Book Review: Zodiac
Neal Stephenson is probably my favorite fiction author, and with completing Zodiac, I have only to read The Diamond Age, and then eagerly await his next work. Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon are among my favorite books. Why is this?
Stephenson above all tells a good story, and each story (except for The Big U) is well constructed within a universe that is Stephenson's own. For example, Zodiac takes place in the late 1980s in a very dirty Boston Harbor, Snow Crash takes place in a not so distant anarcho-capitalist future, where even the Mafia has become legit and the U.S. government is a small shell of its former self. Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle take place within the context of defined history (and the present day), but with some extra characters. Stephenson also does not leave his characters entirely to the plot either, with major development occuring, even if it is only in the way that the protaganist sees themself.
Stephenson also has a couple themes running through his book, including practical applications for science and computers, witty/geeky observations about people and culture, and several libertarian themes. While the first two are sort of obvious, the libertarian themes I find are the benefits of guns (the main character of Zodiac comtemplates getting one numerous times, after it would have helped him a lot) , individual freedom (seen a lot in relationships or being violated by a state), the media-corportate relationship (explored heavily in Zodiac), and haveing a healthy amount of paranoia, which I feel characterizes libertarians (I know I have it).
Paranoia of the state and authority, in my opinion, is healthy, and causes one to be prepared for the breakdown of social systems, and making preservation of life, liberty, and property, the number one priority, regardless of the health of the state. Guns are one way to achieve this end, and other precautions such as survival training/experience are widely seen elements in Stephenson.
Zodiac itself is billed as an "eco-thriller," and certainly lives up to its name, and greatly explores the boundries between activist and terrorist. Highly recommended.
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