The Water Knife

paperback, 384 pages

Published May 26, 2015 by Alfred a Knopf.

ISBN:
978-1-101-87549-0
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(85 reviews)

In the near future, the Colorado River has dwindled to a trickle. Detective, assassin, and spy, Angel Velasquez “cuts” water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ensuring that its lush arcology developments can bloom in Las Vegas. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in Phoenix, Angel is sent south, hunting for answers that seem to evaporate as the heat index soars and the landscape becomes more and more oppressive. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with her own agenda, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas migrant, who dreams of escaping north. As bodies begin to pile up, the three find themselves pawns in a game far bigger and more corrupt than they could have imagined, and when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only truth in the desert is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.

9 editions

Review of 'The Water Knife' on 'Goodreads'

I've completely enjoyed every book I've read by Paolo Bacigalupi and the undertones of his futuristic vision are not at all lost on me. I get it, Paolo, I get it.

The Water Knife, for me, is the weakest of all his books I've read so far. It is a story about people, as all his books are, and how they react to, and survive, a crisis, again, like in all his books. This one differs in that the events occur in the near-future whereas most of his other books happen deeper into the future. As the title suggests, the crisis in this book deals with access to water.

The story is good. It paints a bleak and dry future for common folk and an opposite future for those with money and power. It does not follow a typical rebellion versus the empire story line. This is one of those …

Review of 'The Water Knife' on 'Goodreads'

I enjoy Paolo Bachigalupi but he's becoming too preachy and has gone to far down the conspiracy rabbit hole .

Perhaps it's because The Water Knife is set closer to us in time and space, I find it harder to suspend my disbelief.

Perhaps it's because I live in a country that faced a water crisis, where there was talk of future wars being driven by water shortages in the region and where these issues have become mut after the construction of a number of desalination plants. Something that requires access the ocean and energy. Considering the level of solar plant technology available and Cali's access to the Ocean, I find the hole premise behind The Water Knife a bit shaky.

Review of 'The Water Knife' on 'Goodreads'

"It's the end of times, Angel thought, [...] Guess that makes me the devil!"

To my own huge surprise I finished the second half of this book within two days, after stumbling through the first half over the course of two weeks. I had nearly added this to my unfinished-business shelf when I ran out of other digital reading material.

Just like [b: The Windup Girl|6597651|The Windup Girl|Paolo Bacigalupi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1278940608s/6597651.jpg|6791425] this book looks at what climate change may do to our future. This time not in flood-threatened Bangkok but in a water-deprived, dusty apocalypse in the south-western desert states of the US.

While the US still exists the states are very nearly at war with each other, guarding their borders from refugees from Texas. South of the US there's no longer Mexico but the Cartel States. To the north lies the paradise that is Canada, where there is still green. It …

Review of 'The Water Knife' on 'Goodreads'

I'm having trouble with this book. The author seems to be interested in bringing back scenes of poverty and climate change to the US. Saying to the readers, "This could be you and your children." Maybe he's trying to hard. Maybe I've read to many of his stories. I'm starting to lose interest. I'm 20% into this book and thinking about putting it down permanently.

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