The main character, a cocky, self-assured guy that gets things done, was the only thing I liked about this title. But he wasn't enough to save it for me, and I gave up on page 26. The ecological theme didn't do it for me, though from reading the back cover I see it might get more energetic further in, as the FBI and maybe the Mafia get involved. I will never know.

Although the writing isn't as developed or clean as his later works (especially Cyptonomicon and beyond), it is just as clever, witty, funny, smart, and hard to put down as everything else that Stephenson writes. Zodiac takes a pretty standard thriller structure and places the story of a chemist who works for a company that fights for the preservation of the environment. Sangamon Taylor (another of Stephenson's amusingly named characters) specializes in preventing and exposing toxic waste dumping throughout New England. As with everything he writes, Stephenson has done extensive research into his subject, and manages to go into great deal about the chemistry behind toxic waste and the cleanup process, while still making the jargon and science easily understandable for the reader. This book is just another shining example of why Stephenson is one of my favorite authors, and undeniably one of the best authors writing today.

I hoped this would be as entertaining and engrossing as Snow Crash, Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon. Sadly, it wasn't. Characters felt half-baked, and the plot was uninspired and repetitive.

This was another fun Stephenson "thriller" with solid characters, tough situations, and clever thinking. No, I don't remember exactly when I read it. Perhaps I'll look through my library receipts one day and set the field correctly.

A short Stephenson! Nice toxic thriller.

This is a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas meets 1980's thriller story. I couldn't help comparing Sangamon Taylor to Hunter S. Thompson, they both used whatever substance was at hand to fuel the madness. Sangamon Taylor's madness was fighting uncaring, corporate polluters and who wouldn't want to cheer for that. His methods and plans were equally ridiculous, inspired and undecypherable.

The story itself is loosely held together and mostly a vehicle for Sangamon's character who, although very entertaining throughout the book, gets old and tiresome at the end.
A bit too over the top for me to really love.

This really presents a reasonable account of how frustrating it is to be a motivated environmentalist in the face of the otherwise uninterested general population. The story kind of falls apart at the end though.

This was a pretty fun read, although I found the narrator really tiresome. It's always a kick to reconnect to some good-times direct-action enviro jazz. And I loved the chemistry-geekery throughout the narrative. A solidly good book, if far from a great one.