Status Updates From La bomba número seis y otro...

What was that?

Read “Pump Six,” which is the only piece of Bacigalupi’s I’ve read that is written in the first person. It’s also by far his zippiest story, with a welcome goofball energy.

Read “Softer,” a dark, brief portrait of a man in a particularly nasty moment.

Read “Yellow Card Man” a second time, and was once again knocked out by it. Bacigalupi at his brutally clear-eyed best.

Bacigalupi’s writing is almost always pretty grim, but “Pop Squad” is VERY grim. Hauntingly effective.