I am reading Paolo Bacigalupi's "The Windup Girl" - and it's great!

Very much a homage to John Brunner's "Stand On Zanzibar" by way of Kim Stanley Robinson. It is set in the same universe
as "The Calorie Man" and "Yellow Card Man"

From Wikipedia:

The Windup Girl is set in the near future: Global Warming has raised the levels of world's oceans, the American Economic Empire has disintegrated, and digital technology has almost faded out. Carbon Fuel sources have become depleted, and manually wound springs are the ubiquitous energy storage devices. Biotechnology is dominant and mega corporations like AgriGen, PurCal and RedStar(called calorie companies) control food production through 'genehacked' seeds, and use bioterrorism, private armies and economic hitmen to create markets for their products. Frequent catastrophes, caused by faulty GM crops and mutant pests, ravage populations of whole countries. The natural genetic stock of agricultural plants has been near completely supplanted. Only one secret seedbank in Thailand holds the last specimens of natural fauna. Calorie companies are eager to have access to this fresh source of genetic wealth.

A brutal but important book. I'd also point out that it has a scene that is a obvious tribute to J.G. Ballard.

I suspect it will also win a well deserved Hugo Award.

Glad to hear it's as good as it looks! :hi:

I read his short story "The Calorie Man" and really enjoyed that. So far the first chapter is right on par with what I expected, great stuff.

I've really enjoyed all his short stories and because of that I've actually hesitated in picking up this novel because I've been disappointed before by writers who I thought did so good in the short form but disappointed in the longer novel form.

Mr Bacigalupi is evidently very talented at both lengths.

It also strikes me that this has, in the right hands of course, excellent film potential.

Can hardly wait to get into it.

I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks, it was a good story and a good read with some powerful characters, particularly Emiko and Jaidee.