Books › Zodiac
Zodiac
the eco-thriller
391 pages
A hyper-caffeinated, neon-lit joyride through polluted waters with a cynical but righteous eco-detective.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like chugging a highly caffeinated soda while speeding a motorized raft through a chemically glowing harbor. It is a frenetic, irreverent blast of eco-noir that marries the cynical edge of a classic detective story with the righteous anger of environmental activism. The narrative moves at a breakneck, propulsive pace, dragging you through a gritty, toxic underworld of corporate malfeasance and counterculture rebellion. The prose is sharp, sarcastic, and loaded with fascinating, info-dense tangents that never slow down the action. It delights readers who crave a smart, wise-cracking underdog protagonist fighting a rigged system, offering an experience that is simultaneously a paranoid thriller, a biting satire, and a wildly entertaining caper.
- Mood
- frenetic
- gritty
- paranoid
- rebellious
- Tone
- irreverent
- cynical
- witty
- satirical
- hardboiled
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- corporate corruption · environmental activism · David vs. Goliath · counterculture resilience
- The writing
- The sentences are snappy, sarcastic, and densely packed with both scientific jargon and hardboiled noir pastiche.
- The arc
- The journey shifts from a cynical, day-to-day grind of environmental testing to a high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled crusade for justice.
- Who it's for
- Fans of cyberpunk-adjacent thrillers, satirical eco-fiction, and hyper-competent, wise-cracking protagonists will devour this.
Content notes
- environmental destruction
- chemical hazards
- gun violence
- drug use
About the book
Sangamon Taylor's a New Age Sam Spade who sports a wet suit instead of a trench coat and prefers Jolt from the can to Scotch on the rocks. He knows about chemical sludge the way he knows about evil -- all too intimately. And the toxic trail he follows leads to some high and foul places. Before long Taylor's house is bombed, his every move followed, he's adopted by reservation Indians, moves onto the FBI's most wanted list, makes up with his girlfriend, and plays a starring role in the near-assassination of a presidential candidate. Closing the case with the aid of his burnout roomate, his tofu-eating comrades, three major networks, and a range of unconventional weaponry, Sangamon Taylor pulls off the most startling caper in Boston Harbor since the Tea Party. As he navigates this ecological thriller with hardboiled wit and the biggest outboard motor he can get his hands on, Taylor reveals himself as one of the last of the white-hatted good guys in a very toxic world.
Description from Open Library.
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