false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172147867m/142913.jpg 825 14 Believe it or not, some readers find Zodiac even more fun than Neal Stephenson's defining 1990s cyberpunk novel, Snow Crash. Zodiac is set in Boston, and hero Sangamon Taylor (S. T.) ironically describes his hilarious exploits in the first person. S. T. is a modern superhero, a self-proclaimed Toxic Spiderman. With stealth, spunk, and the backing of GEE (a non-profit environmental group) as his weapons, S. T. chases down the bad guys with James Bond-like Zen. <p> Cruising Boston Harbor with lab tests and scuba gear, S. T. rides in with the ecosystem cavalry on his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. His job of tracking down poisonous runoff and embarrassing the powerful corporations who caused them becomes more sticky than usual; run-ins with a gang of satanic rock fans, a deranged geneticist, and a mysterious PCB contamination that may or may not be man-made--plus a falling-out with his competent ("I adore stress") girlfriend--all complicate his mission. <p> Stephenson/S. T.'s irreverent, facetious, esprit-filled voice make this near-future tale a joy to read. 934262 book 1992 Zodiac total:2928|5:517|4:1103|3:1059|2:223|1:26| 2928 10646 3624 180 3 7 false false Mon Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 16:45:06 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 14:54:55 -0700 2009 1 Neal Stephenson's Zodiac would have been a relatively okay eco-thriller, but the book isn't just the voice of Sangamon Taylor, it IS Sangamon Taylor, and once again Stephenson's ability to create compelling leading men (think Hiro Protagonist in Snow Crash) m...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sun Dec 07 09:55:03 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 09:57:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sat Sep 01 12:00:08 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 25 01:53:38 -0800 2009 Snow Crash' writing style. More down-to-earth plot, set in the present rather than the near-future, but just as much fun. It definitely feels rougher and less polished than either Snow Crash or The Diamond Age, but it's great fun. And the description of trying to c...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 07:31:01 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 07:40:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 10:48:31 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 08:51:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Jun 24 11:50:56 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 06:06:56 -0700 2009 Neal Stephenson est à mon sens l’un des plus grands auteurs de Science-fiction, ce roman n’a aucunement sa place dans une collection de science-fiction, qu’elle soit éditoriale ou bibliophile. Bon, maintenant, je ne...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 12:47:25 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 16:06:48 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 12:24:45 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 08:07:38 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat May 23 13:45:13 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 13:54:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 20:50:58 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 21:01:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Sep 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 18:33:41 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 18:44:52 -0700 2009
Sangamon Taylor (or ST, 'Sangamon' is a river is central Illinois) works for “GEE, the Group of En...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 08:59:40 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 09:15:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 1 false false Sun Apr 20 19:10:43 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 19:11:01 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Sun Dec 14 16:28:02 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 16:34:09 -0800 2008 What I did not like about the book was the way it seemed to get tripped up over the details of the chemistry. It seemed to slow the b...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 15:29:01 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 15:43:29 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 11 04:50:29 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 04:14:55 -0700 2008
I enjoyed the book as a light read about an environmentalist and professional annoyance who ended up ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 05:03:11 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 05:17:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Dec 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Sep 29 22:57:57 -0700 2008 Tue Dec 16 23:08:14 -0800 2008
Sangaman Taylor works for GEE (Group o...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 14 16:18:27 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 16:18:27 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Mon Jul 16 16:22:39 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 16:30:39 -0700 2007
While I didn't like this book nearly as much as Cryptonomicon, I did like it quite a bit. Like any great cyberpunk story this book pits a determined outcast against corporate power structures. Except that ...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=142913