Zodiac

By Neal Stephenson

Two centuries after the Boston Tea Party, harbour dumping is still a favourite local sport, only this time it's major corporations piping toxic wastes into the water.

Environmentalist and professional pain in the ass Sangaman Taylor is Boston's modern -day Paul Revere, spreading the word from a 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. Embarrassing powerful corporations in highly telegenic ways is the perfect method of making enemies, and Taylor has a collection that would do any rabble-rouser proud.After his latest exploit, he's wanted by the FBI, possibly by the Mafia, and definitely by a group of Satanist angel-dust heads who think he's looking for a PCP factory, not PCB contamination.

Pretty soon dodging bullets is the least of Taylor's problems - because somewhere out there are an unhinged genetic engineer and a lab-concocted bacterium that could destroy all ocean life and that's just for appetizers.Frightening, funny, fast and furious, Zodiac is thrilling speculative fiction torn straight from today's headlines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781446440469

Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson is the author of Termination Shock, Seveneves, Reamde, Anathem; the three-volume historical epic the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World); Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Zodiac and the iconic Snow Crash, named one of Time magazine's top one hundred all-time best English-language novels. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews for Zodiac

[majkia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow. This wasn't what I expected in many ways. I love Stephenson's works so there is that. Very Very sciency so a slow read for me but oh so interesting.

It's the story of an eco activist who, as usual, gets labeled terrorist as he takes on corporate entities who are knowingly polluting the waters in and around Boston.

The title, btw, if you are wondering, refers to the zodiac boats he (and Greenpeace notably) uses to harrass polluting ships and he uses to look for sources of pollution so he can pinpoint the company involved.

The real heart-stopping action isn't until the last third or so of the book, but well worth the wait.

[jercox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story, fast paced. Eco-activism / terrorism - sometimes when systems fail, it really does take concerned citizens to break things open, the system doesn't always work.

Lots of anti-corporate / greedy /irresponsible capitalist tropes. Those are sometimes deserved, but more often not, especially these days - big corporations do more training and take more caution about the slightest of spills than anyone (having worked for several). A small car repair shop is probably responsible for more improperly disposed waste than many multi-national industrial companies.

Don't think the possibility of the story is super credible otherwise, there are some issues with the chemistry on a first glance, but it was entertaining.

[slmr4242 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't do well with books rife with drug references. This book opened with people being crazy and getting high on nitro. A whole lot of nope for me.

[donblanco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Environmental activism that actually makes a difference. That's the core of this book, and it's a great read! You will learn fascinating things.

[joquantaman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Early work of well-read author. It has aged well over the years. The environment is even more crucial today.

[dreamweaversunited · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Abandoned partway through because I found the main character totally unappealing.

[quondame · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A decent but not particularly thrilling eco-action narrative as GEE scientist agent, Sangamon Taylor, investigates and takes action against polluters, primarily in the Boston area and often out on Boston Harbor on the Zodiac owned by his organization. For a work set so decidedly in Boston, there is zero feeling of being in any particular city, and this is such a total nerd guy story it even has a woman in peril bit. Admittedly, the guys are in peril too, not quite the same way.

[kukulaj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great fun. Read this in under 24 hours... a real page turner. Unscrupulous corporations flirt with the destruction of life on earth through genetic engineering slip-ups. Our scruffy hero perhaps doesn't quite save the day but anyway manages to expose the whole affair. Nitrous oxide, LSD, mushrooms, beer - a fun loving crew for sure. Quite a bit of talk about internal combustion engines, on cars and vans and boats. Proper gaps for spark plugs, of all things.

It'd be fun to compare this to Abbey's Monkeywrench Gang.

[lylee-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kept my attention. Not sure I understood all the chemicals used, but I liked reading about protagonists that fight non-violently for environmental problems.

[autopoietic-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Zodiac was a really good read. I came to it from snowcrash and cryptonomicon and I thought it had the action of the former with the real life setting of the latter. I think overall it is my favourite of the three as I can identify with the main character best, him not being a sword fighter or certified code breaking genius!

[themulhern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short, smart, and a page-turner, even though I've read it before. I think I may have read it when I was younger and didn't mind not knowing at least as much as the protagonist does. Now I pay better attention to the chemistry, biology, and geography and it makes a bit more sense. I moved to north-eastern Massachusetts not so long ago, so I've been to many of the locations.

Stephenson has quite a lot to say about society in most of his writing and a lot of it is quite critical. His work tends to bring on a bout of soul-searching. It's also educational; it makes you want to look up PCBs and read "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind".

He mythologizes smart people excessively. I got a 1500 on my SATs and I've known many people who got 1600 and I don't know that any of us is so special.

Is Trisha's boyfriend Hiro Protagonist?

I sometimes think "The Big U" was his best.

[falcon124_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun read that takes you into a "what if" scenario in the present where corporations are dumping toxic waste in the waters off Boston.

Like "The Big U" it's set in an a plausible present day environment but while it's not as over-the-top as "The Big U" is, it's just as far out there with crazy but believable characters. The story reads well & the plot develops briskly as the situations get more intense, much as "Snow Crash" does rather than the deep reading of "Cryptonomicon" or intensity of the Baroque Cycle trilogy.

Well worth reading for an enjoyable story.

[jechtshot · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Boston Harbor is under attack by corporations flooding the waterways with toxic waste. Fish are floating belly up, Lobster livers are puddles of PCB infested ooze and several citizens are developing a nasty rash. Sangamon Taylor, eco-warrior and former chemist, utilizes his brilliance to solve eco-crimes and expose the polluting mega-corporations. Zodiac resounds with Neal Stephenson's trademark wit and satirical storytelling ability. The characters are primarily caricatures and the book somehow maintains the reader's interest in spite of several multi-page chemistry lessons. Zodiac is a story that only Neal Stephenson could pull off. Highly recommended.

[raypratt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great older Stephenson, before he got so complicated.(Don't get me wrong, I like his latr works, it's just that this harked back to "Snow Crash", whick was the first novel of his that I read & enjoyed) Eco-guerilla takes on the polluters with ingenuity and a sense of humor. Good stuff.

[iftyzaidi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is different from the other Stephenson books I've read, but is an enjoyable read nonetheless. I particularly liked the way it blends the tropes of the usual noir-type thriller with environmental 'direct-action' (eco-terrorism to some): an eco-crime is being committed - the question is not just by whom, but also how (don't worry if you are not a science-buff - the chemistry lessons are short and well-explained for the layman).

If it has less breadth and a more straightforward premise than Stephenson's later books, Zodiac is more focused, with the plot zipping along at a fair clip (particularly in the second half where it really builds up speed) and holding together well as a story (unlike say The Diamond Age which suffered from some strange narrative transitions). Flashes of Stephenson's trademark wit make the story all the more enjoyable to read. As long as one doesn't go in expecting another epic like Cryptonomicon, or the sci-fi spectacle of Snow Crash, one can enjoy it for what it is - a witty, fast-paced eco-thriller.

As an aside, the edition I have published by Arrow Books (2001) is choc full of typos and spelling mistakes which was rather irritating. It really should have been better proof-read.

[pghdragonman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Zodiac was my first exposure to Neal Stephenson’s writing. I understand this is an earlier work of his and may not be one of his better efforts. Nonetheless, I found this to be a very worthwhile read, mainly because of Stephenson’s flowing way with words.

The plot is stretched thin at points, very thin indeed, but remember, this is a work of fiction. I would also rank Stephenson’s ability to get his ecological point across above Carl Hiaasen’s stories. I don’t know the ecology is a reoccurring theme in Stephenson’s works, but I like his overall style enough to want to read more of him.

While some of the story is dated, the message and the bad guys are still current. If you are a fan of ecoterrorism, this is a must read. If you like science in your fiction without it being space borne Science Fiction, you will be a fan of this book. Hopefully the rest of the author’s works are even better.

[lbspen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Though I have liked other books by Neal Stephenson, this one is turning out to be a tough read. The story meanders literally and figuratively through a murky world of pollution. The story could have been "A day in the life of an in-your-face environmental activist" till about halfway through. I had been about to give up on it, but the humor kept me reading.

I'm not a chemist, but the technical depth seems realistic and gently explained. There were enough general principles to hang onto when wading through details of molecules and chemical processes. As in his other books, he stretches the boundaries of existing science and asks some hard "what-if" questions.

I'd recommend it if you have read other Neal Stephenson books and like his style and approach. I wouldn't choose it for a first Stephenson read, however. It's a bit toxic around the edges and might deter a reader from expanding into his later books.

[shawnd_72 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"You've come a long way, baby," is my pithy, surprised response when, having never experienced or heard of N. Stephenson, I read Zodiac followed immediate by Cryptonomicon. Like watching a clip of an NBA future-star as a freshman in college then cutting to one as a rookie in the NBA. The progression of skills writing-wise is stark, and a reader of Zodiac shouldn't expect more than a late 80's thriller with a moderately good story and main character, written by a novice. This book does not stand up to later Stephenson works; it's wonderful to see the writing get better.

All that said, the story is not science fiction, any more than any modern thriller that introduces a technically advanced gun (that is so technically advanced as to not be truly possible with today's technology) is science fiction. The story is set in then-current times and only in the middle and late in the story does it deal with the release by a corporation of an advanced organism/chemical catalyst that is meant to reduce pollution but has some other originally unintended effects and uses. In the context of the story, there is nothing fantastic about it (unless the reader is a very practically minded chemical engineer and could list off the 3 reasons that such a chemical could not be manufacturer) and the name eco-thriller pretty much describes it.

The main character, Sangamon, is quite a piece of work, a self-absorbed, criminal James Bond former engineer-cool-guy rebel, but mostly just a rebel who likes to cause trouble as 'fights the power'. The subtlety of this character, having many layers and being complex and real, is perhaps 'the' redeeming factor in this book that makes it worth sticking with and really a 'good' book. The character I found really unique among many, many novels, which is saying something. In his relationships with women, and his home/rental/living situation definitely is written as pulp fiction, and Stephenson's ability (with Sangamon's help) to write pulpy stuff interspersed with the story, is flavorful. I would not recommend this for anyone other than open-minded Stephenson fans or people employed in the green movement or people from Boston.

[berbels_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a good first book for any author. Very eco/green centric- I like this book better than anything Stephenson has written since the diamond age.

[silentq_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sangamon Taylor is gunning for the companies who dump toxic waste into water supplies. His big (non violent) hit is against a company dumping PCBs into Boston Harbor, he's collecting samples, analysing them and pinning the evidence on the executives with a big target for the media to hit.
My only quibble is that the serious injuries in the book aren't sold emotionally - his organisation is focused on non violent actions, but the enemy has no such compunctions. He repeatedly refers to himself as an asshole so maybe he really is just that detached, but in response, I was detached from him.

[gwendydd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not as thought-provoking or astoundingly creative as a lot of Stephenson's other works, but good, solid, fun, with all the typical Stephenson hallmarks. It was a good book to read out loud - one of the few Stephenson books that isn't too complicated to read out loud.

[portialong · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Yawn...very disappointing, given how much I have enjoyed some of Mr. Stephenson's other work.

Eco-terrorists fight back agains corporate bad guys by doing a lot of drugs and blowing stuff up. It probably didn't help that I found the protagonist to be...well...annoying, so I really didn't care if he got shot, or blown up, or whatever.

Inoffensive, just boring.

[teratologist_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's always interesting to read a near-future book where the near-future is now the recent past. Eco-terrorists in inflatable boats! Evil chemical corporations releasing dioxins! Satan-worshipping heavy metal fans on PCP! A world in which, once you expose corporate or political dumbshittery to the media, the perps are shamed and punished, rather than re-elected! That last made me cry a little bit.

Besides that, it was a pleasantly rollicking read, with a good narrative voice and just enough humor, much of it darkish. Plus the damsel-in-distress bullshit that I worried would overtake the plot was mostly kept at bay, and I learned a thing or two about writing chase scenes that I hope will come in handy.

On the downside, there is one 'Magical Native' character - he is handled unusually well, and used to take the piss out of a lot of "Noble Indian in touch with the Sacred Mother Earth" type stereotypes, but at the end of the day he's still a character of color who's just in the plot to help out the white main character because Whitey's just so fucking cool. And there's one scene of flirting-via-bickering bullshit of the type that pegs my personal annoy-o-meter.

But still, overall, recommended.

[name99_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I did not finish this book, and I'd advise you not to bother starting it. Stephenson has become a good writer, but he did not start off that way.

[rakerman_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Neil Stephenson's book Zodiac, which is one of his earlier works, is fairly weak. However, it's good reading for Haligonians, because much of its discussion of Boston's environmental problems is still relevant to Halifax. The Halifax sewer system is just as bad and Halifax's harbour still as dirty as Boston's used to be.

[daschaich · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Yes, "Eco-Thriller": "Zodiac" is Neal Stephenson's second book, written between the unimpressive "The Big U" and the cyberpunk classic "Snow Crash." It was mildly successful and according to Stephenson, "on first coming out in 1988 it quickly developed a cult following among water-pollution-control engineers and was enjoyed, though rarely bought, by many radical environmentalists." Unlike Stephenson's more recent works, it involves only one linear plot line, and is also of a more reasonable size. This may make it his most accessible work, though it isn't his most entertaining.

The story is told in the first person, from the perspective of Sangamon "S.T." Taylor, a Boston chemist employed by the Group of Environmental Extremists (GEE), International - an organization probably inspired by Greenpeace. S.T. works as a professional headache for industrial polluters flaunting the law and endangering their communities. His job is to terrorize the companies into acting in what is really their own best interest (i.e., not destroying the earth for short-term savings). Of course, it should go without saying that S.T. does not actually use terrorism to terrorize these polluters. Rather, he works with a potent mix of trespassing, his classic tactic of plugging up the pipes dumping toxic waste into the water supply, and his ultimate weapon: Bad Publicity.

"Zodiac" starts of with some fun actions of this sort, but the story does not really begin until S.T. unexpectedly finds incredibly large amounts of incredibly toxic PCBs in Boston Harbor. Just as soon as he starts his investigation, however, the poisons disappear - which, if it had happened spontaneously, would be a mind-boggling 'violation' of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Since there's no known way for PCBs to be removed from the water by hand, the only explanation is that S.T. has committed the screw-up of a lifetime. No sooner has S.T. resigned himself to this fate than the PCBs reappear, in even greater quantities. That's when large numbers of people start trying to kill him. To say nothing of the Satanists. Framed as an ecoterrorist, S.T. is forced to flee Boston and join forces with the real environmental extremists in order to unravel the mystery of the PCBs, redeem himself, and, quite possibly, save the world.

So "Zodiac" really is an "Eco-Thriller," and I enjoyed it as much as (if not more than) the more famous "Snow Crash." At the very least, "Zodiac" has aged better. While some parts of "Snow Crash" read like the the wildest fantasies of the .com boom, "Zodiac" could easily be set anytime in the next (or past) twenty years. Many of the book's apparent flaws come from comparison to Stephenson's later work: "Zodiac" lacks both the intricate, awe-inspiring complexity of "Cryptonomicon" and "The Baroque Cycle" as well as much of the indescribable brand of humor that made "Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon" so memorable. Another gripe could be characters - except for a few main characters, they remain vague outlines for the most part. We know they're present, but don't really get a clear picture of them.

At any rate, if you're a Stephenson fan, "Zodiac" is well worth a read. Even compared to his later works, it shouldn't disappoint. On the other hand, if you're new to Stephenson, "Zodiac" is as good a place to start as any. Although it's not the experience that "Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon" are, it's also more accessible and not nearly as imposing as "Cryptonomicon" and "The Baroque Cycle." I recommend it.

[heidilove_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not the best thing he's ever written, but no real surprise there. It's an ecologically minded novel, though I wouldn't call it an eco-thriller, more's the pity.

[angharad_reads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book, well worth the reread. I was surprised by the many Big Macs that everyone in the environmental group was eating. That would not happen nowadays.