Premios Hugo, Nebula, Locus (Primera Novela) Y John W. Campbell Memorial 2010.Bienvenidos al siglo XXII. Anderson Lake es el hombre de confianza de AgriGen en Tailandia, un reino cerrado a los extranjeros para proteger sus preciadas reservas ecol?gicas. Su empleo como director de una f?brica es en realidad una tapadera. Anderson peina los puestos callejeros de Bangkok en busca del bot?n m?s preciado para sus amos: los alimentos que la humanidad cre?a extinguidos. Entonces encuentra a Emiko… Emiko es una «chica mec?nica», el ?ltimo eslab?n de la ingenier?a gen?tica. Como los dem?s neoseres a cuya raza pertenece, fue dise?ada para servir. Acusados por unos de carecer de alma, por otros de ser demonios encarnados, los neoseres son esclavos, soldados o, en el caso de Emiko, juguetes sexuales para satisfacer a los ricos en un futuro inquietantemente cercano… donde las personas nuevamente han de recordar qu? las hace humanas.
Set initially in a future shanty town in America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she'll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.
Starred Review. Noted short story writer Bacigalupi (Pump Six and Other Stories) proves equally adept at novel length in this grim but beautifully written tale of Bangkok struggling for survival in a post-oil era of rising sea levels and out-of-control mutation. Capt. Jaidee Rojjanasukchai of the Thai Environment Ministry fights desperately to protect his beloved nation from foreign influences. Factory manager Anderson Lake covertly searches for new and useful mutations for a hated Western agribusiness. Aging Chinese immigrant Tan Hock Seng lives by his wits while looking for one last score. Emiko, the titular despised but impossibly seductive product ...
