Deeply thought provoking, Bacigalupi’s collected visions of the future are equal parts cautionary tale, social and political commentary and poignantly poetic, revelatory prose. An anthology of short stories that presents a journey through alternate histories and projections of the future in which the worlds diversity is reflected. Pump Six and Other Stories Bacigalupi creates believable, detailed, lived-in futures that just happen to portray an ugly set of sunsets for humanity on Earth.He is a truly dark bard, in the spirit of Ellison at his most vivid and cynical. “The Tamarisk Hunter” deals with the effects of global warming on water rights in the Southwest, while the title story, original to this volume, follows a New York sewage treatment worker who struggles to repair his antiquated equipment as the city’s inhabitants succumb to the brain-damaging effects of industrial pollutants.
“The People of Sand and Slag” envisions a future Earth as a contaminated wasteland inhabited by virtually indestructible post-humans who consume stone and swim in petroleum oceans. The Hugo-nominated “The Calorie Man” explores a post–fossil fuel future where genetically modified crops both feed and power the world, and greedy megacorporations hold the fates of millions in their hands.
Bacigalupi’s stellar first collection of 10 stories displays the astute social commentary and consciousness-altering power of the very best short form science fiction.
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