What is biopunk?
In 1997, a very bizarre picture, appearing to show a human ear growing out of the back of a mouse, became an odd Internet sensation. While what was actually being depicted in the picture is somewhat different from what it appears (the ear is actually made out of cow cartilage), it nevertheless became a rallying point for all sorts of fears about the direction technology, biotechnology in particular was taking us. That image, to me, also helps me understand the term biopunk.
Review of “Windup Girl”
The winner of the 2009 Nebula and 2010 Hugo awards for science fiction and fantasy novels, Paulo Bacigalupi’s Windup Girl, represents a quandary. It well-deserves recognition and acclaim but is it science fiction or fantasy? Most of the reviews I’ve read place the work in the former genre and compare it to William Gibson or Bruce Sterling. Others fudge the issue by labeling the novel ‘dystopian’ or ‘bio-punk.’ All of these are clever dodges of the central issue of the novel: while impressively grim, compelling, and lyrical it is certainly hard to believe from the perspective of a Newtonian universe.
More on this in a moment.