Jolly Dystopia

From the desk of Benji Welner in Stanford, CA. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Finished on November 01, 2026. Rating: ★★★★☆ The entire time I was reading Snow Crash I thought it was William Gibson. I downloaded it a while ago and didn’t read the cover, I guess. For the rest of this review, we can just reinterpret that as a profound compliment. This book contains an absurd number of bizarre, interesting, and prescient ideas. There are wheels made of a ring of spokes that expand and contract to smooth out surface irregularities. Stephenson coins the term “metaverse.” There is a giant barge of lawless ships floating around a contaminated ocean. Corporations have become the government. Nuclear attack dogs exist. Religion plays a crucial, technical role in a way that can only be described as UNSONG-esque. I could go on and on but I don’t want to ruin it anymore than I already have should you choose to read the book. The main character’s name is Hiro Protagonist, come on! It’s so fun. I have…

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