Book Review: Oryx and Crake

Minor spoilers in this review, nothing that will ruin the book though.

"Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood is an incredible piece of science fiction. I first encountered Margaret after reading "The Handmaiden's Tale" and never guessed from that she would end up writing one of my new favorite books. I can't wait to acquire the next book in this series.

This particular little work has all the mainstays of awesome scifi: New technologies that feel like they're just beyond our reach, the dystopia created by hubris, interesting characters and a wonderful narration. She even manages to make you care about despicable characters.

You follow a lone anti-hero character, 'Snowman', through his life in a series of flashbacks as he navigates the world after the fall.

As 'Snowman' aka Jimmy grows up you see him squander his intelligence while his friend Crake distances himself as his intellect propels him forward. There's plenty of references to classic scifi advances like gene splicing and eugenics, and the way that Atwood leverages these things is brilliant.
 Interspersed with the flashbacks are glimpses into 2 incredibly diverse societies: the old world in which he grew up full of decadence and perversion and high technology, and short glimpses into a 'perfect' society created by the title character Crake after he joins a major biotech corporation.

I think this book would genuinely be enjoyed by a wide audience even those that aren't particularly inclined to science fiction. For science fiction fans, however, this is a must read!