Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

A story about a near future where the “Metaverse” is a part of daily life. Characters put on VR headsets and enter the Metaverse each day for work, entertainment, communication - all parts of their lives are lived in the Metaverse. The storyline is good. We follow a young hacker, ironically named Hiro Protagonist, who is quite well-known in the Metaverse hacker community. We soon head about a “drug” (virus) called “Snow Crash” which has been causing havoc in the Metaverse and may have real-world effects as well. Hiro’s discovery of this drug leads him down path of discovery, eventually exposing a much larger plot which could mean wide-spread devastation in both the Metaverse and real life. Hiro and his new friend Y.T. end up deeply ensnared within this plot, forced to either save their worlds or go down with them.

It took me two attempts to finish this one. Initially, I wasn’t very engaged and ended up setting it aside. But I picked it back up again a little later on and did end up finishing it. I’d definitely say that it’s worth a read. The plot is good, not great. It’s the writing style and the world that Stephenson creates for us that really kept me going. At times the story can feel silly and too fast, but overall I ended up having fun with it. It’s a more casual read than many.