Summary
The Water Knife is a 2015 science fiction novel by Paolo Bacigalupi. It is Bacigalupi's sixth novel, and is based on his short story, The Tamarisk Hunter, first published in the news magazine High Country News. It takes place in the near future, where drought brought on by climate change has devastated the Southwestern United States.[3]
 | |
| Author | Paolo Bacigalupi |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Oliver Munday[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 26 May 2015 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 371[2] |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-35287-1 |
| OCLC | 900869568 |
| 813.6 | |
| Website | windupstories.com/books/water-knife/ |
Synopsis edit
Central characters edit
- Angel Velasquez is a "water knife", someone who sabotages and destroys the water supplies of rival states.
- Lucy Monroe is a journalist.
- Maria Villarosa is a young Texas refugee.
Reception edit
Hugo Award winner Jason Heller said "Bacigalupi plays on a grand scale, but he does so with a keen eye for detail. His big triumph, though, is never forgetting that The Water Knife is a thriller at its pounding heart. Even amid reams of deeply researched information about the economy, geology, history and politics of water rights and usage in the United States, he keeps the plot taut and the dialogue slashing".[4]
The Denver Post called the novel a "blockbuster" writing "this is a rich and, yes, gritty world from a smart author who knows the American Southwest well and knows readers better".[5]
American crime novelist and editor Denise Hamilton, writing in the Los Angeles Times, said that the book brought to mind the movie Chinatown, saying that while "one is set in the past and the other in a dystopian future, both are neo-noir tales with jaded antiheroes and ruthless kingpins who wield water as lethal weapons to control life - and mete out death. Bacigalupi weaves an engrossing tale all his own, crackling with edgy style...and he makes water politics sexy, laying down the jargon and technical details early, then hurrying back to the action-filled streets...the ultimate villains here aren't the hired assassins or lowly water engineers but the faceless corporate owners who play God, deciding if entire regions live or die".[3]
References edit
- ^ Bacigalupi, Paolo (2015). The Water Knife. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-385-35287-1.
- ^ The Water Knife. WorldCat. OCLC 900869568.
- ^ a b Hamilton, Denise (21 May 2015). "Review Amid a real drought, thriller 'Water Knife' cuts to the quick". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ Heller, Jason (28 May 2015). "'The Water Knife' Cuts Deep". NPR. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ Burdick, Dave (5 June 2015). "Book review: "The Water Knife," by Paolo Bacigalupi". The Denver Post. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
External links edit
- Wind Up Stories - Fiction by Paolo Bacigalupi