Review of The Zenith Angle by Bruce Sterling

Bruce Sterling was one of the strongest and most unique voices in science fiction. He's taken a significant break from fiction, producing little the past decade+, and as a result has faded from the genre's eye. But there was a time in the 90s and 2000s when most every reader of sf would have known his name. A godfather of cyberpunk, collaborations with multiple other well writers, and award recognition, Sterling was a prominent figure. In the wake of 9-11, he published the novel The Zenith Angle (2004).

The Zenith Angle is the story of a man named Van. Uber-intelligent programmer, his talents took him to the top of the 90's internet boom. Leader of a multi-million dollar dot.com, he finds himself looking for new challenges. 9-11 happens, and Van is successfully recruited by the US government and tasked with tightening up homeland IT security. He accomplishes this through an ingenious invention, but at what cost? Van's family life, corporate tech, and government control all cross paths leading to a Bond-esque conclusion.

In case you couldn't read those tea leaves, there is a hint of Tom Clancy on the wind in The Zenith Angle. It's slow-slow-slow, tech-tech-tech, until a burst of action at the end. (For the record, The Zenith Angle is nowhere near the length of a Clancy novel.) Characterization is meh, story moves step by tedious step, and a general theme about being cautious with technology and government emerges. If it's your cup of tea, you sigh in satisfaction. If not, you keep a blank look on your face as you put the book down, and later add it to the stack to donate to charity.

With novels like Holy Fire, Distraction, and Heavy Weather Bruce Sterling proved he could produce consistently sharp prose. The Zenith Angle is not proof. It's slap-dash at best. There are passages that immediately ring the Sterling bell, followed by others which feel sloppy by comparison, a second or third re-write needed. And the story's editing almost feels the same. While it's clear Sterling structures the narrative to purpose, the journey from A to B to C never syncopates. To be clear, rhythm is not a requirement of 'good fiction', only that the type of story Sterling is trying to tell (techno thriller) would benefit from tighter structure. I can't believe I'm about to write these words, but borrowing a little from Tom Clancy would have helped.

Substance-wise, The Zenith Angle is missing something compared to other Sterling novels. Sophistication, a singular textual sub-layer, an interwoven central purpose—something is not present. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for that to reveal itself. But it never did. Instead, the novel inevitably comes across as the nerd-version of James Bond tale. It's not hiding anything. It's not trying to comment on anything, which is Weird for Sterling. I don't deny him the right to produce a straight up novel, but I likewise reserve the right to observe it's not as substantive as his other works. The fact the climax is cheesy, well, you be the judge.

In the end, The Zenith Angle is a straight-up novel from Sterling, something he rarely produces. Fans of Neal Stephenson who have bounced off Sterling in the past may find something to enjoy here. It's got the tech-quirkiness, the nerdy characters, the big, global backdrop (but lacks Stephenson's zeal for effective similes and rich scene setting). For anyone looking to take a trip down memory lane for how computing and the internet worked in the late 90s and early 2000s, this may satiate. For most other readers, the book does not represent the singular voice Sterling was to 20th century science fiction.