"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. ( )

Zodiac is one of Neal Stephenson's earlier books, and it shows. A lot of the writing style that went into Snow Crash is there, but it's rougher. It's hard to pick out specific examples, but the whole book didn't feel to me that it flowed as well as it ought to have. On the other hand, the story was a decent one, and had several nice moments of chemistry geekiness that reminded me of the mathematically-geeky side trips in Cryptonomicon.

Surprisingly (at least to me), I liked the ending. I haven't really been happy with the endings of Stephenson's more recent books; I prefer something with a sense of closure. All three of his books that I've read (Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon) had endings that felt unfinished. (Note that I don't mind endings that deliberately leave things open-ended, but I do like to feel that the main story has been resolved.) Regardless, Zodiac's ending did have closure, and I was happy with that.

So, it's a decent read, especially if you like Neal Stephenson's writing, but not really something I'd recommend going out of your way for.

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

An eco-warrior tries to keep Boston safe from corporate polluters in his zodiac speedboat. Stephenson's storytelling does not make as much use of random tangents and diversions as he did in Cryptonomicon or the Baroque Cycle (what I've read of it) -- and I liked the tangents in those books, for the most part, although I'm sure other readers would view them only as a burden interrupting the true story. The characters of Zodiac are not as memorable. But it was a jaunty story nonetheless, with plenty of graphic descriptions of the science behind pollution and what happens when said pollution hits the body. A little window maybe into what the supporters of GreenPeace or the Sierra Club might be tring to accomplish. NOT based on true events as far as I know. ( )

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. ( )