45 pages • 1 hour read
The Water Knife
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book Brief
384
Novel • Fiction
Southwestern United States • Near Future
2015
Adult
18+ years
Super Short Summary
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi is a near-future thriller where Angel Velasquez, a "water knife" for Nevada, tries to sabotage Arizona's water and investigate senior water rights amid a parched, dystopian American Southwest. The narrative follows Angel, Texas refugee Maria Villarosa, and journalist Lucy Monroe, highlighting brutal survival amid inter-state conflicts over dwindling water resources. Torture and graphic violence occur.
Dark
Suspenseful
Gritty
Unnerving
Mysterious
Reviews & Readership
31,584 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Review Roundup
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi captivates with its intense, dystopian vision, meticulously weaving environmental and political themes into its narrative. Praised for its thrilling pace and stark relevance, the story's richness, however, feels occasionally burdened by heavy-handed world-building and grim tone. Overall, it succeeds as an engaging, thought-provoking read.
Who Should Read The Water Knife?
Readers who enjoy dystopian thrillers with environmental themes, such as The Road by Cormac McCarthy or Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, will likely be captivated by Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife. The novel's exploration of water rights in a near-future America will appeal to fans of speculative fiction and socio-political narratives.
31,584 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
384
Novel • Fiction
Southwestern United States • Near Future
2015
Adult
18+ years
Continue your reading experience
Subscribe now to unlock the rest of this Study Guide plus our full library, which features expert-written summaries and analyses of 8,000+ additional titles.