neal stephenson
snow crash is one of the best books to read early on when you're getting into cyberpunk. in fact, all of stephenson's works are good to read ...pretty much whever.
works
Snow Crash
"The franchise and the virus work on the same principle: what thrives in one place will thrive in another. You just have to find a sufficiently virulent business plan, condense it into a three-ring binder - its DNA - xerox it, and embed it on the fertile lining of a well-travelled highway, preferably one with a left-turn lane. Then the growth will expand until it runs up against its property lines.
... McDonald's is Home, condensed into a three-ring binder and xeroxed. "No Suprises" is the motto of the franchise ghetto ...
The people of America, who live in the world's most surprising and terrible country, take comfort in that motto."
Half serious, half parody, Snow Crash follows hacker Hiro Protagonist and his partner Y.T., a kourier - skateboard courier. The plot revolves around a bizarre new computer virus "snow crash", and the conspiracy behind it. In an all too real vision of the future, the government exists out of sentimentality while vast corporations (like the Mafia...) are laws unto themselves. Security comes from serious weaponry, order comes from the sterility of the franchise.
It's a world of laws written in three-ring binders, where everything including religion is a franchise. People associate with each other in the virtual world of the Metaverse almost as much as they do in realspace - some have dispensed with such physical boundaries. Advertising sells by the pixel, and the resolution of your avatar can give away your social standing.
Above all other discriptions, Snowcrash is a refreshing read. It's got that cyberpunk edge, without being too grim. The humour doesn't cheapen the plot, and the serious side doesn't ruin the humour.
Pictured is the ROC release - ISBN 0-14-023292-3.
The Diamond Age
or,
A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer
In the future, nanotechnology has replaced the greater part of industry and society has evolved into a tribal group system. One of the largest phyles are the Victorians, who faced a degraded society and opted for a return to Victorian-era systems - adopting the dress standards, etiquette and morals.
In the middle of the strict Victorian world, a rich but wise man realises that his granddaughter needs a good dose of subversion and liberal education - so he has an illustrated primer made for her. This extraordinary book will interact with her and lead her through a long process of learning and development. But a copy goes astray, ending up with a poor little orphan girl - Nell.
The primer and actions surrounding it set off a long chain of events, which will entangle some of the most widely separated people in the new world.
Pictured is the Penguin release - ISBN 0-14-027037-X.
Zodiac
Sangamon Taylor, the "Granola James Bond", gets around on his Zodiac making a lot of trouble for Boston's toxic criminals. He works for the environmental group GEE International, using an interesting mix of high-tech and crude techniques to trace and expose environmental crime... however he's starting to find that someone's been raising the stakes, and he's well and truly caught in the middle - up to his neck in really toxic shit.
An excellent eco-thriller that doesn't even get preachy! Having said that, just remember to avoid Greenpeace reps while you read this one, otherwise you'll find yourself donating...
I was a little worried when I bought this one, thinking that I might be headed for a disappointment. Silly me. I liked this one at least as much as Snow Crash, although they're really too different to compare.
Penguin release - ISBN 0-14-027038-8.
Cryptonomicon
This 900-page monster proves beyond all doubt that Stephenson could just keep on writing until the world ran out of paper to print on. Probably fairly appropriate in some ways. Fantastic book.
also...
Books written with his uncle under the pseudonym Stephen Bury: "Interface", "Cobweb". Both excellent books.