Neal Stephenson redefines the entire nature of cyberpunk with this breakneck thrill ride through a darkly satirical future, tying together some amazingly diverse branches of science into one great big epic plot. The story ranges from ancient Sumeria, where tools and techniques to alter the minds of all humans are discovered, to the not so far future, where the greatest hackers in the world are suddenly going brain-dead from a "computer virus" called Snow Crash--a computer virus that is transmissible to human minds!

Only one man can track down the source of this mysterious virus and put a stop to it--the aptly-named Hiro Protagonist--but can he do it in time to save mankind from a new dark age?

The present-tense writing style is a bit off-putting at first; present-tense is very difficult to do well. However, Stephenson manages to pull it off--once you get used to it, it seems the most natural thing in the world. The story itself does an excellent job balancing humor and seriousness, the present and the past...I'll admit that I was a bit put off by the first few pages, in which the hero was revealed to be named Hiro Protagonist. It seemed a bit silly to me, so I judged the book by its cover (or at least its first few pages)...until one day, I didn't have anything better to do, so I figured why not?

I've never regretted that day.