I know you're not meant to do this, but pretty much the only reason I bought this book was because if its beautifully designed cover.

But I have to say it's a great book. Set in Bangkok in a dystopian future were oil has run out and the world economy has entered the 'Contraction' opposed to the 'Expansion' we're currently living in. The planet's ecosystem has been decimated by genetically engineered animals and plants and people are starving left, right and centre.

It focuses on an American who is officially the manager of a kink-spring factory (a highly engineered spring that stores joules - there's lots of talk in the book about the conversion of calories to joules) and unofficially is a spy for a large multinational dealing in genetic engineering. He believes that there's a secret seed bank somewhere in Thailand which would hold billions of dollars worth of undamaged DNA.

Along the way he meets and falls for a 'Wind-up', a genetically engineered human.

It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2010.

I have this sitting on my to-read pile, bought on the strength of his excellent Pump Six short story which was in F&SF or Analog or one of those a few years back. Started it but somehow got derailed, but will pick it up soon.

His prose is frankly fucking breathtaking I thought. I expect he has more awards in his future.

Brilliant and unique - good movie material.

Nixon wrote:I have this sitting on my to-read pile, bought on the strength of his excellent Pump Six short story which was in F&SF or Analog or one of those a few years back. Started it but somehow got derailed, but will pick it up soon.

His prose is frankly fucking breathtaking I thought. I expect he has more awards in his future.

READ THIS BOOK. My page-turner of 2011

DougC wrote:

Nixon wrote:I have this sitting on my to-read pile, bought on the strength of his excellent Pump Six short story which was in F&SF or Analog or one of those a few years back. Started it but somehow got derailed, but will pick it up soon.

His prose is frankly fucking breathtaking I thought. I expect he has more awards in his future.

READ THIS BOOK. My page-turner of 2011

I will, I will... anyone here read the Pump Six collection?

I also have that in the pile but, as stated, I've only thus far read the er... title track, so to speak.

Likely the closest to Windup girl in terms of new and entrancing was China Mieville's Perdido Station whose images are still seared in my mind.