I think it's because he hadn't learned a whole lot of bad pacing habits at that point, but had already developed a strong descriptive style. Snow Crash is an evolution of that. The pacing is a mess, but entertainingly so, and the first-class descriptive writing and dialogue makes up for it.
He desperately needs an iron-fisted editor in his life. It's a tragedy that he doesn't.
He desperately needs an iron-fisted editor in his life. It's a tragedy that he doesn't.