This book had such potential, and while it's obvious Bacigalupi has some serious talent, I don't think it's fully realized yet. It took about 100-150 pages to set the stage. While that in itself is not a problem, it took awhile for the political landscape of his world to reveal itself. He reminds me of China Mieville in that he presents a well realized world through tantalizing details. The difference between the two is that Mieville knows how to create suspense without making one frustrated. In contrast, reading Bacigalupi's writing made me feel as though I was missing things I really needed to know in order to understand the story.

Bacigalupi presents some pretty interesting, fascinating questions and I wish there had been more of an exploration of that. While to some degree the questions are inherent in the very workings of the world (It's certainly had an impact on me and my thoughts on the future as I cringe to hear about such things as genetically engineered salmon.) there were some really delicious exchanges between characters. There should have been more of that, less setup.

I felt as though the book took forever to really get going, only to go out with this abbreviated bang. Some of the elements were also pretty over the top in a way that seemed rather salacious and unnecessary. At the same time, I love what he did with one of the main character's plot-lines and the predicament and moral questions she finds herself dealing with. Bacigalupi has some real talent, I just don't think it was fully realized with this book.