The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood

In The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood returns the world she developed in Oryx and Crake.  This isn't really a sequel, but a parallel story that dovetails with the earlier novel.  This story revolves around members of the "God's Gardeners," a religious group that blends eco-consciousness with a variation on Biblical Christianity.  (It's much more of the former; it would not be considered Christian by most Christian denominations of today.)  As they separate themselves from the world at large, God's Gardeners anticipate a "waterless flood" that will decimate the human race.  Readers of Oryx and Crake will, of course, recognize that this decimation is coming, not as a judgment from God, but as an expression of Crake's hubris.

We do get glimpses of the Snowman and the children of Crake, who played a large role in the first novel.  As Atwood develops this future history, she comments insightfully on cultural and scientific developments in our world.  Her view of the future of the human race is pretty bleak, but realistic enough to give pause.

Readers who appreciated Oryx and Crake will especially enjoy The Year of the Flood and will be eager to revisit this alternate future in her newest book, Maddaddam.  Enjoy!

(By the way, these books are currently ranked 825, 1124, and 369 at Amazon.  That's pretty impressive.)

Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake is a strange book.  Fans of science fiction, as traditionally understood, may not enjoy this very much.  The tone is more literary than genre, the story is told in a roundabout way with lots of flashbacks, and the action, well, there's not much action.  In fact, not much really happens.

We meet Snowman, who, we learn in flashbacks, was known as Jimmy before a global pandemic killed off, as far as Jimmy knows, every other human on the planet.  He's not alone, though.  He has become the God-like leader of the children of Crake, genetically created humans who lived in an isolated, sealed dome, thus were not affected by the pandemic.

The strongest past of the Oryx and Crake is the development of biotechnology depicted in the flashbacks.  The biological experimentation, the competition between corporations, the separation of the classes, and the means by which the pandemic spreads, are all very believable--and rather scary!  Some of the scientific and cultural developments get sort of fanciful, providing a bit of lighter-hearted relief.

I would say most sci-fi readers might have a difficult time getting into Oryx and Crake.  But Atwood is an interesting writer, and once you get a feel for her pace and style, it's an enjoyable read.