Snow Crash

[vaneramos]

I was looking for a contemporary literary reference to the Tower of Babel and the proliferation of languages. I'm getting more than I bargained for in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. I could almost swear he had read Karen Armstrong's A History of God. Stephenson seems to be tracing the use and abuse of religion all the way from ancient Sumer to cyberspace in the near future. I'm forced to get my head around another conspiracy theory rooted more than 6,000 years ago when Yahweh was just a kid struggling for supremacy among an unruly rabble of Mesopotamian divinities. All this theology and occultism gives me a cynical feeling in my gut.

But Snow Crash also presents a plausible model for virtual reality. Not to mention a 15-year-old skateboarding heroine as sharp as Tendril was meant to me, but more street-smart and fearless. And I'm exploring a knowledgeable fictional universe as elaborately designed as Connie Willis's Bellwether (not as detailed as Foucault's Pendulum, thankfully).

I'm as intimidated as ever about starting to create my own fictional cyberspace. I haven't the luxury of time to conduct my own research as exhaustive as Stephenson's.

Or do I? Maybe patience is the real issue.

Comments

[that-dang-otter.livejournal.com]

I don't know about Snow Crash - it struck me as a dilettantish book, more rooted in adolescent fantasy than a serious look at language or history. It gives me a cynical feeling mostly because it reads as "fake mythology" - something with a superficially mythical structure but without the core of truthfulness that real mythology carries with it.

I tend to think of it as extravagant humor, sort of along the lines of Douglas Adams, and not take it very seriously.

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

have i already asked you if you're planning to write for Nano next month?

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

"Fake mythology" aptly expresses my view of conspiracy theories in general. I haven't finished the book yet, but I'll probably end up agreeing with you. It's nice when a novelist takes time to research subject matter, but in fiction knowledgability should not distract from character and plot development, a point I ought to remember.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

No, you haven't. The short answer is, probably not.

I've given this project priority over NaNo. It won't make me happy to keep generating rough drafts unless I can also revise them into a form I consider publishable. I'm having difficulty establishing the habit of setting aside two hours every day, but I've made some progress and after several weeks I haven't given up yet. I imagine this will require a year or more, working steadily.

I won't participate in November unless this project is progressing extremely well or very badly.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

In other words, if I haven't started writing in earnest by the end of October, I'll probably take time out for another NaNo.

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

i see. two hours a day is good! i hope it continues to go well so that you won't have time for Nano (odd as that sounds). best wishes with the writing, van!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

How about you? If you plan to do NaNo, I look forward to reading. :-)

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

yes, i updated my registration there the other evening, just before the site crashed under the influx of registrants. *g* i don't have a storyline yet, but i'm toying with the idea of dennis pryce being the focus instead of a sideline. so much of my stuff has come back to him, as if somehow he's stuck in my head. but i dunno. we'll see what hits me just before nov. 1. :)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Wow, it would be cool to see her. Very interesting writer. I can't afford to buy anything right now, but if you can get a copy at minimal expense I would love to see it.

I have no idea whether the Toronto boys have viewed the DVD you sent us, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll try to look into it this weekend (Cdn Thanksgiving).

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, VHS is better.