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The Water Knife
- Narrated by: Almarie Guerra
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
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The Water Knife
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Summary
Paolo Bacigalupi, New York Times best-selling author and National Book Award finalist, dives once again onto our uncertain future with his first thriller for adults since his multi-award-winning debut phenomenon The Windup Girl.
In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez, detective, leg breaker, assassin, and spy. A Las Vegas water knife, Angel "cuts" water for his boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her lush, luxurious arcology developments can bloom in the desert, so the rich can stay wet while the poor get nothing but dust.
When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in drought-ravaged Phoenix, Angel is sent to investigate. There he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with no love for Vegas and every reason to hate Angel, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas refugee who survives by her wits and street smarts in a city that despises everything she represents.
With bodies piling up, bullets flying, and Phoenix teetering on collapse, it seems like California is making a power play to monopolize the life-giving flow of a river. For Angel, Lucy, and Maria, time is running out, and their only hope for survival rests in each other's hands. But when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only thing for certain is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Dean
- 13-12-19
Excellent ideas, poorly executed.
Southwestern USA in the not-too-far future. Water is scarce and competition for water rights is fierce. Good setup, but the story degenerates into torture porn, unrelievedly brutal bad guys, good guys that can take any number of bullet wounds and not need medical attention and possibly the worst sex scene ever written.
If you read The Wind-up Girl you wouldn't recognise that this was the same author.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- O. Ashford
- 10-01-17
Good but not great like 'The Windup Girl'
I did enjoy this but it felt like an episode of a TV series rather than a movie. There were a lot of incidental characters that felt a little underdeveloped (although the main characters were well created and fleshed out.) I feel it could have done with another major story arc to really 'deepen' the story. Still enjoyable - just a little 'empty'. Definitely worth a read or listen though.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alice
- 17-12-15
Stick with it.
A slow and slightly confusing start but then I'm not used to listening to books, I like to read. It got going for me in the 5th chapter and though there are some gory scenes, nothing a light weight like me couldn't handle as it wasn't gratuitous and moved the plot along. I found it really engaging and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I came to love the very dodgy water knife 'Angel' and am strangely missing him already. Oh dear, maybe that says a lot about me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- paul
- 04-12-15
Too feasible... scarey and uttly compelling
This isn't science fiction, this is slightly projected current events.
All too believable, scarily concievable. I loved Wind-Up Girl and this is even better.. so much grittier and closer to home.
I had no idea how Paolo was going to manage an ending that didn't sell out or frustrate... but he managed it perfectly.
The narration was also excellent.. to the point I was starting to use some of the Hispanic phrases and expressions in my head.
Loved it, was disappointed when it finished
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- hayley
- 03-05-23
I loved it
Amazing story, well researched and fantastic narrator! I wish there was a sequel because it’s going to be a hard one to follow!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Boledylocks
- 12-09-15
Paolo does it again
Another totally immersive read. I need to brush up on my Spanish. I need to buy water shares and dig a well!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-05-23
I liked the wind up gril ... LOVED rhe water knife
I listened to the wind up gril frist and enjoyed it. it took me a while to get round to this book. but really glad I did if the auther writes anymore ill definitely puck them up.
superb world building and great characters really excellent story line.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Laurent
- 10-06-15
Poor performance
Would you try another book written by Paolo Bacigalupi or narrated by Almarie Guerra?
Probably not. The narrator is very poor. The bad accents and strange cadence hurts my ears.
How could the performance have been better?
The performance should have been a bit more neutral. Every line sounds over the top and far from natural. Cringing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- B B Johnson
- 10-11-15
Another cracker from Paolo
Loved his other books, this author just gets better and better. Stunningly realised world with wonderful characters that stay with you long after you've finished the book. The story is matched by the narration which is excellent. My fave audio book so far this year.
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1 person found this helpful