Ratings51
Average rating3.7
Very entertaining book. I actually read this book in one day, and just couldn't put it down. This is an early Stephenson book, and you can definitely see his style developing which matured in Cryptonomicon.
Stephenson's writing improves dramatically in this, his 2nd novel. It's remarkable the degree of improvement in writing from “The Big U” to “Zodiac”. Well done!
If you are looking for an eco-thriller then I can highly recommend this at times hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable educational read.
A quick read in between deciding what I wanted to read next. Had I not read almost everything else NS had written I probably have rated it higher. Lots of little Stephenson things I love, attention to certain details, subject matter research. Definitely more plot driven - think Reamde rather than Anathem than concept driven
An enjoyable science fiction thriller. Not quite a page turner but still a fun ride. Keen to read more of Stephenson's work.
dnf @ 20%
bro i wish rent in boston was $1k. couldn't keep reading with all the weird comments about people's races? like i get it's nearly 40 years old but damn
I usually hate books that may be ‘preachy' and avoid them - so it was a hard choice to pick this one up even though I loved Neal Stephenson's other books. The protagonist is a paranoid with a love of huffing, simple drugs, and whodunit chemistry. A fun read with a villainous company forced to greater and greater dumping to cover their trail. Would recommend to those with a known passion for the environment and those who enjoy Neal Stephenson's way of pulling you into a story without over-explaining, just following the lead character.
Fantastic subject for a detective thriller. At moments maybe a little bit stalling, but good read nevertheless. I wander if the science there is legit. Hard to say, but for someone untrained in chemistry seemed good. All in whole an enjoyable read. 3.5/5