Oryx and Crake

Snowman might be the last regular human in the world. Back when he was called Jimmy, it was all different, although it wasn't looking good even then. He isn't alone, though. He's looking after some engineered post-humans, the Crakers, who are sufficiently different from us that I found it hard to root for them.

We are in post-apolcalypse territory, in Oryx and Crake, with flashbacks to pre-apocalypse, as the tale of Snowman/Jimmy unfolds the causes and effects. It's an eco-catastrophe, with elements of bio-engineering. The world reminded me of Paolo Bacigalupi's later Hugo winner, The Windup Girl.

There's nothing here to suggest that it should not be classified as SF, and not a whole lot that will be new to an SF reader, but it's a convincing picture of a world falling apart, that isn't too far from our own. I don't know why I left it so long unread on my shelf, but since it was only published in 2003, I doubt it's my worst offence.