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thecaptainsquarters 's review for:
Zodiac
by Neal Stephenson
Ahoy there me mateys! This review has a twist. The First Mate and I both read this one (sort of)! We discussed the book and I enjoyed his viewpoint so I ordered asked him to write a review. So you get one from me and a bonus additional review from me crew. Please note that I write like I talk and the First Mate writes like he thinks. Hope you enjoy!
From the First Mate:
The first time I read Zodiac was twenty years ago. Amazon tells me that I purchased it in May 2000, several months after I’d previously purchased and enjoyed Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon. I can’t say for certain that I’d purchased Snow Crash and The Diamond Age in the intervening months (perhaps in a long shuttered Borders), but my memory is that in the wake of reading Cryptonomicon I was trying to quickly read everything Stephenson had written, as I’d then found a new favorite author.
Zodiac tells the story of Sangamon Taylor, a dude bro eco terrorist, and his efforts to engage in “mediapathic” events against corporations that are polluting the environment, specifically his nemesis corporation, developer of Agent Orange: Basco Industries. Like a lot of early Stephenson, the plot of the novel is highly episodic. Taylor goes somewhere, does some explaining to someone about how the world really works, MacGyvers together something that will draw media attention, and then we move on to the next adventure.
There’s a larger storyline involving Basco Industries, Boston Harbor, and genetic engineering that weaves itself through Taylor’s adventures and eventually becomes the central focus of the last quarter of the book. But the majority of the book is hanging out with a guy that says things like “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” and “It irritates the hell out of me to be in a situation where I’m forced to do exactly what’s expected.”
Twenty years ago I was definitely the target audience for this type of book and narrator. The snarky “I have the world’s address and you’re lucky you’ve got someone like me to explain it all” tone was right up my alley at the time. Two decades later it still makes me smile, even though I’ve certainly had my fill of dealing with those types of men in real life. Even in 2000, though, I probably would’ve told you that the reason to read any Stephenson was purely for stylistic reasons. If his style works for you (as it did for me), reading his work can be amazingly enjoyable. If that style grates, there’s very little value to get from Stephenson. He’s never written a truly satisfying ending and his palette of characters is rather limited. As with all of Stephenson’s early novels, major characters and plot elements appear for the first time in the last third of the novel out of nowhere.
I will say that the thematic core of the novel is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was when published in 1988. Taylor tells us “The big lie of American capitalism is that corporations work in their own best interests. In fact they’re constantly doing things that will eventually bring them to their knees.” It seems that we get weekly updates of corporations shooting themselves in the foot these days.
I enjoyed rereading Zodiac. Did I enjoy it as much as the first read? Don’t know. Part of the enjoyment was revisiting the now somewhat distant past of my youth. I recognize the late 80s of the novel, and I have to admit that I get some weird comfort from being reminded of that era. Likewise, it was fun to think about where I was and what I was like when I first read this novel in 2000. It’s probably not a high recommendation of the novel that a majority of my enjoyment was nostalgia-based.
Recommended if any of the above quotes have a tone that speaks to you. Avoid if you’re allergic to dude bros with a tendency to mansplaining.
From the Captain:
I read Anathem a long while back and adored it so I was excited to dive back into the author’s work. I be highly allergic to dude bros with a tendency to mansplain. I almost died so I quickly abandoned ship. Arrrrr!
From the First Mate:
The first time I read Zodiac was twenty years ago. Amazon tells me that I purchased it in May 2000, several months after I’d previously purchased and enjoyed Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon. I can’t say for certain that I’d purchased Snow Crash and The Diamond Age in the intervening months (perhaps in a long shuttered Borders), but my memory is that in the wake of reading Cryptonomicon I was trying to quickly read everything Stephenson had written, as I’d then found a new favorite author.
Zodiac tells the story of Sangamon Taylor, a dude bro eco terrorist, and his efforts to engage in “mediapathic” events against corporations that are polluting the environment, specifically his nemesis corporation, developer of Agent Orange: Basco Industries. Like a lot of early Stephenson, the plot of the novel is highly episodic. Taylor goes somewhere, does some explaining to someone about how the world really works, MacGyvers together something that will draw media attention, and then we move on to the next adventure.
There’s a larger storyline involving Basco Industries, Boston Harbor, and genetic engineering that weaves itself through Taylor’s adventures and eventually becomes the central focus of the last quarter of the book. But the majority of the book is hanging out with a guy that says things like “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” and “It irritates the hell out of me to be in a situation where I’m forced to do exactly what’s expected.”
Twenty years ago I was definitely the target audience for this type of book and narrator. The snarky “I have the world’s address and you’re lucky you’ve got someone like me to explain it all” tone was right up my alley at the time. Two decades later it still makes me smile, even though I’ve certainly had my fill of dealing with those types of men in real life. Even in 2000, though, I probably would’ve told you that the reason to read any Stephenson was purely for stylistic reasons. If his style works for you (as it did for me), reading his work can be amazingly enjoyable. If that style grates, there’s very little value to get from Stephenson. He’s never written a truly satisfying ending and his palette of characters is rather limited. As with all of Stephenson’s early novels, major characters and plot elements appear for the first time in the last third of the novel out of nowhere.
I will say that the thematic core of the novel is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was when published in 1988. Taylor tells us “The big lie of American capitalism is that corporations work in their own best interests. In fact they’re constantly doing things that will eventually bring them to their knees.” It seems that we get weekly updates of corporations shooting themselves in the foot these days.
I enjoyed rereading Zodiac. Did I enjoy it as much as the first read? Don’t know. Part of the enjoyment was revisiting the now somewhat distant past of my youth. I recognize the late 80s of the novel, and I have to admit that I get some weird comfort from being reminded of that era. Likewise, it was fun to think about where I was and what I was like when I first read this novel in 2000. It’s probably not a high recommendation of the novel that a majority of my enjoyment was nostalgia-based.
Recommended if any of the above quotes have a tone that speaks to you. Avoid if you’re allergic to dude bros with a tendency to mansplaining.
From the Captain:
I read Anathem a long while back and adored it so I was excited to dive back into the author’s work. I be highly allergic to dude bros with a tendency to mansplain. I almost died so I quickly abandoned ship. Arrrrr!