I had higher expectations for this book, and it's clearly a beloved classic among fans of the sci-fi genre, but the execution was poor.

The present-tense narration was excellent. The world created around the characters was superb. It has all the hallmarks of great cyperpunk, and I felt the characters of Hiro and YT were well-developed, if not exaggerated, anime-esque caricatures. It was fast-paced, and we got satisfying glimpses into a dystopian future in which everything is run by large corporations.

But the story was lacking in substance, and the metaverse was a failed plot device; it did not add much to the story, other than its use as a library for Hiro to gather information, which ultimately led to a contrived whodunnit that detracted my enjoyment of the story. The backstory was interesting enough to keep me engaged, but it was far-fetched, and I'm still not certain of Rife's goals. Finally, the primary issue I have with the story is Hiro's monologue about two-thirds through the book, in which he spells out everything over the span of a few, action-less chapters, in case it wasn't already obvious to the reader what Stephenson was getting at from the metaverse library scenes. From this point, the story takes a sharp turn downhill as it advances toward a vacant conclusion. By now, the interplay between Hiro and Raven was annoying, and the only character I cared about was YT.

Read it for the genre and the excellent writing, but don't expect an amazing story.