Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
(Reviewer - D. H. BROWN)
2003 Doubleday
ISBN: 0385503857

Science-based corporations have just taken mankind on an uncontrolled genetic-engineering ride.

Snowman, a survivor, searches for supplies in a wasteland where insects proliferate & pigoons & wolvogs ravage the lands where ordinary people once lived. The extraordinary are now sheltered in compounds.

Snowman must mine his past to answer the questions of how this had happened. & so quickly. What happened to his friend Crake's high-tech bubble dome, where the Paradice Project unfolded & the world came to grief?

Sr. Staff Reviewer D. H. BROWN writes:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be present & witness the end of the world? If you have I can guarantee that in your wildest dreams never did it cross your mind how the world ended for the Snowman.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, a premier storyteller & poet with 40 years of writing under her belt, gives you a scenario that will make you look sideways & cringe with every news report that you hear concerning the advancement of bio-technology.

& tell a story is something Margaret Atwood is expressly good at. Riveting! Gripping! Taking the reader into the world or the end of the world, she has created. If you like Science Fiction as I do, because it makes you think Big Thoughts, dream Big Dreams, you're not going to like the dreams that Oryx & Crake are going to give you.

When most of us think of the end of the world we stand upon the pinnacle of our ancestors' achievements & think of only some cataclysmic event that takes us all in the blink of an eye. The future may not wish to go quietly into that good night, but to leave with its jowls dripping in blood.

I will have to say that of the approximately 300 books I've read, skimmed, perused in 2003, Oryx and Crake has left me with more to ponder than any of them.

Exquisite writing, an incomparable tale, grandly done, that will cut through the imagination like a scalpel. Oryx and Crake is one story you can't afford to miss.

More from Margaret Atwood:
The Blind Assassin
Alias Grace
The Edible Woman
The Handmaid's Tale
Cat's Eye
The Robber Bride & many more!
(02/08/04)

D. H. BROWN
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Staff Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam; day laborer; Director of Security; Armored Car Driver; Police Officer; Professional Hunting Guide; Trapper; Dog Sledder; Homesteader; Truck Driver; General Contractor; Minister; Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Movie Producer; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor; Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.
Visit him at: www.dhbrownbooks.com