Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

This book is not really all that embarrassing to be seen with - by my standards anyhow. I was pleasantly surprised by this, my first completed Neal Stephenson book. This author has been recommended to me by 4-5 people who all swear that I will LOVE his work. Then, every couple of years, I check The Baroque Cycle out from the library and rediscover that it is dry and boring and remember that I never succeed in completing even the first book in the series.

Having finally branched out to a new book by Mr. Stephenson, I understand why people kept trying to get me to read his work. It's fantastic! Despite Neal's space on the shelves in the SciFi section, this book is actually straight envirofiction. It's Carl Hiassen with a bike-messenger-on-crack type tone. Sangamon Taylor is a chemist working for a direct action environmental group. He regularly causes polluting corrupt drones to run in fear. He lives in a co-op, does a lot of drugs, eats Vietnamese food, talks a lot of smack, and is pretty much a jerk. He also passionately believes in what he does.

Enter an old college friend/foe who is working for a bio-tech company which is the subsidiary of a huge chemical company owned by an ex-Vice President who is currently running for President. The old friend has come up with an engineered e coli strain that has the potential to turn the world's oceans into toxic sludge. Sangamon defeats the corporation while being shot at, chased on land and at sea, blown up, poisoned and attacked by Satanists. The plot includes sex, drugs, and heavy metal all set in Boston's Harbor.

This book was a little slow in spots, but was overall a fantastic read. I recommend it to anyone who cares about the environment, who likes asshole men, who lives in Boston, who likes Carl Hiassen, or who just likes a fun story.