In a near-future American Southwest, the Colorado River has dwindled to a trickle, sparking a legal and military conflict between Nevada, Arizona, and California. Angel Velasquez is a water knife, a mercenary for the Southern Nevada Water Authority who sabotages rival infrastructure to secure senior water rights for Las Vegas. When rumors of a prehistoric water claim surface in a crumbling Phoenix, Angel crosses paths with Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist investigating the murder of a friend, and Maria Villarosa, a young migrant trying to survive the drought. They navigate a landscape of corporate assassins, dust storms, and luxury high-rises that flourish while the surrounding suburbs die of thirst in the heat.
Readers who enjoy hard climate fiction and neo-noir thrillers will find a ruthless examination of resource scarcity. This book provides a bleak look at how legal loopholes and physical violence dictate human survival when ecological systems collapse. A reader walks away with a visceral understanding of water as a commodity and the realization that political stability depends entirely on the reliability of the local watershed. It is a study of systemic collapse and the extreme measures individuals take to secure a single gallon of liquid.
Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2016
- Language
- EN
