Stephenson Neal 08

Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron

Cobweb – Neal Stephenson & Frederick George

Neal Stephenson has written a number of excellent books, including his Baroque Trilogy (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and System of the World), Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, as well as Interface and now Cobweb with Frederick George.

Set in the America of 1990, the (first) Gulf War is due to start, and something strange is going on in the Agricultural Department of East Iowa University. Clyde Banks is a red-neck Deputy County Sheriff and he becomes suspicious when an Arab student dies under mysterious circumstances. A lowly CIA researcher Betsy Vandeventer also becomes suspicious. But before either can cry conspiracy, James Milikan a top policy maker and advisor to the president, uses a tried and tested technique to bury and immobilize the idea before it sees the light of day. As it says on the back cover, “… there’s a technique that serves America well in all matters of national security. It’s called the ‘Cobweb’, and it backfires every time …”
Cobweb is a satirical thriller of modern America. It may or may not be fictional in that it suggests that Saddam was using American resources to make biological weapons. In other words, the story is either loosely science fictional or science factional. The story is well written and as usual with Neal Stephenson is immensely enjoyable.

Publisher: Arrow Books
Date: 2005
Pages: 384 Pages
Price: £7.99
ISBN: 0-09-947885-4
Format: Trade paperback
Reviewed by: Rod Cameron
Date Reviewed: August 2006

Cobweb – Neal Stephenson & Frederick George
Neal Stephenson has written a number of excellent books, including his Baroque Trilogy (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and System of the World), Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, as well as Interface and now Cobweb with Frederick George. Set in the America of 1990, the (first) Gulf War is due to start, and something strange is going on in the Agricultural Department of East Iowa University. Clyde Banks is a red-neck Deputy County Sheriff and he becomes suspicious when an Arab student dies under mysterious circumstances. A lowly CIA researcher Betsy Vandeventer also becomes suspicious. But before either can cry conspiracy, James Milikan a top policy maker and advisor to the president, uses a tried and tested technique to bury and immobilize the idea before it sees the light of day. As it says on the back cover, “… there’s a technique that serves America well in all matters of national security. It’s called the ‘Cobweb’, and it backfires every time …” Cobweb is a satirical thriller of modern America. It may or may not be fictional in that it suggests that Saddam was using American resources to make biological weapons. In other words, the story is either loosely science fictional or science factional. The story is well written and as usual with Neal Stephenson is immensely enjoyable.
Publisher: Arrow Books Date: 2005 Pages: 384 Pages Price: £7.99 ISBN: 0-09-947885-4 Format: Trade paperback Reviewed by: Rod Cameron Date Reviewed: August 2006