Oh, man, this book. This book is literally the reason I am studying computers. I read out for the first time not long after it came out. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and it rocked my world. I took up programming and began exploring hacker culture shortly after. I can't even express how important this book was to me.

Yeah, it's not a mature fiction novel. The characters are a bit hollow and the story wasn't outstanding; all that criticism is justified. It did what it was meant to do though. It got me and who knows how many others to explore the world of technology.