A cracking dystopian novel which has certainly dated, but still packs a punch with its central themes. There are some lessons present in the book for sci-fi writers, the main one being; do not assume current technology will have significance even 10 years into the future. A good example would probably be a writer creating a world 30 years or so in the future in which people still use Facebook. In the present case Atwood's future world is still very believable, but a couple of things stand out, such as the exclusive use of email and cell-phones for communication, and the ubiquity of CD's and DVD's. The central themes, however, are over-consumption; human psychology; climate change; and genetic engineering. Much is borrowed from Huxley's Brave New World, but it is very much an original story, giving a vivid portrait of a very possible Final Solution to the problems faced by our world. 
 JM