something of a branding issue here; billed as an "eco-thriller" but takes 180pp or more of a 320pp novel for the plot to rev up. wonderfully lucid layperson's explanations of o-chem; some observations on the use of media as an alternative to the courts that would only get trenchant-er in the intervening decades; & the doritos'n'nitrous gen-x slacker ethos was fun, but in the end, god help me, it could have used a little more michael crichton to it

I gave it two stars, but really this means:

4 stars for ecoterrorism and hating capitalism and general littiness
0 stars for S.T, our beloved hero, being a chauvinist pig

The second novel by the great writer. It was interesting to read Zodiac alongside with Reamde. In both books you can recognize Stephenson, but those separates an abyss: in former he is young, radical and daredevil; in latter - mature and experienced.

Early Stephenson is also very good. Zodiac is one of those rather rare books on ecological theme and it's well-done. Captivating plot; vivid and exaggerated characters; early Neal's brand humour; lot of information on environmental issues.

To conclude, i wonder, if i could give to Stephenson's book less than 5 points. Don't know, but Zodiac deserves them as one of the best eco-thrillers.

This early Stephenson book (originally published in 1988) was an action-packed "eco-thriller." Sanjamon Taylor, aka ST, works for GEE, an environmental activist group. He's the expert on toxic waste that's contaminating Boston Harbor and other places. He knows how to track down polluters and how to out them in dynamic fashion. But something squirrelly is going on that he just can't figure out, until he does after finding himself the target of hitmen. There's a real bad big corporation that wants ST off their back and its willing to go to just about any extreme to do so. ST has a few miraculous, but not without pain and injury, escapes.

I enjoyed it but it is no where close to Stephenson's later and better works, such as my absolute favorite The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. It was an Audible daily deal and well-worth that cost.

My first impression of Zodiac was that it was just a lot more fun than I guess I had expected from Stephenson for whatever reason. It's a moderately intellectual book, or at least a book that's very curious and informed on its relevant subject matter, but all of that is transmuted through a vibrant prose into a positively campy flair that pops off every page. While the whole "environmentalist James Bond" bit is more a joke within the book than an honest description of the story itself, this is very much a comic book take on the environmental activist.

That's basically exactly what I was hoping it would be. I keep having this thought that there ought to be dozens of wish fulfillment genre books about environmentalist monkeywrenchers, from animals organizing to save their habitats like in Pom Poko to more earnest, serious anti-civ stuff like the original Monkeywrench Gang (I assume). Zodiac fits that bill precisely. Its exclusive photo focus on pollution feels a bit dated, although that in itself I think is sort of an illusion. Nonetheless, while I'd prefer something more focused on proper ecology, the environmental elements of this story are extremely satisfying for that person itch of mine. The first act especially is a loose, wide-ranging survey of a variety of environmental history and chemistry topics in the Boston area. It covers everything from the creation of garbage islands in the harbor to the layout of the sewer system to roads and transit options to immigrant populations engaging in subsistence fishing to industrial lobster catching.

ST is set up as a kind of Ghostbusters situation, a freelancer creating his own contracts in finding someone to pay him for them after the fact, essentially doing regulatory work that the government isn't adequately addressing itself and turning it into a business opportunity. I think that's a neat set up; it helps limit his resources but keeps them involved in only the fun parts of each job, and give some incentive to keep his eyes open and be familiar with a lot of different things all the time. But while I guess the main event here is the toxic pipe sealing media stunt, what drives the plot is ST's curiosity and scientific approach. I am a big sucker for scientist protagonists, and for the most part this is a good example of a scientist solving scientific mysteries using good scientific technique. He spends a lot of the book out in the field collecting samples, designing efficient protocols that will still isolate the information he's looking for, ruling out the alternative hypotheses, etc. The plot gets moving a bit too fast for that process to keep up eventually, and a decent amount of it gets revealed through exposition instead, but I guess that's sometimes a part of the scientific process too.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about the character and voice. On a chapter to chapter level, I really enjoyed how is constructed; it tells a broad enough story that for a long time it almost feels like the diarist voice in True North. That is, it's not quite that deep or eloquent, but it incorporates a lot of the protagonist’s life outside of what appears to be the pressing and immediate plot, and more importantly, it's quite reflective. But on a moment to moment scale, ST can be kind of annoying. He's arrogant and snarky, and what's worse is that sometimes his strong ‘tude goes really hard on something that rings really false to a modern reader. For instance, Sangamon's Principle is exactly the sort of intuitive but deeply misleading pop science rule of thumb that ST bemoans from industry propagandists. The thing that really threw me for a loop though, was the way he reacted to Satanists. ST's social scene for the most part feels very recognizable, full of hippies and yuppies with dietary and lifestyle concerns and countercultural identities that apply just as well today. But then he starts seeing clues and getting harassed by what appears to be fans of a Satanic heavy-metal band, and he adopts the idea that these people are genuinely dangerous with the prejudice of a Fox News grandma. Like, his friends and housemates are metalheads. But he doesn't hesitate for a second to believe that metal fans are mysteriously persecuting him for no reason?

That's not a trivial thing; though it's not the only reason, it is a big part of why I had hard time buying into the overall plot as it drew threads together for the end. There's a pretty rough transition from "freelance environmentalist living his life and doing his job" to "apocalyptic environmental conspiracy," which relies on a lot of abrupt and incomprehensible sudden acts of violence to start juicing up the tension. For a while in the middle, it's a bit awkward. But once there's a bit of exposition, the main plot does make a decent amount of sense, and it is a pretty satisfying job of drawing together a lot of the miscellaneous threads from the scattershot opening act. It has some nice emotional breadth and I appreciated that it makes ST befriend an environmental terrorist. Ultimately the gunplay and high-speed chases feel a bit forced here, out of place in the otherwise semilegal game being played, and it made me think that the whole "environmentalist James Bond" deal would make a lot more sense in a colonial resource extraction frontier, where that kind of violence is actually common.

One other inconsistent quibble the detracted from the sense of realism was that I was never entirely sure if Stephenson actually knew what taking drugs was like. I don't have a ton of experience with this myself, but the idea of taking a lot of LSD in the middle of a life or death situation on the open ocean, as if it were like a really strong energy drink or something, seems kind of terrifying to me. I'm also a bit skeptical of the idea that you can hotbox an entire room with nitrous. Details like that at up to an odd sense that Stephenson didn't sufficiently research thanks for this book that seem relatively accessible knowledge today, but I guess probably looked pretty different in 1988 (a time when I guess the murder rate was high enough that Satanic panic might've felt slightly more convincing?).

I am a sucker for punishment.
I just keep trying out NS’s books because I WANT to like them as much as everyone else. I really need to stop the insanity and just never pick up another.

Overall review for this one: meh
ST works for a Greenpeace-like organization. His job involves catching and stopping companies from dumping toxins into the Boston harbour. This whole book is about that. Next...

This was unlike any other Stephenson book I've read, and I've read almost all. For one thing, the word count was about half his average and maybe a third of his most lengthy. For another, the tone was somehow different. The only other one I consider thematically similar is Reamde.

A book centered around organic chemistry, bioengineering, and toxic waste sounds boring , but mix in action, intrigue, and an egotistical smartass of a narrator, and you have a surprisingly entertaining novel.

I think most Stephenson fans would appreciate Zodiac, and possibly some readers who haven't cared that much for his longer books might find this one more approachable.

A very fun, fast-paced novel. I haven't read it since I was a teenager. Having recently read The Last Good Kiss (which Stephenson mentions in his introduction), I can say that he does draw pretty heavily from Crumley. Also, having lived in Boston for the last few years I had a pretty great mental image of most of the settings (the ones that he didn't invent at least).

The main character S.T. claims he is an asshole (and actually is an asshole to some extent), but he's still pretty likeable. The pace increases steadily throughout the novel until you feel like you are skimming across the surface of the story, just like S.T. in his zodiac skimming across the waters of Boston Harbor.

In the end the plot isn't terribly complicated, and there are plenty of loose ends left dangling about. But still very enjoyable. Going to read The Big Sleep next, now that I'm on a detective fiction kick.

Zodiac by Neal Stephenson is an environmental thriller. Sangamon Taylor works for an environmental activist group GEE and investigates toxic waste being dumped into Boston Harbour. A fast paced thriller which I enjoyed very much. S.T. is a fun modern day superhero, witty and smart. A very entertaining book.

Okay, I saw a blurb that compared this guy to Sam Spade and I don't see it. Don't get me wrong it is a really fun read and I did have to keep checking to see who wrote it due to the fact that This is nothing like the other two books I have read by the same author or a fourth that I have started. His writing style usually comes off as more intense, and more serious. This is a fun romp, not in your face bull you-over funny, but more controlled and very well done. I found it to be the kind of read that grabs a hold and doesn't let go.

3.5 Stars
This was a super fun eco thriller with a wonderful narrative rhythm (highly recommend the audio version). Most of the book reads like one long rant on environmentalism so readers need to be prepared for the subject matter, which can certainly feel preachy at times. The main character was absolutely obnoxious, which made him so entertaining. The story itself was a little ridiculous but I overall really enjoyed it. The hard science discussions involving chemistry were particularly interesting.

This book swings wildly between gripping thriller and inscrutable gobbledegook. The only thing I have to compare to is something Palahniuk would write - idk if it's because the main character is inhaling nitrous oxide whenever he's not actively in the middle of something or this is just how Neal Stephenson writes. (something I intend to find out!) There are key plot details that aren't well described, characters are completely forgotten about and then become integral to the plot, and the twists whipped me around good. Overall a mostly fun ride and definitely an indicator to start reading more thrillers if only so I can find good stuff to show Becky.