Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, Bk 1)

Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, Bk 1)
reviewed on + 268 more book reviews


This is a futuristic tale that shows a world made bizarre by science, all in the name of benefiting mankind in some way. It has been compared to Orwell's 1984 and Brave New World. It is frightening to realize that so much of the technology available today is mentioned as a possible springboard towards the "improvements" brought about then. They clone animals, and also splice different species together to make a better, more productive animal, without the shortcomings of the originals. They are able to do this with plants as well. And then they take on Man himself, attempting to create a perfect species... Told by Snowman as he is now, in the future, in flashbacks and memories of his relationships with Crake and Oryx, the two most important people in his life. This book is haunting, and my mind returns to it frequently. D.