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Sangamon Taylor is spreading the word about corporations piping toxic wastes into the water from his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. Now, he's wanted by the FBI, the Mafia, and a group of Satan-worshipping drug dealers--the least of his problems. Because somewhere out there is an unhinged genetic engineer and a lab concocted bacterium that could destroy all ocean life.… (mere)
Benbreep: Both have environmental themes. Duncan is an even better writer than Stephenson (who is one of my favorite authors). The River Why is not a thriller, but like Stephenson, includes a lot a paragraphs that you want to read over again and appreciate for its craftsmanship. Great to read out loud with a spouse. My favorite novel.… (mere)
quartzite: Reminded me of early Stephenson, and features a Zodiac at one point. Cmplex story of first contact with a light comedic tone covering some serious science and with strong, smart characters.
Ok, I'm now a died-in-the-wool (whatever that means) Stephenson enthusiast. According to Goodreads, there're 14 editions of this - so it must be popular. Lardy how I HATE liking popular things! Nonetheless, I like it. Yeah, yeah, Stephenson's sortof a cross between Pynchon & Robert Anton Wilson - I reckon w/ some Rudy Rucker tossed in. There's plenty of murder & mayhem in here to suck in yr average thrill-seeker but there's also enuf precocious exposing of ecoactivists being labelled 'terrrorists' by the omnipresent unscrupulous to earn this a high rating. The protaganist is yet-another classic superhero slob - a role model for public-good-minded psychopaths (like myself). Basically, I cd've hardly rooted for him more. Now it's time to get back to LIVING like these characters instead of just getting off on reading about them. ( )
Only the second Neal Stephenson novel, it does have a bit of the caped crusader, but still a ripping yarn with our protagonist fighting to take down big chemical companies in Boston polluting the bay. A mix of believable interaction and supporting characters with well researched chemical sciency background for the chlorine pollutants, but some real stretches in the biological stuff the bad guys create. Better than I had feared, recommended. ( )
Interesting story, fast paced. Eco-activism / terrorism - sometimes when systems fail, it really does take concerned citizens to break things open, the system doesn't always work.
Lots of anti-corporate / greedy /irresponsible capitalist tropes. Those are sometimes deserved, but more often not, especially these days - big corporations do more training and take more caution about the slightest of spills than anyone (having worked for several). A small car repair shop is probably responsible for more improperly disposed waste than many multi-national industrial companies.
Don't think the possibility of the story is super credible otherwise, there are some issues with the chemistry on a first glance, but it was entertaining. ( )
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Down by the river,
Down by the banks of the River Charles
That's where you'll find me
Along with muggers, lovers and thieves
Well I love that dirty water,
Oh Boston, you're my home.
-- THE INMATES
Tilegnelse
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
TO ELLEN
Første ord
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
Roscommon came and laid waste to the garden an hour after dawn, about the time I usually get out of bed and he usually passes out on the shoulder of some freeway.
Citater
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
Normally I never do nitrous before breakfast, but I couldn't refuse Bart a thing in the world, so I took the bag and inhaled as deep as I could.
Sangamon's Principle:
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.
Now that I'd seen the faces of the people who were trying to scare me, I was a lot less scared, and a lot more interested. Maybe they were really making PCP, or maybe they had some other nasty secret. When I got back from Buffalo, I'd have to find out, and do these people some damage. In the meantime, I'd have to content myself with charging up tens of thousands of dollars' worth of lingerie on their credit card number.
Most of my colleagues go on backpacking trips when they have to do some thinking. I go to a good hardware store and head for the oiliest, dustiest corners. I strike up conversations with the oldest people who work there, we talk about machine vs. carriage bolts and whether to use a compression or a flare fitting. If they're really good, they don't hassle me. They let me wander around and think. Young hardware clerks have a lot of hubris. They think they can help you find anything and they ask a lot of stupid questions in the process. Old hardware clerks have learned the hard way that nothing in a hardware store ever gets bought for its nominal purpose. You buy something that was designed to do one thing, and you use it for another.
I don't like sewing machines. I don't understand how a needle with a thread going through the tip of it can interlock the thread by jamming itself into a little goddamn spool. It's contrary to nature and it irritates me.
"You got any plans for tonight? I asked. "No more than usual," Bart said. "Amy's in New York." "There's a chance that, if I get crazy enough, I'll ask you to drive me around all night sewer-diving and possibly being chased by amateur hit men." "Whatever"
"I think it's possible to create some terror just by confronting people with their own sins." "What's your problem, you grow up Catholic or something? Nobody gives a shit about their sins any more."
When I got back from Buffalo I'd have to do these people some damage. In the meantime, I'd have to content myself with charging up tens of thousands of dollars' worth of lingerie on their credit card number.
Sidste ord
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
On my way out of the club, I blew by a nice fifty-foot yacht that was going out for an afternoon cruise. All the well-dressed people grinned, pointed, raised their glasses. I smiled, gave them the finger, and throttled her up.
Sangamon Taylor is spreading the word about corporations piping toxic wastes into the water from his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. Now, he's wanted by the FBI, the Mafia, and a group of Satan-worshipping drug dealers--the least of his problems. Because somewhere out there is an unhinged genetic engineer and a lab concocted bacterium that could destroy all ocean life.
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