Zodiac-Neal Stephenson
Sangamon Taylor used to do basic chemical analysis. After a jogger brings in a sample of toxic psychedelic soil, he ends with with a direct action environmentalist group which puts chemical companies into bankruptcy by exposing their toxic spills to the media. It's all pretty humdrum and routine, right down to the media circuses he generates, until some cryptic comments from an old college classmate and a run in with PCP snorting Satanists drags him into a rush to uncover a massive conspiracy that could result in the total destruction of all ocean life.
I loved Snow Crash, an incredible amount. It was pretty much tailor made for me, but in reading the descriptions of other Stephenson books, I wasn't exactly intrigued, particularly by Zodiac. Only Diamond Age sounded appealing. However, the week before Christmas was slow as hell at work, and I picked through the books in the break area, wishing I had gloves or something, as it was a mishmash of bad romance, bad mystery, and novelizations of action movies. But deep in that fetid pit of supermarket checkout line books was Zodiac. I figured I might as well, since it beat staring at my monitor listlessly, and we're allowed to read when it's not busy.
It turned out to be pretty damned good. Stephenson has a knack for simplifying the science, and his way with words is pretty witty and engaging (and unlike another hard science author, recently deceased, he can write a damn ending). His characters are still original, though it seems like they're going to fit into the archetype of the knowledgeable rebel, and he writes a really engaging action story, while downplaying most of the traditional action elements, like chase and fight scenes, or if they're done, they're done in an artful and realistic manner. In other words, Stephenson does his research. He's also made me want to donate a ton of money to Greenpeace. The environmental science behind this book is sound, and an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer today coincidentally featured a similar group that uses litigation and publicity and has had amazing results for Puget Sound.
I can recommend it, and will be starting on the Baroque Cycle soon.
I loved Snow Crash, an incredible amount. It was pretty much tailor made for me, but in reading the descriptions of other Stephenson books, I wasn't exactly intrigued, particularly by Zodiac. Only Diamond Age sounded appealing. However, the week before Christmas was slow as hell at work, and I picked through the books in the break area, wishing I had gloves or something, as it was a mishmash of bad romance, bad mystery, and novelizations of action movies. But deep in that fetid pit of supermarket checkout line books was Zodiac. I figured I might as well, since it beat staring at my monitor listlessly, and we're allowed to read when it's not busy.
It turned out to be pretty damned good. Stephenson has a knack for simplifying the science, and his way with words is pretty witty and engaging (and unlike another hard science author, recently deceased, he can write a damn ending). His characters are still original, though it seems like they're going to fit into the archetype of the knowledgeable rebel, and he writes a really engaging action story, while downplaying most of the traditional action elements, like chase and fight scenes, or if they're done, they're done in an artful and realistic manner. In other words, Stephenson does his research. He's also made me want to donate a ton of money to Greenpeace. The environmental science behind this book is sound, and an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer today coincidentally featured a similar group that uses litigation and publicity and has had amazing results for Puget Sound.
I can recommend it, and will be starting on the Baroque Cycle soon.