This is early Stephenson, so don't judge the rest of his work by this effort.
The basics: toxic waste fighting James Bond type takes on big chem.
The good: fun period piece from the late 80's, excellent use of setting for people who know Boston, pretty decent introduction to toxic waste issues and chemistry, and some nascent hints of the Stephensonian high-adventure that will become is trademark in later books.
The bad: it's hard to like the main character S.T.. He's just a really arrogant asshole who thinks he's always right (and usually is oddly enough), and Stephenson doesn't do enough to show that he knows that his character sucks, so it's hard not to feel like it's Neil himself who is the ass. That and the fact that the adventure seems to get totally out of control, beyond the limits of suspended disbelief, and sort of collapses under it's own weight towards the end. Stephenson can be great, but his endings usually leave something to be desired.