Saturday, July 11, 2009

Cover art - "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi

Yet another great cover illustration and one which I found through the Paolo Bacigalupi’s website. The cover illustrations is done by Raphael Lacoste for the Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut novel, “The Windup Girl”, due to be released by Night Shade Books in September, as it is stated on their website. And after the cover illustrations for the Glen Cook’s editions Night Shade Books comes with another amazing cover art, one that hooked me the instant I saw it. I also have to be honest and say that I didn’t read the published collection of Paolo Bacigalupi, “Pump Six and Other Stories”, but here it is a very good reason to pick his new book up (and the previous too).

And here is the synopsis from the publisher website:

Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko...
Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe.
What Happens when calories become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution? In The Windup Girl, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi returns to the world of "The Calorie Man" ( Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2006) and "Yellow Card Man" (Hugo Award nominee, 2007) in order to address these poignant questions.

6 comments:

Sweet Book Delights said...

Wow. Sounds awesome, kinda Blade Runnerish but out east. Think I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for this one :p
Vice xox

Valashain said...

I have read Pump Six and Other stories. It's very good, one of the best collections of short fiction I've read. I'm very much looking forward to reading Bacigalupi's first novel. The environmental themes in his work appeal to me.

Ben said...

I cannot wait to read this one. Pump Six and Other Stories was in my Top 5 Reads list last year...

Mihai A. said...

Vice, I love "Blade Runner" :)

Rob, I put "Pump Six and Other Stories" on my next buying list :)

Ben, I know. I should read it as well :)

Barbara Martin said...

This sounds a bit creepy as I can see mankind headed in this direction. Now I want to read it, but I'll wait for your review, Mihai.

Mihai A. said...

Barbara, I am very, very curious about this novel :)