TRP and the Science Fiction Connection

GilJay tenpence at dircon.co.uk
Thu Aug 3 19:47:52 CDT 1995


>On Wed, 2 Aug 1995, Vincent J Varo wrote:
>
>> Personally, I just recently read _Snow Crash_ and for the life of me, I 
>> just don't see where they come up with the comparison to Pynchon.
>> 
>> Joe Varo
>
>I have a hard time with this too. Snow Crash was recommended to me by a 
>fellow Pynchonista, and I did read and rather enjoy it a few years ago. I 
>have no desire to read it again. I'll probably try Diamond Age when it 
>finishes it's hardback run and is a bit cheaper.
>
>Does anybody out there in Pynchonland have correlations to share?
>
>grip

Christ yes. I read more SF than anything else (let's face it, Pynchon is
incorrigibly lazy and writes nowhere near enough to keep us busy :~) and
amidst my own frequent mental snowcrashes I remember that "Snow Crash" was a
competent, straightforwardly told story with some good jokes and a useful
intro to VR for the lightweight but wannabe readers down my street. I can't
help thinking that James Blish would have rather chuckled at it. But
Pynchon-level? Hoh! Compared to SC, "Vurt" was more exciting, Greg Egan is a
better imagineer, Greg Bear has a cooler name... and yet these things make
not another Pynchon. Being _far_ too old to value flimsy books as anything
except fun, I'll stick with the verdict that "Snow Crash" delivered once,
without noticeable power to deliver again. I detect here no evidence that
Stephenson will graduate much beyond Alastair Maclean's level. For
complexity I'll take my Rachel Pollack and Eco-location. And our hero, of
course.

More as it happens / more as it happens? / more, as it happens
Gillian




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