult classic Cyberpunk novels, but I never read it before. Like Gibson's Neuromancer it was a ground breaking book when published in 1992.

Very hip and funny, and it doesn't feel dated at all. Despite the humor and frivolity on the surface it explores some pretty deep and controversial concepts like "neuro-linguistic programming". The author proposes that the Sumerian language is the firmware programming language for the brainstem which is supposedly functioning as the BIOS for the human brain, and that religion and most ancient ritualistic traditions are wetware viruses.

Half the story takes place in a future L.A. where there is no real United States anymore: it's become a patchwork of corporate franchised city-states responsible for their own internal security. The Mafia is even one of these franchises and also has a monopoly on the pizza delivery business, as well as running it's own city-states.

The other half takes place in the "Metaverse" which is a virtual reality successor to The Internet. People spend half (or more) of their lives in the Metaverse and it's possible to own real estate in the Metaverse, and people transact business and even have duals in the Metaverse.

Interesting read. I have the audiobook version on my DC shares.

http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Bantam ... 111&sr=8-1

More here although beware of spoilers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "

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normalicy
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Post by normalicy »

I read this a few years ago. Overall, I ended up liking it. It's very different from the average SciFi, so you're either going to reject it or accept it.
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