Facts

Title: Zodiac
Author: Neal Stephenson
Year of publishing: 1988

Synopsis

Zodiac is set in present time Boston, and hero Sangamon Taylor (S. T.), ironically describes his hilarious exploits in the first person. S. T. is a modern superhero, a self-proclaimed Toxic Spiderman. With stealth, spunk, and the backing of GEE (the Group of Environmental Extremists, a non-profit environmental group) as his weapons, S. T. chases down the bad guys with James Bond-like Zen.

Cruising Boston Harbor with lab tests and scuba gear, S. T. rides in with the ecosystem cavalry on his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. His job of tracking down poisonous runoff and embarrassing the powerful corporations who caused them becomes more sticky than usual; run-ins with a gang of satanic rock fans, a deranged geneticist, and a mysterious PCB contamination that may or may not be man-made - plus a falling-out with his competent ("I adore stress") girlfriend - all complicate his mission.