Zodiac - First Impressions *no spoilers*

[Brad]

Let's get started.

[Jessie]

I am liking this book more than I thought I would. I like the fast-paced first person narration and appreciate the care that the author takes explaining the science--it doesn't make me feel stupid and I feel like I'm learning something.

[Martha]

My very first impression was that I didn't know what he was talking about. There were things happening but not in order. Although, now that I'm closer to half way I feel different and things are really coming together. I also like the narrative style of writing and the subject matter is right up my alley. The story is still a little scattered but I'm excited to see how it goes from here!

[Libby]

I also like how he incorporated the science - it seems well researched and he threads in the science without being overwhelming. I also think the 1st person narration works very well. It reminds me of The Voice of the Butterfly A Novel – that book is similar in theme but a bit more extreme. The main character is an aging, radical hippy – really quite funny. Anyway, I think it takes skill on the part of the author to write good 1st person POV - especially with a non-conventional protagonist

[Julia]

I gave up on the book on page 82, chapter 11. ST is annoying and I got tired of him and a bunch of books came from the library that I think I'll really like!

OTOH, I'm glad I read about a 1/3 of this book, I wouldn't have if it wasn't a botm.

[Brad]

Julia wrote: "I gave up on the book on page 82, chapter 11. ST is annoying and I got tired of him and a bunch of books came from the library that I think I'll really like! / OTOH, I'm glad I read about a 1/3 o..."

That surprises me, Julia, but only because I really enjoyed ST.

[Cristian]

I'm half way through, and while I like it a lot, I still don't see how this is science fiction. There's a lot of science, obviously there's fiction, but there doesn't seem to be any "fictional science", which I thought was sort of the point of science fiction. I mean, a TV show like ER also has a lot of science, but I wouldn't call it sci-fi. But like I said, I'm only half way through, so maybe the sci-fi is still to come.

[Brad]

I am not quite done myself, but I have got to say that I too see very little genuine sci-fi so far. Stephenson's track record and the last minute poll snuck this past my radar, and I let it into the list. As much as I am enjoying the read, and it is very fun, I have to agree with you on this being a stretch for true sci-fi, although it may be slightly more sci-fi-ish than ER considering the bio-industrial bugs made to eat PCBs.

[Peregrine]

I'm around page 100. This is not a book I would have chosen on my own; I don't like S.T., for example. I don't see much difference between the protagonists and the antagonists, as characters. In terms of what each finds important in the world, I have sympathies for the cause of the protagonists, and I like a lot of the eco-type action, so I'll finish the book. I also agree that the book is slim on the SF - kinda like ordering the spicy curry and getting the mild. I want off-planet space stuff now! We've been planet-bound (one planet or the other), for a good while.

[Julia]

Yeah, though I gave up on it, in retrospect I was also wondering how this is science fiction.

I particularly like Andrea Barrett's novels. She writes fiction about scientists and science, some of it historical, some of it contemporary. Maybe this is like that? (No, because Barrett's never written about what will come, but only what did and has.)

I have read that cops and prosecutors and others HATE shows like CSI, because juries have come to expect that all cops have the doodads that are on these shows, when those techniques are pretty much science fiction to most cops.

So what ST can do, testing compounds easily, determining toxicity, especially 11 years ago, then that was sf???

[Peregrine]

I don't think it was SF in 1986-87, when the book is set. S.T. has a chemistry degree and access to university labs and other scientists. I am finding the story tedious, but want to see how it ends - hazard of reading, lol.

[Libby]

Enjoyed the book at the start but then it kinda died out for me - entertaining but nothing special. I wouldn't consider this book SciFi at all. Likely the only reason it may be shelved w/ SciFi section is due to the author.

[Richard]

I liked the easy to read fluid pace and style. Wondered where the Sci-Fi was to start with but ended up considering it as part of the genre. Having just read Stephenson's The Diamond Age Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer I'm sure that would be considered a much better cutting edge clever SF book, but personally I found Zodiac the more enjoyable of the two.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

This book is an interesting follow up to Venomous Lumpsucker. Obviously we didn't plan it this way because we voted on these rereads months ago, but they are 2 different takes on a theme. I haven't encountered and SFF elements yet.