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The Water Knife

Paolo Bacigalupi

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Apr 03, 2025 Troy M. rated it liked it

"She'd lied to herself all along, pretending she could wade among the refugees and swimmers and dealers and narcos and not have any of it rub off on her-as if because she refused to look directly at the beast, the beast would agree not to look at her as well"

The Water Knife is a near-future, post(or during, if you want to get pedantic)-apocalyptic tale about a drought and the resulting water shortage, specifically how it influences the breakdown of society in several states in the American South "She'd lied to herself all along, pretending she could wade among the refugees and swimmers and dealers and narcos and not have any of it rub off on her-as if because she refused to look directly at the beast, the beast would agree not to look at her as well"

The Water Knife is a near-future, post(or during, if you want to get pedantic)-apocalyptic tale about a drought and the resulting water shortage, specifically how it influences the breakdown of society in several states in the American Southwest. The 'Water Knife', Angel, is one of an elite member of above-the-law mercenaries who are tasked with securing water sources and supplies for the Southern Nevada Water Authority(Las Vegas) at any cost, including firebombing water treatment facilities, setting up spies to destabilize the water economy of nearby Arizona, influencing politicians and agencies via illicit means, etc.

As someone who works in the water industry, and has enjoyed a number of Bacigalupi's books, this seemed like a no-brainer for me to read. I thought it was suspenseful, and I enjoyed the 'whodunit' nature of the conflict as the book progressed, having a morally ambiguous main character also kept the book interesting. That being said, and possibly due to bias from reading other Paolo books that I was more taken with, it seemed that this fell a small step short. The world-building, while interesting, only went as far as the edges of the novel, which left me with questions about other antagonistic entities, and where the Feds were in all of the conflicts.

I enjoyed seeing how the character's paths twisted and turned, and how they found each other in Arizona. While the book fell into some familiar dystopian tropes, the near-future setting/timeplace presented an interesting backdrop, as opposed to the glut of books that only exist after the complete downfall of society. I thought the ultimate conflict seemed slightly rushed, and the buildup to the book was the most enjoyable portion for me, outlining Maria's struggle and backstory. I did miss the supernatural/science fiction-y aspect we had seen in some of his other books, like Ship Breaker.

Overall, the slow-moving environmental catastrophe and mysterious aspect of the conflicts presented made for an entertaining read, however the book was held back by inconsistent pacing and limited exposition on certain aspects. 3/5 ...more

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Oct 04, 2017 Donna Huber rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-fiction, post-apocalyptic-book-club

I read this for my post-apocalyptic book club and loved it. The first chapter didn't really grab me (even though it started with a bang), but by the second chapter, I was hooked. A great thriller. ...more

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Oct 13, 2017 Mary Overton added it

Jul 02, 2021 Marie White rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ate-book-grp

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