Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1993, Paperback, Reissue)

Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk novel, "Snow Crash," plunges the reader into a not-too-distant, science fiction future. The book is set in the arena of California- sort of. America has become a "Burbclave" patchwork of city-states, the Mafia controls pizza delivery, and the Internet- existing as the Metaverse- looks something like every computer scientist's wetdream.

Hiro Protagonist- hacker, samurai swordsman, and pizza-delivery driver- follows clues from the Bible, ancient Sumer and high technology, as he tries to thwart an attempt to take control of civilization. When he logs onto Metaverse- an imaginary place entered via computer, much like the Sims, avatars and all- Hiro encounters Juanita Marquez, a "radical" Catholic and computer whiz. She warns him to avoid the emonymous drug Snow Crash and gives him a file labeled Babel- think the Tower of Babel in Genesis. Another friend, sp ok/pk Da5id ignores Juanita's warning and "computer crashes" out of Metaverse into the real world, where he physically collapses. Hiro, Juanita, Y.T.- a freewheeling, skateboard-riding courier- and numerous other Burbclave residents, along with franchise power figures, drive the story arc toward finding out who is behind this bizarre "drug" with ancient roots.

"Snow Crash" is a fast-paced futuristic novel that intertwines everything from Sumerian myth to visions of a postmodern civilization on the brink of collapse. Stephenson's science fiction writing is bizarre- yet he ties his fantastic creation to the real world just enough to seem plausible. Although "Snow Crash" heavily leans on Sumerian culture and ideas, the imaginative juxtaposition of ancient and futuristic detail makes this book a fascinating read.