The Water Knife

I enjoyed this enough to finish it fast. But it's a pretty shallow book, honestly reads more like a story hoping to get a screenplay deal.

The good thing is the implicit world building. An American west devolved, the federal government failing, states in anarchy or near open warfare over water rights. And control by organized crime and militias. It's a troubling future but it felt very real and compelling. I also liked the characters, felt that the two main characters were real people whose motivations and actions I understood.

Lots of complaints though. The politics are shallow, although in its one domain they are very good. And the book is very violent, at times pornographically so, which I find distasteful. And while it's a fun and well crafted read the book doesn't seem to allow for thinking too much about it.

I got into this looking for books on climate change. This isn't really one. Sure, the setup is all about water shortages but this book is definitely one about politics and personal drama, not climate.