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I liked Paolo Bagciaglupi's "The Calorie Man" (which I read in "Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology") as an example of this kind of "if we project today's sta
by mherdeg 5y ago
I liked Paolo Bagciaglupi's "The Calorie Man" (which I read in "Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology") as an example of this kind of "if we project today's state of affairs 30 years into the future, what is the dystopia it produces?" line of reasoning.
The story is about megacorporations greedily controlling the supply of food via patents on GMO crops in a post-peak-oil society. There's no artificial general intelligence lurking in the electrons to save or doom us, just the consequences of our own choices.
- the_af 5y agoOh, I'm well acquainted with Bacigalupi's work and I think he is not writing mere derivatives, but actually updating the concerns and doing something interesting with them. The aesthetic is completely different as well. I've no idea if Gibson has read Bacigalupi or what he thinks of his work, but I am definitely a fan!
- jrochkind1 5y agoI really recommend Bagciaglupi's "The Wind-Up Girl", which is kind of the novel expanded from The Calorie Man. It is dismal.
- the_af 5y agoDon't forget "Yellow Card Man"! Most of his stories in "Pump Six and Other Stories" are very good. Depressing, but good.
- lsaferite 5y agoI loved that book and the world the author created.
- blaser-waffle 5y agoGreat book. My friend is Thai and said he (Bagciaglupi) couldn't speak the language to save his life, but otherwise liked the book.
- the_af 5y agoI read a scathing review by a Thai that accused Bacigalupi of engaging in Orientalism, which of course he was. And still, not being Thai myself, I enjoyed the novel immensely, thought its greater themes were very interesting, and I think it wasn't dismissive of Thai culture, even if it dealt in stereotypes. I suppose Gibson is guilty of this as well, only with the Japanese instead of Thai. It doesn't bother me.