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Monday, May 28, 2012

Oryx and Crake: Dystopian, Depressing, Duh



Title: Oryx and Crake
Author: Margaret Atwood
Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Oryx and Crake is dystopian and depressing, but when is dystopian NOT depressing? This, like the best dystopian novels takes present reality and turns it up a notch. Or maybe a  couple of notches.

As much as I loved the Hunger Games series, it is difficult to draw a direct line from current society to where it devolved to in the book. Not so with Oryx and Crake. The path to Atwood's future reality from current technology is straight and alarmingly solid.

One annoyance and possible spoiler is the mushy ending. Even a novel intended to be part of a trilogy should have a beginning, middle and end. The cliffhanger ending calls to mind a television show going to commercial break.

Recommended: YES
One word description: DESPAIR