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.