Review
Pump Six and Other Stories
2008
Night Shade Books
Review by Peter Young on Live Journal, 27 March 2010.
Read in advance of 2010's Hugo-nominated The Windup Girl, as this collection contains two stories (the Sturgeon Award-winning 'The Calorie Man' and the Hugo-nominated 'Yellow Card Man') set in the same dystopian future. Actually most of the futures here are dystopian to varying degrees, usually in the context of near-future resource shortages and/or the downside to the population explosion. You're left with the unmistakeable impression that when Bacigalupi is serious he is deadly serious and that it's his most obvious hallmark, but in other stories Bacigalupi also does wry humour rather well too, though not in a particularly laugh-out-loud way. The two stories mentioned above are the best stories here, but not by much: 'Pop Squad' is as grim a dangerous vision as I've ever read even though I couldn't suspend my disbelief completely, and I'd also like to see the universe of 'Pocketful of Dharma' expanded upon in other stories. This is a particularly rewarding collection from one of the best current short-form writers, although I have to say it: I'm still more of a Ted Chiang man.