This companion novel to Oryx and Crake is either a lot less startling than the previous one, or I'm just getting used to the degradation of culture and ethics depicted in her expertly built world. She really tries, and I believe she succeeds, in creating a very believable and detailed dystopia that borders on originality. That's a hard one to really say, though, especially because I start thinking of some of the best of John Brunner, like Stand on Zanzibar. Still, it does come close, and the menagerie of animals and humans lends a lot of strange life to the novel. It succeeds on so many levels, I cannot give it a bad review. Of course, I have to wait very patiently now, thanks to the cliffhanger. Please don't let it take so long?