Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

The Cobweb

neal stephenson j. frederick george

... Show More
From his triumphant debut with Snow Crash to the stunning success of his latest novel, Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson has quickly become the voice of a generation. In this now-classic political thriller, he and fellow author J. Frederick George tell a savagely witty, chillingly topical tale set in the tense moments of the Gulf War.

When a foreign exchange student is found murdered at an Iowa University, Deputy Sheriff Clyde Banks finds that his investigation extends far beyond the small college town—all the way to the Middle East. Shady events at the school reveal that a powerful department is using federal grant money for highly dubious research. And what it’s producing is a very nasty bug.

Navigating a plot that leads from his own backyard to Washington, D.C., to the Gulf, where his Army Reservist wife has been called to duty, Banks realizes he may be the only person who can stop the wholesale slaughtering of thousands of Americans. It’s a lesson in foreign policy he’ll never forget.

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1996

This edition

Format
448 pages, Paperback
Published
May 31, 2005 by Random House Worlds
ISBN
9780553383447
ASIN
0553383442
Language
English

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for neal stephenson

neal stephenson

... Show More

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
33(33%)
4 stars
34(34%)
3 stars
33(33%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
spicycarbonara
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
... Show More
Neal Stephenson is one of my favorite science-fiction writers, but he’s also written two political novels with his uncle, J. Frederick George, under the pen name Stephen Bury. Both have since been re-issued under their real names. This one is an interesting take on just where Saddam Hussein got his bio-weapons ahead of the first Iraq war. All fictional, of course, but so convincing I actually went and did some Googling to see if any of it was based on truth. (It isn’t – as far as we know.)
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
ChilHomil
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
... Show More
Classic Stephenson

4.5 stars
Smart, funny, exciting, engrossing, insightful, infuriating, spooky, human, plausible, well-researched, informative, thought-provoking.... reviews need 20 words. Read it!
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
xanax-please
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
... Show More
An interesting book and an all too plausible storyline. Any intelligence agency is only as strong and as weak as the human nature of those involved allow it to be.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
AyanoAnimelist
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
... Show More
All I remember of this novel is how the sheriff character drives around with his baby daughter in the car to get her to sleep.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
stained-rose
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
... Show More
A decent Tom Clancy like espionage thriller, but it definitely doesn't read like any other Neal Stephenson books that I've read.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Sandyloserp
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
... Show More
Great - nailed the machinations of DC! Fun story. Took a little bit to get into it, but then it was a really fun read.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.