Finished Neal Stephenson’s book Zodiac today. What a great book, even if it is circa 1988. Not completely his usual fare – this is not some cyberpunk adventure (Snow Crash) nor some sort of “historical science fiction” story (as Quicksilver is rumoured to be – I read a not-positive review of that book some time ago and still hesitate to read it).

Rather, this is the story of a rather ‘cornholio‘ Zodiac-boat driving environmentalist who goes around and busts companies who dump toxic waste in Boston harbor – or other rivers and similar places. It reads like Edward Abbey prowling the harbor like a toxic ranger. And it’s simply a great book!

For me personally, while I’m not ready to live that lifestyle by any means (nor would I likely ever have been) it’s one of those books that provide a vicarious look into how life aboard the Rainbow Warrior must really be – until you get sunk by the French Navy or rammed with a harpoon while blocking Japanese or Icelandic whaling boats.

And, like Snow Crash, Stephenson provides enough real-world grounding to make the story believable, even if it’s hopelessly biased against the evil corporations (which is my bias too, more reason to love the story that much more :)) Although the way things are now in Orwell’s USA where/when we live, the main character would have gone to jail quite early in the book, sadly. And those same douchey corp’s would probably have largely escaped liability.

it’s a great read, and not a huge book – about 300pgs (paperback). pick it up!

candybowl