The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

What Happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits? And what happens when said bio-terrorism forces humanity to the cusp of post-human evolution? In The Windup Girl, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi returns to the world of "The Calorie Man"( Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2006) and "Yellow Card Man" (Hugo Award nominee, 2007) in order to address these questions.

Fantastic world, but not so fantastic writing. It bothered me how little attachment I felt to the characters.

A stunning, hard-hitting ending (which I will not give away) to a well-written, well thought-out book. Biopunk in the vein of Ribofunk by Paul Di Filippo. A scary world of mega-corporation domination, looming eco-disaster, and political backstabbing. A story that masterfully divides the narrative between several characters, none of whom are truly the protagonist, and none of whom are the clear epitome of good or evil, which is a breath of fresh air.

After I received the book, I was disappointed to see the cover blurb: I hope he writes 10 sequels – as I was fearful I had just purchased a novel that was going to require me to purchase a second or third to finish it. I'm not a fan of that. Yes, I like long work, but I like to know in advance that I will need to invest more so I can make an informed purchase. However, after finishing the novel, I couldn't agree with the cover blurb more. This is a novel set in a world that deserves to have more stories told. So I will definitely be picking up Pump Six and Other Stories (a collection of short stories set thus).

Oh boy. What I knew of the premise of this book intrigued me - a dystopian future exploration of agriculture and biotechnology politics. What I did not know was how gruesomely violent and rapey it would be - in ways that felt unnecessary and exploitative. As in, not just depicting violence necessary to move the plot forward or adequately set the context, but eroticizing it.

At first I was confused - this book has gotten so much praise and awards, how could I hate it this much? And then I remembered this book was published in 2009, at a time when prestige TV was almost universally hyper-violent, around when a critic I follow said, “this is the golden age of television if you don't mind watching someone getting shot in the face,” and I opted for less prestigious comedies instead. So for the same reason I tapped out of Game of Thrones after watching 10 too many beheadings in the pilot (I didn't even make it to the gratuitous rape scenes in that show), this book is not for me. Maybe for other people, but not for me.