Book review of MaddAddam: 3 Treasure Boxes
Book three of the MaddAddam trilogy
Publisher: Random House Audio, Audible Audio Edition, Listening Length: 13 hours and 23 minutes, ASIN: B00E7YHASU

The world has been remade, because most of mankind has been deliberately eliminated and many new species have been developed. Before he died, Crake developed what he thought was the perfect humanoid, a new species of people that are beautiful, yet socially very different—they do not wear any clothing and they eat nothing but leaves—they are referred to as the Crakers. Now, all that remains in the world are a handful of humans—both good and bad, the Crakers, some sly new creatures including pigoons, pigs who have been spliced with human stem cells to enable the creation of human organs, and the resurgence of vegetation.

Margaret Atwood is a famous Canadian writer born in 1937, and she has written numerous books, short stories, books of poetry and essays. She has won more than 55 awards, both Canadian as well as international. MaddAddam is speculative, dystopian fiction and the story is told primarily in a first person narrative by the main protagonist, Toby, a woman who has survived the waterless flood and the end of mankind. Much of the book is presented in the form of stories that Toby relates to the Crakers about various events that have occurred both before and after the flood.

MaddAddam is much lighter, and included quite a bit more humour than the previous two books in the series. The story is well told and I really enjoyed it. This book continues immediately after the events in The Year of the Flood. Jimmy the Snowman is very ill, the two psychotic paintballers are still on the loose and Adam One is nowhere to be found. The Crakers have relocated themselves along with Jimmy to stay with the group who were once known as God’s Gardeners. Due to Jimmy’s illness, Toby has replaced him in the role of storyteller to the Crakers.

Through and because of the stories, much of Zeb’s past is revealed, which I found intriguing and a bit surprising. It was also interesting to watch the development of the Crakers, and even though Crake created them to be without art or religion, the human need to create and to connect seems to override what Crake intended.  It seems to me, that in light of the potential damage from genetic modifications, that this is an important tale to tell, and it comes across without being preachy, yet it also leaves the reader with an overall feeling of hope.

I recommend this book, as a very good read. However, to truly appreciate the story it is important to read all the books in the series in order which I recommend to anyone who enjoys speculative, dystopian fiction.

To Purchase: MaddAddam from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Book Review of Oryx and Crake: 3 Treasure Boxes
First Book in the MaddAddam Trilogy
Publisher: Random House Audio, Listening Length: 10 hours and 29 minutes (464 pages), ASIN: B00009OYYN

The world as we know it has been deliberately destroyed by an epidemic, and genetically modified “superior” humanoids have been invented. These new people call themselves “Crakers,” and only one other person seems to remain, Jimmy. Now he is known as Snowman, and he is crazy. He has also become a God figure for the new human race.

Margaret Atwood is a famous Canadian writer born in 1937, and she has written numerous books, short stories, books of poetry and essays. She has won more than 55 awards, both Canadian as well as international. Oryx and Crake is speculative fiction and the story is told in a first person narrative by the main protagonist, Snowman. He is also known as Jimmy. The story starts in a post-apocalyptic world with Snowman living alone and yet somehow connected to a group of human-like creatures. As Snowman stumbles through his life, the events that lead up the ruination of the world are slowly revealed through flashbacks.

This was an interesting look at what potentially could happen if and when humans start to modify human, animal and plant genetics without any code of ethics. It shows what could happen if people and corporations believed they had the power to act as God.  This is a rather dismal view of humanity and the misuse of power, but the characters are really well drawn and fascinating.

I recommend this book as a very good read. This is a standalone story with a satisfying if somewhat open ended and yet unique ending that leaves the reader thinking. It allows the reader to draw his/her own conclusions.  The ending leads nicely into the next book in the series, The Year of the Flood which was written after Oryx and Crake but with events that occur simultaneously.

Questions to ponder:

• What did you think of the ending, and what do you think is the next step for mankind in this story?
• Do you feel that our current human genetic research is good or bad?
• How far should human genetic research and manipulation go?

To Purchase: “Oryx and Crake” from Amazon, click here or on picture above