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First Written | 2010 |
Genre | Scifi |
Origin | US |
Publisher | Night Shade Books |
ISBN-10 | 1597801585 |
ISBN-13 | 978-1597801584 |
My Copy | library paperback |
First Read | July 26, 2011 |
The Wind-Up Girl
The Wind-Up Girl is about a post-fossil-fuel future, in which the world's economy runs on calories, and insular nations like Thailand fare well because they aren't ravaged by invasive species and crop mutations. This book does the scifi thing really well, taking the core idea and fleshing it out into an interesting world. Without fossil fuels, pre-wound springs replace batteries, intercontinental travel happens by sailing clipper, genehacked elephants are used to lift heavy objects, agribiz companies have copyrighted all viable grains, and only rich men can afford to use elevators - because they can pay a team of workers to run up the stairs and provide a counterweight on their way down.
It's these little tidbits, imagining what a world looks like after all the environmental disasters have already happened, that makes the book so interesting.
Noted on August 13, 2011
I read scifi books in spite of their writing, but this one was really better than most. Bacigalupi writes like a short-story pro, with several nesting and interlocking plots, starring decently-drawn characters.
Noted on August 13, 2011