Reviewer: Tim Johnson, Branch Manager
WATER IS POWER
** spoiler alert ** There are a few story concepts that are seriously overdone. Zombies. I love
The Walking Dead, don't get me wrong, but aside from that the zombie thing is done. Teenage vampires/werewolves. It doesn't matter which one it is. There should be a law that writers can only produce a vampire or werewolf book every 20 years. Enough already. Apocalypse. Okay we get it, the world may end. Next please. The dystopia. I am just about as sick of dystopian fiction as teenage vampires. I actually cringe every time I see an ad or photo for
The Hunger Games or
Divergent.
Bacigalupi does it right though. People ignore the problems until the tipping point is well past. All of the fixes are patchwork solutions and things just keep sliding. The world is ugly and everyone is really just out for themselves. And what happens to the good people? The people who want to do right? They don't survive or, if they do, they certainly don't win.
There are plenty of themes present for the reader to reflect on. How different is The Vet from his hyenas? For that matter, is he the Vet because he was a veterinarian or a veteran? The book is rife with questions of what loyalty is or whether or not loyalty even really exists.
And can we just admit that no-one who has undergone hours of torture, true torture as opposed to the S&M stuff, is going to want to turn around and get jiggy with it? That is my only complaint about the book. Well, that and the fact that I don't know whether Lucy lives or not. Other than that, it is as close to perfect in as you can get with a dystopian novel
Reviewer: Cristine Mitchamore, Librarian
Well-drawn, realistic characters with understandable (and believable) motivations, a solid plot with a fast pace, scarily good world-building. Bacigalupi delivered a clear message about reality versus faith and the issue of water without ever becoming preachy. Altogether an excellent choice for a book group.
I give it a high rating for the technique and effectiveness of the book. I didn't enjoy the book. The scarily good world-building gave me nightmares. Bacigalupi extrapolated a lot of current behaviors and presented a consistent (if nightmare-inducing) picture of a possible result.