The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is a different type of post-apocalyptic tale, based off a couple of  short stories collected in Bacigalupi’s Pump Six and Other Stories. This apocalypse didn’t happen by nuclear war or running out of oil, but by genetic wars. There are people and plant diseases that destroyed most of the world. Oil is no longer used for power and electricity, instead springs are used to hold power to be released at later times. If a large amount of power is needed, then megodonts (elephant like creatures) are used to supply the power. The new world powers are the calorie companies, genetic engineering companies who make seeds that are neutered. The farmers must buy new seeds from them each year to feed the people and is then beholden to the calorie companies. Except for Thailand.

Thailand saw the disaster coming and closed it’s borders, kept out the calorie companies and used it’s prize resource (a seedbank) to keep itself independent. Their is a three-legged power arrangement with the child Queen, the Ministry of the Environment (whose job it is to protect the countries from diseases coming in) and the Ministry of Trade (whose job it is to work with other countries/companies to bring in new technology). The two Ministries are at each other’s throats, but Environment leads the public opinion due to the face of it’s Ministry, Jaidee. Jaidee is known as the Tiger. He’s a former Muey Thai fighter who is now seen as an incorruptible force protecting the Environment of Thailand.

Other characters include Emiko (the titular character), a faroung (white person) named Anderson who owns a company working to make an advanced power spring, a yellow card (Chinese person) named Hock Seng who is Anderson’s assistant and Akkarat from the Ministry of Trade. Emiko is a New Person (aka Windup Girl), a genetically enhanced person who was created by the Japanese to serve a master. The Japanese are an elderly society and need helpers, so the New Persons were created and programmed to be subservient. New Persons were designed for luxurious Japanese air conditioned living and Emiko is suffering in the Thailand tropical climate. But she’s heard of a city up north where Wind Up people live free.

After a few introductory chapters, where we get to know the characters and world, the plot kicks off when Jaidee goes to far in his war and has to pay the price. The ramifications of these actions slowly build up until everyone is affected. Akkarat wants to get the Ministry of Trade to have more power and thinks Jaidee’s actions will help him move ahead. Anderson wants access to the seedbank and a mysterious person named Gibbons who people seem to know about, but no one is willing to admit to and might be able to save (or destroy) the world. Hock Seng wants to steal the blueprints for Anderson’s power source, so that he can rise up in society to back where he was before having to leave China. Emiko wanders through everyone’s lives making them brighter until she is pushed too far. And the various low-level citizens are either taking or giving bribes to try and make their lives just a little bit easier.

The Windup Girl is a wonderfully written tale that makes we want to run out and get Bacigalupi’s collection of stores. He seamlessly moves between many different characters, all with different needs, viewpoints and voices. Bacigalupi has moved up to be a must-read author for me. I strongly encourage everyone to read this wonderful novel as it is very clear why it made numerous year-end best-of lists.