ABSTRACT
Neal Stephenson is not generally described as a crime writer, but his 1988 novel Zodiac draws its inspiration from the hardboiled mode, and applies the tropes of crime fiction to questions of systematic ecological damage. This case study offers a reading of the novel based on green or eco-critical criminological theories, exploring the ways this unusual focus both challenges generic expectations and reveals an underlying system that not just allows, but facilitates, eco-crime.
