I was very impressed by Slow River's depiction of the near-future applications, and consequences, of developing biotechnology and nanotechnology. The novel uses accurate, technical terminology to create a sense of reality; even for those readers who are not familiar with the technology Griffith is discussing, her faculty with it is obvious and lends authenticity to the novel. Furthermore, it is this background of science and its economics which makes the novel more than a simple, plot-driven work of fiction.
The novel brings up the fundamental issue of corporate involvement in the development and application of new technology. Up until very recently, most biotechnological and nanotechnological research has been conducted in academic settings; however, these settings have rarely proven broadly effective in developing useful, large-scale applications of these technologies. However, the recent involvement of large amounts of private funding has spurred rapid advances in certain areas of bio- and nanoengineering.
Slow River takes this trend to the extreme: catastrophic environmental failure on a world-wide scale has spurred the growth of powerful, private biotechnology firms, such as that of the van de Ouests.
Here is where one of the basic conflicts of the novel's setting becomes clear; it is implicit that without the privatization of bioremediation technology, and subsequent dominance of the relevant social services by these private firms, the technologies would never have been developed in the first place--or at least, not to its (in the novel) incredibly sophisticated level. Without these private firms, the necessary improvements in water quality, air quality, waste reclamation and so forth would not have occurred in the first place. However, this privatization has also created its own problem; the profit motive, while extremely effective at encouraging innovation, also creates ethical conflict. Those in charge of or dependent on the corporations which provide these social services are on some level obligated to serve the corporation, to maximize its profitability and influence; however, this is often directly at odds with worker safety, social safety and, at its largest scale, civic integrity.