History Literature / Zodiac1988

''Not to be confused with the true crime novel turned film by Robert Graysmith, see'' {{Film/Zodiac}}.

* GreenAesop: Sangaman is a one-man army against corporate polluters.

* ScifiGhetto: Averted by the author. Stephenson has the book listed as Science Fiction, even though it really doesn't have any speculative elements to it.

Sangamon Taylor is known as an Eco-terrorist by his opponents, and the "Granola James Bond," by the local student papers. He comes across as both, with a dash of Creator/HunterSThompson thrown in for good measure. Although he looks down on hippy tree-huggers, he fights against polluters using a variety of legal and illegal methods.

Sangamon Taylor is known as an Eco-terrorist by his opponents, and the "Granola James Bond," by the local student papers. He comes across as both, with a dash of HunterSThompson thrown in for good measure. Although he looks down on hippy tree-huggers, he fights against polluters using a variety of legal and illegal methods.

* GranolaGirl: Most of Sangamon's co-workers.

* PunkPunk: Zodiac features many character archetypes, such as an antisocial renegade fighting megacorporations and their evil schemes. In addition, there is a focus on technology and how it effects society [[spoiler: such as the genetically engineered bacteria that can clean PCB spills, but also could be used to make PCB as well.]]

* ScifiGhetto: Averted by the author. Stephenson has the book listed as Science Fiction.

Sangamon Taylor is known as an Eco-terrorist by his opponents, and the "Granola James Bond," by the local student papers. He comes across as both, with a dash of HunterSThompson thrown in for good measure. Taylor is a frequent recreational user of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. His justification: the eponymous Sangamon's Principle, which explains,

->The simpler the molecule, the better the drug. So the best drug is oxygen. Only two atoms. The second-best, nitrous oxide -- a mere three atoms. The third-best, ethanol -- nine. Past that, you're talking lots of atoms. Atoms are like people. Get lots of them together, never know what they'll do.

Over the course of the novel, he also imbibes hallucinogenic mushrooms and LSD. He admits the latter is a violation of Sangamon's Principle, but partakes anyways, making an exception during a forced overland march because he believes it is just too useful to ignore.

''Zodiac'' is an eco-thriller written by Creator/NealStephenson, published in 1988. It tells the story of an environmentalist, Sangamon Taylor, uncovering a conspiracy involving industrialist polluters in Boston Harbor. The title refers to the brand of inflatable motor boats Sangamon uses to travel across the Harbor, shortcutting Boston's frequent traffic gridlock. [[hottip:*:the novel was written before the completion of the Big Dig, a major civil engineering project that created cross-city tunnels to help alleviate chronic traffic problems.]]

''Zodiac'' is an eco-thriller written by NealStephenson, published in 1988. It tells the story of an environmentalist, Sangamon Taylor, uncovering a conspiracy involving industrialist polluters in Boston Harbor. The title refers to the brand of inflatable motor boats Sangamon uses to travel across the Harbor, shortcutting Boston's frequent traffic gridlock. [[hottip:*:the novel was written before the completion of the Big Dig, a major civil engineering project that created cross-city tunnels to help alleviate chronic traffic problems.]]

* PunkPunk: Zodiac features many character archetypes, such as an antisocial renegade fighting megacorporations and their evil schemes. In addition, there is a focus on technology and people [[spoiler: such as the Genetically engineered bacteria that can clean PCB spills, but also could be used to make PCB as well.]]

* PunkPunk: Features an antisocial renegade fighting megacorporations and their evil schemes. It has many of the character archetypes [[spoiler: as well as an advanced technology: Genetically engineered bacteria that can clean PCB, but also could be used to make PCB as well.]]