Ray's Reviews > Zodiac

Early Neal Stephenson still worth reading for the completist. It's not postcyberpunk, it's not a hacker thriller, and it's not an historical drama about scientists either.

Zodiac is more based in the real world, about a hip environmentalist fighting corporate toxic waste in the mean streets (and seas) of Boston. Politically, it's very interesting to note that this is pretty much a leftist theme without any libertarian leanings. The main Stephensonism, however, is more about having a cool intellectual adventurer as protagonist, regardless of ideological leanings.

So activist Sangamon Taylor, based off the real-life Marco Kaltofen, basically works for Greenpeace and fights off the evil villains who are tampering with nature in the Boston harbor. The stakes get bigger and ever more exciting, although there is that typical abrupt Stephenson ending which may not be satisfying enough for all.

It's a relatively quick read, you can learn a lot about chemical compositions and such, and even with all the trademarked fascinating infodumps it goes by much faster than his latter 1000-page tomes. Topics range from why simpler molecules make for better drugs, to the finer intricacies of the Vietnamese restaurant scene. This is all quite funny, by the way. Enjoy!

Just make sure to level up to the better books if this one is your first...