Things I Read: Snow Crash - Ancient History By Way Of Cyberpunk
The eponymous Snow Crash of Neal Stephenson's novel is a virus capable of hacking into the human subconscious. It does so by using futuristic technology but for all intents and purposes is an idea rooted in Ancient History. Snow Crash is a subtle, yet deceptive sci-fi thriller. A 400-word novel that bridges the oft-ignored gap between ancient myths and hardcore hacking. You tell me why that's so oft-ignored. The story concerns two hackers: the self-consciously named Hiro Protagonist and Y.T. (Yours Truly). Both moonlight as ‘Kouriers’ in an alternate future universe and are quickly drawn into a complex game with religious fanatics trying to take over the world. Well, two worlds really. Both our boring old reality and a much cooler futuristic cyber world known as the 'Metaverse'. Basically the Matrix before that was a thing. Because of this, the book is comparable to William Gibson’s Neuromancer and just like that book bridges abstract ideas about cultur...