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Technology Information:

Zodiac

Description

Believe it or not, some readers find Zodiac even more fun than Neal Stephenson's defining 1990s cyberpunk novel, Snow Crash. Zodiac is set in Boston, and hero Sangamon Taylor (S. T.) ironically describes his hilarious exploits in the first person. S. T. is a modern superhero, a self-proclaimed Toxic Spiderman. With stealth, spunk, and the backing of GEE (a non-profit environmental group) as his weapons, S. T. chases down the bad guys with James Bond-like Zen.

Cruising Boston Harbor with lab tests and scuba gear, S. T. rides in with the ecosystem cavalry on his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. His job of tracking down poisonous runoff and embarrassing the powerful corporations who caused them becomes more sticky than usual; run-ins with a gang of satanic rock fans, a deranged geneticist, and a mysterious PCB contamination that may or may not be man-made--plus a falling-out with his competent ("I adore stress") girlfriend--all complicate his mission.

Stephenson/S. T.'s irreverent, facetious, esprit-filled voice make this near-future tale a joy to read.

Reviews

Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-07-21
Summary: "Half and half"

The first 100 pages were very enjoyable reading with a lot of creativity, original characters, humor, and fast-moving action. After that, the writer gets bogged down in finishing his storyline--with only flashes of his original self occasionally coming up. He plods to the end. I was glad the book was over. His writing style is to string thoughts together--a reader needs to pay close attention. Unfortunatley, for me, some of his thoughts come out of leftfield. The house getting blown up with a grenade comes out of nowhere. And the barge being divided up into rooms was a stretch of the imagination. Nevertheless, If you can tolerate these, there's a lot of creativity to be enjoyed in this book. I gave this book 3 stars. Brilliant at the beginning but dry in the end. This author is worth a second read--probably Snow Crash for me.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-04-19
Summary: "Great Low-Tech Fun"

Zodiac is different from Stephenson's other books - it's short (only 300 pages), low tech (although there is a little chem discussion), and focuses primarily on one character. A quick, fun read and an interesting commentary on environmentalism and terrorism, considering that it was written in '88. I love its tribute to Boston, but, frankly, if I didn't know the area so well I might not have enjoyed the book as much. It's not Snow Crash or Crypto, but it is definitely worth the read.

Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2010-01-04
Summary: "2 stars for some humor"

I listed to the audio version of the book thru [...]. Narration was very good. I really didn't like the main character. After a while, I felt like the author was trying to create a Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas for the younger generation. This time without an attorney and with Nitros Oxide. But the scenes weren't nearly as funny as Hunter S. Thompson. Instead of Rolling Stone Mag paying all the bills, it's a "environmental" organization. There is some cool science explained for the non-major. After a while I got tired of the "Corporate Imperialism with guns is the ultimate evil" meme. I didn't really didn't recognize much of a plot.

Worth reading if you want some laughable insight into the thinking of a hypothetical enviromental true believer with a chemistry degree.

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2009-07-08
Summary: "Impressively accurate, timely, and good"

Overview:

Marketed as an "Eco-Thriller", this book notably precedes (both temporally and in quality) Michael Crichton's State of Fear, although the books have some surface similarities. Perhaps the most significant difference is that this book is fun, while the latter is not so much.

Clear similarities exist, as well, between this work and the author's first work, the classic "Big U" and his, perhaps, most famous one, "Snow Crash". Those who enjoyed these two books will probably enjoy this one as well, and vice versa.

A. Plot

The plot of the book needs to be especially strong, since this book is marketed as a thriller. So a main question is whether the plot is strong enough. In this book, it is.

Sangamon Taylor, known as S.T. is the narrator and protagonist, who collects money from an environmental group in order to maintain his daily activities, which consist of terrorizing (in a soft way) the employees of said companies for the actions of their corporate boards.

The plot is developed well, if a bit slow for many people's tastes. The ending is satisfying and conclusive, and the beginning has what many thrillers need. A quick burst of action that get you committed to the story and the characters quickly so that the background information doesn't come too soon.

SPOILER WARNING:

In the middle of the book, the plans of the ecologically negligent company are revealed. The one piece of scientific inaccuracy of which I am aware in this book is that the company could have accidentally released the second strain of bacteria, which make the PCB's, instead of consuming them. In reality, this almost could not have happened. But, charmingly, it wouldn't HAVE to. The fact is, as S.T. explains, thermodynamics will often determine the direction of a chemical reaction. If there is enough inorganic chloride around, and the bacteria have appropriate enzymes, they could easily synthesize some PCB's, even if they are the bioremediation strain. It is only unfortunate that Neal Stephenson got this part wrong, because about ten pages early, bells started going off in my head, and I thought, "Uh oh..."

END SPOILER

B. Characters

Most of the characters in the book have been called stereotypes by many reviewers here on Amazon. There is a little truth to this. I wouldn't say, however, that they are so much stereotypes as they are undeveloped. S.T. is a loner, and he spends most of the novel in his own company. The other people in the book are something of a mystery to S.T. He doesn't really seem to enjoy the company of other people, and is willing to avoid them when possible, for the most part. Since the book is told from his perspective, it is unsurprising that there are few details about them. This is clearly not a result of a lack of talent on Mr. Stephenson's part, as his earlier (and even more so, his later) book(s) demonstrate. This has to be seen as a willful choice on his part.

Therefore, the characters (and the characterization) are strong, coherent, and consistent with the protagonist's point of view, and are well done.

C. Setting

The novel is set in Boston, irredeemably so. This could have been otherwise set in Seattle, San Francisco, or maybe Antwerp. But that's about it. You need a combination of biotech, industry, hippies, and harbors. The setting directly and compellingly adds to the book, which is a nice touch.

D. Theme

The theme of the book is that the ruthlessness of negligent companies can only be countered by ruthlessness of individuals who are committed to preserving the environment. A second theme, that accusations of terrorism are not the same as actually BEING a terrorist, is quite timely, despite the fact that it was written some twenty years ago.

E. Point of View

The point of view is first-person, centering on S.T. For a careful and insightful analysis of this, find "Unnecessary" Quotes "'s review. He or she points out the pitfalls in this narrative style, particularly for Neal Stephenson. Acknowledgement of this can be seen in Stephenson's later avoidance of this perspective.

F. Aesthetics

The aesthetics require some work. This is perhaps the biggest difference between Neal Stephenson's early work and his more contemporary books. In this book, he hasn't yet developed his ability to describe the settings that will be so key to later works like the Baroque Cycle and Anathem.

Conclusion:

The book is well-written, well-characterized, and entertaining. The plot is developed with skill and artistry. Aside from a single technological inaccuracy (which was actually not only unnecessary, but counterproductive - see the spoiler region for details), the story is quite accurate as far as technology goes.

The story moves a bit slower than many thrillers, but it has other strengths, such as S.T. who is an amusing character, and insight into popularly unavailable knowledge about how ecological guerillas think, that more than make up for it.

Grade: B

Harkius

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2009-04-21
Summary: "Great Read"

Became a fan of Stephenson's when I picked up Cryponomicon on a whim about 8 years ago. I thought the cover looked cool. I've enjoyed everything he's written since that time. This was my first foray into his earlier work having just finsihed off Anathem. I was pleasantly surprised that his depth, wit, mind, and knack for making data and fact intetesting is present in his earlier work. I think anybody who enjoys Stephenson will like Zodiac. I wouldn't consider myself even a mild environmentalist, but am still quite enthralled with this novel.