Reading snow shock In 2022, there are moments when the images and situations of the 30-year-old sci-fi novel seem eerily prescient, from robot dogs employed by defense contractors to monopolistic billionaires giving way to a neo-feudal society. Other times, Neal Stephenson’s predictions are so accurate that they transcend unease and take on an almost comedic quality. For example, at the beginning of the book, when the author describes how the characters exist in the virtual world where much of the action takes place. “People are pieces of software called avatars,” he writes. “They are audiovisual bodies that people use to communicate with…