What people are saying about WATER INC.

"Water Inc. is a rip-snorting
contemporary eco-thriller”

W.P. Kinsella, BOOKS IN CANADA, August 2005

From the Press

BOOKLIST

"Canadian writer Burstyn dramatizes the high stakes involved in the battle for commercial control of "big water" in a smart, sexy, witty, and hard-hitting ecothriller...Alluring characters and a careening plot provide shivery pleasures as Burstyn orchestrates a galvanizing introduction to a looming global crisis."
     Donna Seaman

ORION

"A spectacular ecothriller about corrupt officials and military-industrial- complex billionaires conspiring to pipe water down from Canada, nicely leavened by a love story between nature geeks fighting the nefarious plan."

WILLIAM E. MARKS
Water researcher, author, and speaker

...Much of [Water Inc] is based on water statistics and facts that define today's water reality.
[It] is a page-turning book that weaves a scenario that with little doubt reflects today's water challenges. A reality whereby our governments have become transparent pawns of the ever-growing and powerful transnational corporations. Corporations who often pay homage to the altar of short-term gain regardless of the long-term deadly consequence to our beleaguered world of life.
I have researched and written about water for over thirty years - and am impressed by how Water, Inc. provides accurate and sometimes frightening information... From the homes and board rooms of the rich and powerful, to the soul-searching choices as to what is important in one's Earthly passage - Burstyn provides us with insights that touch all walks of life.
...Water, Inc. is a true reflection of the current water crisis - and is a book that reinforces and educates us as to how water is the mysterious yet common denominator that connects all people...

KIRKUS REVIEW
June 01, 2004

"Canadian Burstyn...tenders a sharp tale of hydrological reengineering - the theft of water - in a prescient and illuminating thriller.
What starts out as a leisurely piece of ecological skullduggery becomes more and more shivering through the sheer venality of corporate greedsters and governmental egomaniacs and the tactics they use to sate their avarice. It all has to do with water: good old H2O, without which life ceases and which in pure, copious quantities is becoming a rarer commodity day by day. ...[T]he heroes are an appealing, disparate bunch, friends of the environment, wise to the ways of computer hacking, political chicanery, and industrial malarkey. Burstyn also works a good balance of humor..., romantic twinning, and dissolution, as well as some nasty murders of oppositionists... [Water Inc. is] an easy-to-imbibe lesson in the politics of water (a world of hush-hush realpolitik malfeasance) and in the toothlessness of governmental protective measures. ...A flustering cautionary tale, the first in a trilogy, roiling with intrigue and suspense."

LE DEVOIR
October 2005

"This is a well-crafted novel....and the author has evident mastery of her subject matter. …[Water Inc.] also demonstrates how counter-terrorist security measures can potentially lead us astray. This is a useful book whose greatest strength is its timely treatment of an issue on the verge of becoming an urgent preoccupation of utmost importance."

QUILL AND QUIRE
June 2005

"[A] new, major thriller by a Canadian...could we be looking at the first truly great northern thriller?
Varda Burstyn has built her story on the scariest question on the global warming agenda: given a future of increasingly tapped-out and polluted sources of water how will the West cope? ...Water Inc. is a cautionary tale about this country's vulnerability... Burstyn knows exactly what -- and who -- it would take to marshal a takeover of Canada's resources. Every foot soldier of corruption is here, every misguided treaty, pressurized PM, unaccountable corporation, out-of-touch bureaucrat, righteous CEO, partisan news corporation, and unheeding, powerless member of the public."
      Adair Brouwer

PRESS ACTION

[Water Inc] is a fast-paced thriller, with appealing protagonists. ...[It] is a must-read for anyone looking for a political thriller that goes beyond typical palace intrigue. Burstyn crafts an immensely entertaining story that reads like it was written by a long-time novelist. She expertly explores how governments often work hand-in-hand with business interests, even on the most potentially harmful projects. Let’s hope Burstyn continues writing such entertaining novels...

LAURA FLANDERS
host of the Laura Flanders Show on Air America, and Author of Bush Women

"I could not put Water Inc. down... It's a fantastic read, a heart-pounding eye-opener for Americans, full of great characters, romance, damning eco-facts; a political thriller and spiller that will grab you and hold you in bed late at night or at the beach. Refreshing, hard-hitting and full of hope all at once."

NEW INTERNATIONALIST
May 2005

"Water Inc. concerns a consortium of American billionaires who recognize the impending water crisis that their greed has created. ... Opposing them is a disparate group including a disillusioned executive, Canadian activists for eco-justice, a campaigning journalist and assorted rogue police and computer hackers.
...Burstyn expertly reveals the way global corporations hide their crimes with unaccountable subsidiaries, interlocking shell companies and labyrinthine accounting trails....Burstyn marshals both her huge cast of characters and her arguments as to the importance of “water wars” with skill and integrity."
     Peter Whittaker

LE SOLEIL
December 2005

"Water Inc. [is] an eco-thriller which some say could prove to be visionary. With this sober, plot-twisting story, Burstyn offers a troubling reflection on the commercialization of natural resources: a rich businessman schemes to transport water from its souce in Quebec to the United States via a pipeline. …Neither high-level corruption nor attempts to confound the media through disinformation can frighten off a duo of ecologists who attempt to denounce the plan before it is too late. [This is an] eco-political thriller whose intrigue resides above all in its unsettling portrait of the future."

THE DURANGO HERALD
May 2005

"Canadian author Varda Burstyn's novel is entertaining, swiftly paced and altogether unsettling. More than an action-packed eco-thriller, Water Inc. is a privatization nightmare…The authors' many characters are well-drawn, particularly the villains…. Water Inc. is a terrific read. It's also a wake-up call for all of us."

BRAD SMITH
Prize-winning author of One-Eyed Jacks and All Hat

"Water Inc. is a wild and woolly wake-up call for a planet hell-bent on squandering its natural resources ... a first novel that thrills and chills and ultimately spills the beans on the fresh water shortage barreling our way ..."

PROGRÈS-DIMANCHE Arts-Télé
January 29, 2006

"[Water INC.'s environmental message] unfortunately doesn’t go away once the story has ended: [it is] impossible to escape the resonance of these thought-provoking ideas."

STEPHEN A HAINES
Practical.org & Amazon Top 100 Reviewer

"In this racing novel of finance, chicanery, corruption and political power, Varda Burstyn demonstrates how the right connections and influence manipulate people for profit. She posits a viable threat to Canada's most precious natural resource.
...Burstyn writes well in the best thriller tradition. She engages a large cast to implement her story of intrigue, deception and manipulation. ...It's a highly readable adventure, with a strong, serious message to take away from the account. Water is precious. Burstyn wants you to be aware of that and be prepared to take your own steps to keep it

From the Blogosphere:

JUDY REBICK
Author, Imagine Democracy and Ten Thousand Roses, former television host, and publisher of rabble.ca. May 10, 2005

"[A] fantastic new book ... a real page turner... The characters are fascinating, the relationships compelling and the story so hot I couldn't put the book down all week-end. I highly recommend it."

OBSCURE CITIES
George, blogger on obscurecities.blogspot.com. May 5, 2005

"This excellent eco-thriller is a worthy antidote to the Michael Crichton-saturated science-thriller market. ...[T]here were times when I was torn between opposing thoughts that either this is the greatest book ever written or it is very good pulp fiction. Ms. Burstyn walks a tightrope skillfully between the two. ... I seriously hope her book encourages a new breed of contemporary socially-conscious thrillers."