Science Fiction · DarkIn a 23rd-century Thailand shaped by climate change, megacorporations control food through engineered seeds
The Windup Girl
A future Bangkok where food is the most powerful business
Night Shade Books published the novel on 1 September 2009, and it runs to 361 pages. It is Bacigalupi's debut novel, a work of biopunk. It is set in a 23rd-century Thailand shaped by climate change, depleted fossil fuels and genetically engineered crops. Megacorporations called calorie companies control food production, and Thailand stands out for keeping its seed reserve and closing its borders to foreign biological imports. Anderson Lake is an economic hitman for AgriGen, and Emiko is a genetically modified windup girl.
More about this book
Who
Anderson Lake, Emiko, Hock Seng, Kanya, Jaidee Rojjanasukchai and Akkarat.
World
Thailand in the 23rd century, with calorie companies and engineered crops.
What makes it different
It tied with The City & the City for the 2010 Hugo. It also won the Nebula, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the Compton Crook Award.
Feel
Hot, tense and bleak.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The Windup GirlWikipedia