Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's calorie representative in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, he combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs long thought to be extinct. There he meets the windup girl - the beautiful and enigmatic Emiko - now abandoned to the slums. She is one of the New People, bred to suit the whims of the rich. Engineered as slaves, soldiers and toys, they are the new underclass in a chilling near future where oil has run out, calorie companies dominate nations and bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe. And as Lake becomes increasingly obsessed with Emiko, conspiracies breed in the heat and political tensions threaten to spiral out of control. Businessmen and ministry officials, wealthy foreigners and landless refugees all have their own agendas. But no one anticipates the devastating influence of the Windup Girl.

Reviews: 
'Bacigalupi is a worthy successor to William Gibson: this is cyberpunk without computers' - Time Magazine 

'Not since William Gibson's pioneering cyberpunk classic, NEUROMANCER (1984), has a first novel excited science fiction readers as much ... Paolo Bacigalupi is a writer to watch for in the future. Just don't wait that long to enjoy the darkly complex pleasures of THE WIND-UP GIRL' - The Washington Post 

'This complex, literate and intensely felt tale, which recalls both William Gibson and Ian McDonald at their very best, will garner Bacigalupi significant critical attention and is clearly one of the finest science fiction novels of the year' - Publishers Weekly (starred review) 


Author Biography: Paolo Bacigalupi is a multiple award-winning SF author whose debut THE WINDUP GIRL has been one of the most acclaimed novels in this area to appear in recent years. He also writes critically acclaimed, award-winning short stories in addition to novel length fiction. Paolo currently lives in Western Colorado with his wife and son,                                            

       If you combined clockwork gears, parasols, and air balloons with Edgar Allan Poe, what would you get? "Steampunk: Poe"! This is the first collection ever of Poe stories illustrated with the influence of steampunk. Running Press Teens has selected some of the most popular, thrilling, and memorable stories and poems by the classic 19th century American writer whose literary talent continues to open the mind to countless interpretations.<p>Every Poe story and poems is fully illustrated with steampunk-inspired art--from 1920s aviation gear to elaborate musical instruments--creating a fresh perspective on his work containing bizarre characters of madmen and mystery. Just in time for Halloween, "Steampunk: Poe" is the perfect classic horror choice with a haunting steampunk twist!

Review: <p>James Floyd Kelly, "Wired"<br> "If you've read little to nothing of Edgar Allan Poe, this hardback collection is a nice introduction to a good mix of his styles (comedy, horror, detective). And the text has not been edited -- you'll find Poe's typical style of writing that often involves sentences that can run into almost complete paragraph-length descriptions...My steampunk library grows constantly, and while there are many books on my shelf that I've enjoyed over the years, only a small number exist that I'll reach for in years to come for a re-read. "Steampunk Poe" is one of those."