Fourth book of 2010

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.

An easy and enjoyable read -- I'll love any dystopian / post-apocalyptic story. This is like a sequel to Oryx & Crake, and yet not a sequel. It's more a parallel story. The women's story now, instead of the men's. Also, as I read about this book somewhere, it is more looking at the dystopian world from those on the lower rungs of society, rather than the cushy world inside the Corps. Some crossover in characters, but since it was a long time since I read Oryx & Crake, I found it hard to remember who was who and what happened to them in the former book.

I've read criticism of Atwood's cutesy & satirical naming of things but I really like them! (AnooYoo Spa, CorpSeCorps etc). Critics haved complained they aren't realistic enough, because a real marketer wouldn't call a product 'Chickie Nobs'... But that never crossed my mind. To me it's the build of the overall world and it fits.

Toby is a great character - prickly and real. I like her char development through her life with the Gardeners. I liked seeing her through the eyes of Ren, the other main char. She felt the most cohesive and fleshed out person.

I have to admit, I think Oryx & Crake was a better book, and I wish I had read it again before starting this. This one has less tension -- Blanco wasn't scary or threatening enough, nor was there as much fear of the pigoons, which I remember vividly from the first book. However, I still super enjoyed it, like most of her books.