Zodiac (novel)

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Zodiac

U.S. version cover shot.
Author Neal Stephenson
Cover artist Bruce Jensen
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Science fiction
Publisher Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication date May 1988
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 283 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN ISBN 0-87113-181-1 (first edition, paperback)
Preceded by The Big U
Followed by Snow Crash

Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller (1988) is Neal Stephenson's second novel, which tells the story of an environmentalist, Sangamon Taylor, uncovering a conspiracy involving industrialist polluters and Satanists in Boston Harbor. The "Zodiac" of the title refers to the brand of inflatable motor boats the hero uses to get around the city efficiently. His opponents attempt to frame him as an ecoterrorist.

The protagonist is inspired[1] by environmental chemist Marco Kaltofen[2]. Taylor is a recreational user of nitrous oxide, justifying his choice of drug by Sangamon's Principle: "the smaller the molecule, the better the drug".

[edit] Release details

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ "Ecology sleuth is local, global", Boston Globe, July 8th 2007,
  2. ^ Marco Kaltofen Biography
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v • d • e
Works by Neal Stephenson
The Baroque Cycle
Other novels
The Big U (1984) • Zodiac (1988) • Snow Crash (1992) • Interface (1994) • The Diamond Age (1995) • The Cobweb (1996) • Cryptonomicon (1999) • Anathem (2008)
Short stories
"Spew" (1994) • "The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995) • "Jipi and the paranoid chip" (1997)
Essays
Smiley's people (1993) • In the Kingdom of Mao Bell (1994) • Mother Earth Mother Board (1996) • Global Neighborhood Watch (1998) • In the Beginning... was the Command Line (1999)