The Water Knife

Holly says: Paolo Bacigalupi is a consistent favorite of mine. This 2015 novel explores a drought-stricken American Southwest where water is power, and those who control it will go to any ends to keep that control. Following three different perspectives—a climate refugee, a journalist, and the titular “water knife,” a gangster of sorts—this thriller paints a vivid picture of one potential future. I enjoyed the slightly different lens of a crime thriller rather than a traditional dystopian narrative. As a resident of this part of the country, it struck particularly close to home. I read this nearly a decade ago but still consider it one of my favorite climate fiction reads.