The Water Knife

The Water Knife is not a typical sci-fi novel. Some people may steer away from this novel thinking it is a book pushing an environmental agenda. While environmental issues figure centrally in the novel, this is a character driven novel about people adapting to new norms in the American Southwest and confronted with moral dilemmas with far reaching effects. It is a near future novel with technology that is easily extrapolated from present day inventions. What grabbed me reading The Water Knife was how realistic everything in this novel felt. The violence that today grips the northern section of Mexico tranlates very well to a Southwest under new pressures as aquifers dry up and states fight over diminishing river shares. Wonderful literary writing elevates this novel above most written by popular genre authors. This is not a story for the faint of heart. The characters inhabit a fierce world and the violence can be more disturbing than many horror novels. I think this is a frontrunner for best novel in the coming awards. Highly recommended for readers who are truly interested in possible changes that we may see in our lifetimes.