GearBits

Mini-Review: 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood

I just finished Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood's latest science-fiction novel. Man, what a trip. Don't worry, I won't give any spoilers, so feel free to read on.

The story is basically about a post-apocalyptic world (I won't tell you what specific form the apocalypse takes, though), but roughly 80% of the book is spent in flash-backs leading up to the present, post-disaster, where we find the novel's principal protagonist.

This is my first Atwood novel, and I really enjoyed it. The writing moves along swiftly, sometimes choppy and informal and sometimes exquisitely detailed. The science part is really well done -- not so much that it's overbearing, but enough to convince you that she's carefully thought through the issues at hand.

Overall, an excellent book. While the ending was a bit disatisfactory to me, I'll be the first to admit that I like my novels to be wrapped up in a bow, completely and with few, if any, unresolved issues. In this regard, Atwood irritated me, but I'm sure that most readers won't mind it as much.

Feel free to check out the hardcopy version or, better yet, go snag the Palm Reader e-book and save a few trees.