Zodiac by Neal Stephenson (4.5 stars)

This book is quite unlike anything else by Stephenson that I've read, especially in contrast to the epic world-building of The Diamond Age, but it is actually really refreshing. It's a self-contained eco-thriller that is apparently beloved by water quality engineers. Think on that a moment. It's approachable for pretty much anyone, although having some high school chemistry wouldn't hurt.

The main character Sangamon Taylor (S.T.) is fantastic. He's incredibly smart in some ways, i.e. analytical chemistry, zodiac piloting, dangerous and toxic environment diving, improvising pipeline-plugging hardware, working around FBI surveillance, and building an effective media circus. And in others he makes crazy decisions such as constant nitrous abuse and charging into incredibly dangerous situations with little or no plan.

Bartholomew was standing in front of the stove. With the level, cross-eyed stare of the involuntarily awake, he was watching a heavy-metal video on the TV. He was clenching an inflated Hefty bag that took up half the kitchen. Once again, my roommate was using nitrous oxide around an open flame; no wonder he didn’t have any eyebrows. When I came in, he raised the bag invitingly. Normally I never do nitrous before breakfast, but I couldn’t refuse Bart a thing in the world, so I took the bag and inhaled as deep as I could. My mouth tasted sweet and five seconds later about half of an orgasm backfired in the middle of my brain. 

And he's really funny. S.T's dialogue is full of great one-liners and little pearls of wisdom.

When I got back, bacon was smoldering on the range, filling the house with gas-phase polycyclic aromatics—my favorite carcinogen by a long shot.

“I’ll never understand why people give out directions, or ask for them. That’s what fucking road maps are for.” 

Because if you’ve put yourself in a position where someone has to see you in order for you to be safe—to see you, and to give a fuck—you’ve already blown it.

Stephenson obviously knows Boston quite well, or has done extensive research. It's quite entertaining to see it through the eyes of a late 80's environmental activist who has intimate knowledge of sewer outfalls and other methods that corporations are using to dump toxic waste into the harbour.

The ending felt rushed and a little too simple an end. It also irked me that (minor spoiler) S.T. seems to have completely avoided getting arrested as a terrorist in the end, without any formal rescinding of that status. Officially marking someone as a terrorist isn't something that gets undone just because you do some good stuff that makes the TV news.

I also found some of the action scenes, and the military-style assassinations, supposedly enacted by large corporations as part of dumping operation cover-ups pretty far-fetched. But I'll allow it, certainly made for entertaining reading. It's a page turner.

4.5 stars