Pump Six and Other Stories

Paolo Bacigulupi takes a sci-fi conceit and really fleshes it out. Scorched earth, inhospitably polluted Earth necessitating modified humans built to withstand the environment? That's the template to countless post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels. Table stakes for a larger story. Paolo instead decides to pull up on the reins and examine the idea a little closer and the results are wonderfully thoughtful. Lots of these sci-fi conceits are explored in each tightly packaged story. Lots of fun dipping in and reading between books.