Snow Crash.

SNOW CRASH. Neal Stephenson. 1992/2001. Read by Jonathan Davis. 12 tapes. 18 hrs. Time Warner Audio. 1-57042-713-7 $49.98. Cardboard, plastic; plot, reader notes. SA *

This dystopian fantasy takes place in America's not-too-distant future, where the bad guys are winning and crime, computers, and mega-corporations dominate everyday life. Only a plucky, outcast rebel hero can strike a blow for good old-fashioned individual freedom in the wake of society's imminent collapse. Taking on a genre that's becoming frayed at the edges, Stephenson marshals his considerable intellect, dark wit, sheer inventiveness, and yarn-spinning pizzazz to create a novel that leaves the competition in a snowdrift and makes the whole subject somehow seem new. At the heart of the story is its hero-protagonist, fortuitously named Hiro Protagonist. In "real" life, Hiro is a lowly delivery driver for the country's largest franchise, Cosa Nostra Pizza, daily maneuvering the dangerous turf of the surrounding "burbclaves," former suburbs that have become independent city-states inside walled compounds. But his true calling is as computer hacker extraordinaire, and it's in that capacity that he's called on to battle the deadly designer drug of the title, which also seems connected to a catastrophic computer virus.

Audio production quality is excellent, as is narrator Davis, who achieves just the right blend of hip, edgy, and laid-back in order to keep the reader engaged for the long haul. This may well lure crowds of non-SF readers to discover not only Snow Crash but the offbeat pleasures of Stephenson's other novels, such as The Diamond Age.

Carroll Dale Short, Birmingham, AL