vodkafan Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi I bought this on Karsa's recommendation and it was great. It is set 200 years in the future. The world is no longer powered by oil as it is all gone. The sea level has risen and destroyed most major coastal cities of the world. Western based GM food companies have control of the food supply of most of the governments in the third world by selling them high yield but sterile varients of rice and other staples. The danger of this is that new plant and human diseases have arisen and the scientists must stay one step ahead . Also most of the animal species have become extinct but some new types of animals have been created by genetic manipulation. The one place the food (Calorie) corporations do not own is the independent kingdom of Thailand. The Thais have built a huge sea wall to protect their sacred coastal city . But not only that, they are sheltering a renegade western gene scientist who has enabled the Thais to create a huge (and to the calorie companies, illegal) seedbank of disease resistant fruits and veggies. The Calorie Corporations want to get their hands on this seedbank at all costs. They have a spy in place in Bangkok pretending to be a factory owner, Anderson Lake. He hopes to take advantage of the unstable political situation to get what he wants. There are a handful of other major characters, all of whom you get to like and want to see survive; they are on opposing sides and they give the novel it's wonderful balance. You will decide for yourself who you want to root for. The "wild card" is Emiko-the windup girl of the title. She is a type of artificial created human (like the replicants in Blade Runner- in fact the whole of Blade Runner's world would fit neatly into Paolo's, which I think is great). She is a product of the Japanese, a sort of Geisha/companion, but she has been left behind by her businessman owner when he returned to Japan. The Thais fear windups because they believe they have no souls. However, Emiko has emotions and feelings like a normal person. Now illegal , she has to survive as best she can. Anderson meets Emiko. And the stage is set for terrible events nobody foresaw. The ending is brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Glad you enjoyed it, James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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