Zodiac (1988) is Neal Stephenson's second novel, which tells the story of an environmentalist, Sangamon Taylor, uncovering a conspiracy involving industrialist pollutors and bicameral minded Satanists in the 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. Neal Stephenson (b. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... Environmentalism is activism aimed at improving the environment, particularly nature. ... Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants, or the substances so released. ... The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1976) is a controversial work of popular psychology by Julian Jaynes in which he proposes that consciousness emerged relatively recently in human history. ... Categories: Stub | Massachusetts geography | Boston ... The term eco-terrorism is a neologism which has been used to describe acts of violence (as in violence against property), sabotage and/or property damage which are ostensibly motivated by concern for the natural environment. ...
The protagonist is modelled after eco-activist Marco Kaltofen, who did such things as plug illegal outflow pipes as portrayed in the book.
Trivia: The character Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash is mentioned (not by name) as the boyfriend of one of the background characters (as the boyfriend who keeps the samurai swords in the trunk of his car).
While the book has been generally well received by fans of the author, it has come in for criticism with regard the science contained in it, particularly the chemistry that the protagonist is supposedly an expert in.
The book Zodiac, which reads more like fiction than science fiction, is set in the 1980s and is told from the point of view of Sangamon Taylor, S. T., a long-haired, environmentalist activist with GEE International, a fictional organization that seems to be based on Greenpeace.
Sangamon rides around the Boston on his bicycle, and on the water in a Zodiac, an inflatable raft with a outboard motor.
The Diamond Age; or, A Young Lady's Primer (1995) is a complex novel of nanotechnology, neo-Victorianism, and Eastern vs. Western methodology.
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