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>The headlining novel of the biopunk subgenre, Bacigalupi's "The Windup Girl", is set in a future Bangkok.

Bacigalupi falls for japanophilia with the Japanese fetishization of geisha (the windup-girl of the title). His emphasis on mechanical power (i.e. springs and animal labor) was interesting though.

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I find the storyline of the titular Windup Girl is the least interesting part of that (pretty great) novel.

The setting, the Thais, the Contraction, the genetically engineered foodstuffs and plagues, and the story arc of Hock Seng, the Chinese aid of the AgriGen exec, are all more interesting.

I agree the Japanese windup girl is heavily fetishized though. But the Japanese themselves are unimportant in the novel. AgriGen is an American company.

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