The Water Knife
by Paolo Bacigalupi, Almarie Guerra · first published 2015
66% recommend31% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Near-future thriller about water rights in a drought-stricken American Southwest, where states, factions and criminals fight over scarce water. Suits readers who want a grim, plausible climate-change extrapolation.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The American Southwest has been decimated by drought. Nevada and Arizona skirmish over dwindling shares of the Colorado River, while California watches, deciding if it should just take the whole river all for itself. Into the fray steps Las Vegas water knife Angel Velasquez. Detective, assassin, and spy, Angel "cuts" water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ensuring that lush, luxurious arcology developments can bloom in the desert and that anyone who challenges her is left in the gutted-suburban dust. When water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only truth i
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2026Cadillac desert
Marc Reisner
Recommended by 80 · mentioned by 10780 recommend · 107 mention80 recommend · 10780 recommend
2017–2024Ship breaker
Paolo Bacigalupi
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 55 recommend · 5 mention5 recommend · 55 recommend
2010–2026The Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi
Recommended by 43 · mentioned by 6843 recommend · 68 mention43 recommend · 6843 recommend
2012–2026Pump Six and Other Stories
Paolo Bacigalupi, Jonathan Davis, James Chen, Eileen Stevens
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 168 recommend · 16 mention8 recommend · 168 recommend
2009–2023Infrastructure
Brian Hayes
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 88 recommend · 8 mention8 recommend · 88 recommend
2010–2026The Word for World is Forest
Ursula K. Le Guin
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 157 recommend · 15 mention7 recommend · 157 recommend
The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Recommended by 11 · mentioned by 1411 recommend · 14 mention11 recommend · 1411 recommend
The years of Lyndon Johnson
Robert A. Caro
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 2220 recommend · 22 mention20 recommend · 2220 recommend
Anyone else read The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi? It's a near future SF novel about water shortages in the American southwest. It definitely made me sure I'd never want to move to Arizona or New Mexico.
on “Arizona’s dry future begins as Colorado River shrinks” ↗For those interested in exploring the political and social consequences of this in a near-term (albeit fictional) world, I highly recommend reading "The Water Knife" by Paolo Bacigalupi. From the Goodreads description: > In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez,…
on “In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes” ↗as the parent comment is possibly hinting at, a relevant novel exploring this is "The Water Knife" by Paolo Bacigalupi it's a bit of an unpleasant read in parts, but it is exploring a future where there isn't enough water for everyone, and many people are only left with bad options, or never really…
on “‘Climate change is water change’” ↗If you want a picture of what life could be like if we don't get ahead of the problem, read The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi. http://windupstories.com/books/water-knife/
on “Request for Startups: Water” ↗Going to go ahead and recommend Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife. And The Windup Girl is even better, but not on topic.
on “Google's controversial groundwater withdrawal sparks question” ↗…coming decades. Popsci overview: Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56140.Cadillac_Desert USGS Report: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/ Fictional horrorshow: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
on “Thirsty Cities Drill for Water” ↗…imagination and world building. G.S. Denning's 'Warlock Holmes' series always makes me laugh out loud with Holmes cast as a rather unstable magician being bailed out by the ever-logical Watson. The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi foresees dystopian cities and cutthroat water rights along the Colorado river.
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗Those interested in this may be interested the novel The Water Knife by (Hugo and Nebula winner) Paolo Bacigalupi. I really enjoyed it. The Windup Girl was an amazing debut, and I think this is just about as good. Reviews: http://www.npr.org/2015/05/28/408295800/the-water-knife-cuts...…
on “Why Las Vegas has coped well with drought so far” ↗…confronting the mortality of our loved ones The Dark Forest (Cixin Liu, 2014) - Wonderful science fiction from China The Peripheral (William Gibson, 2015) - Bleak, near future science fiction. The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi, 2015) - More bleak, near future science fiction.
on “Ask HN: Best books you've read in 2015” ↗…Answers - Bathing the Lion - The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help - The Tears of Dark Water - God Is Dead - A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life - The Water Knife
on “Ask HN: What book that you read in 2015 significantly affected how you think?” ↗Try The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. A great book about time dilation and Vietnam. The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi. A book about water rights in the south west that I can think of.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books?” ↗…into things more. * Pure enjoyment: Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson), Ready Player One (Ernest Cline), Watchmen (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons), Red Rising trilogy (Pierce Brown). Honorable mention: The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi).
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?” ↗https://www.amazon.com/Water-Knife-Paolo-Bacigalupi-ebook/dp... Eerily relevant.
on “World's Largest Water Diversion Plan Won't Quench China's Thirst” ↗Paolo Bacigalupi is a good writer with a creative take on world building. Both The Windup Girl and The Water Knife (on topic for this thread) are good reads. His short stories collected in Pump Six and Other Stories are worth digging into as well if you like his novels. He goes into the potential effects of widespread…
on “Indonesia Plans to Move Its Capital Out of Jakarta, a City That's Sinking” ↗The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi is a great near-future sci-fi read on this subject.
on “A Quarter of Humanity Faces Looming Water Crises” ↗