Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
First line: Chains clanked in the darkness of the holding cells.
Harrowing. Raw. Gripping. These are words. They also happen to describe Bacigalupi's second novel in the post apocalyptic world after sea levels have risen and power has shifted. In the Drowned Cities, aka Washington DC, Mahlia is a cast off war refuge that has already been saved twice: once by her friend Mouse and again by the pacifist intellectual Dr. Mahfouz who takes them in. When she finds herself wrapped up in the war once again, Mahlia must begin to weigh her survivalist instincts versus the loyalty she has for Mouse.
As many have reviewed, Bacigalupi infused this story with violence and tragedy insomuch as the plot requires. Child soldiers and the castaways of war are some of the worst tragedies of our time. As hard as it was to read this, the author gave this book incredible depth and meaning by addressing the true causes that lead a child to inhumane acts as they are manipulated and abused by those that seek to take advantage of their obedience.
And the writing is just absolutely amazing. Bacigalupi has an absolute mastery over mood and characterization. And, to repeat what others have said, this certainly should have won the Printz because it is just astounding how well written and how meaningful this book is. So good!
Harrowing. Raw. Gripping. These are words. They also happen to describe Bacigalupi's second novel in the post apocalyptic world after sea levels have risen and power has shifted. In the Drowned Cities, aka Washington DC, Mahlia is a cast off war refuge that has already been saved twice: once by her friend Mouse and again by the pacifist intellectual Dr. Mahfouz who takes them in. When she finds herself wrapped up in the war once again,
Spoiler
with Mouse as a newly recruited soldier boy and the doctor dead,As many have reviewed, Bacigalupi infused this story with violence and tragedy insomuch as the plot requires. Child soldiers and the castaways of war are some of the worst tragedies of our time. As hard as it was to read this, the author gave this book incredible depth and meaning by addressing the true causes that lead a child to inhumane acts as they are manipulated and abused by those that seek to take advantage of their obedience.
And the writing is just absolutely amazing. Bacigalupi has an absolute mastery over mood and characterization. And, to repeat what others have said, this certainly should have won the Printz because it is just astounding how well written and how meaningful this book is. So good!
It's like driving with the handbrake on.
Paolo Bacigalupi is the Hugo and Nebula award winning author of one of my favourite all time books, [b:The Windup Girl|6597651|The Windup Girl|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278940608s/6597651.jpg|6791425]. It was for adults. It was brutal and dark and filled with the vision of a genius. The fact that he is choosing to waste his talent on writing for children upsets me.
Drowned Cities is a dystopian novel, filled with teenage characters fighting a multi-generational patriotic war that can never be won. His characters are simply trying to survive and in doing so might just change the fate of their people.
Arsene Wenger reglarly refers to his Arsenal team as playig with the handbrake on when they are subdued and restrained in their beautiful passing game, unable to attack with full force and take the game by the throat. I believe the man is a certified genius and his wonderful metaphor for an underperforming football team could quite easily be applied to this book and Bacigalupi writing for kids. Sure he's writing for intelligent teenagers here but at the end of the day he is still writing with the handbrake on; unable to unleash the full force of his imagination, showing restraint in not writing scenarios as brutally awful as he could (and the story in Drowned Cities really could use a few extra levels of grim) and by including a somewhat cheery denouement he is refusing to take the dystopian genre by the throat.
The Young Adult Discworld novels immediately spring to mind when reading this after reading his work for adults. On the surface it is the same, just with a larger font but underneath is where the faults can be found. There's no real depth to the plot, just a straightforward quest for survival. At least it takes place in a world created by Bacigalupi, one of his major strengths is establishing a real sense of place, of atmosphere and tension and the world of Drowned Cities is very definitely one of his. But as Tiffany Aching is no Granny Weatherwax, Mahlia is not on the smae level as Emiko.
I read an interview with Bacigalupi somewhere in which he said he hated the feeling of having his writing be critiqued and that writing for the young adult market allowed him to work without that fear and whilst I understant his position, nobody likes to feel that they're doing a bad job, I can't respect him for it.
As a good many intelligent people will not hesitate to inform you, if you drive with the handbrake on for long enough the wheels fall off the car.
If you're 14 or looking for a book as a gift for an intelligent teenager I highly recommend this book but I will not be reading any more of Bacigalupi's works for kids myself until he writes another book for adults.
Paolo Bacigalupi is the Hugo and Nebula award winning author of one of my favourite all time books, [b:The Windup Girl|6597651|The Windup Girl|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278940608s/6597651.jpg|6791425]. It was for adults. It was brutal and dark and filled with the vision of a genius. The fact that he is choosing to waste his talent on writing for children upsets me.
Drowned Cities is a dystopian novel, filled with teenage characters fighting a multi-generational patriotic war that can never be won. His characters are simply trying to survive and in doing so might just change the fate of their people.
Arsene Wenger reglarly refers to his Arsenal team as playig with the handbrake on when they are subdued and restrained in their beautiful passing game, unable to attack with full force and take the game by the throat. I believe the man is a certified genius and his wonderful metaphor for an underperforming football team could quite easily be applied to this book and Bacigalupi writing for kids. Sure he's writing for intelligent teenagers here but at the end of the day he is still writing with the handbrake on; unable to unleash the full force of his imagination, showing restraint in not writing scenarios as brutally awful as he could (and the story in Drowned Cities really could use a few extra levels of grim) and by including a somewhat cheery denouement he is refusing to take the dystopian genre by the throat.
The Young Adult Discworld novels immediately spring to mind when reading this after reading his work for adults. On the surface it is the same, just with a larger font but underneath is where the faults can be found. There's no real depth to the plot, just a straightforward quest for survival. At least it takes place in a world created by Bacigalupi, one of his major strengths is establishing a real sense of place, of atmosphere and tension and the world of Drowned Cities is very definitely one of his. But as Tiffany Aching is no Granny Weatherwax, Mahlia is not on the smae level as Emiko.
I read an interview with Bacigalupi somewhere in which he said he hated the feeling of having his writing be critiqued and that writing for the young adult market allowed him to work without that fear and whilst I understant his position, nobody likes to feel that they're doing a bad job, I can't respect him for it.
As a good many intelligent people will not hesitate to inform you, if you drive with the handbrake on for long enough the wheels fall off the car.
If you're 14 or looking for a book as a gift for an intelligent teenager I highly recommend this book but I will not be reading any more of Bacigalupi's works for kids myself until he writes another book for adults.
Set in the same world as previous book Shipbreaker, but not quite as enjoyable. The child soldier story is somewhat harsher. Still a compelling storyteller.
On the surface- The Drowned Cities is a beautifully written book. It's deep and really emphasizes a lot of serious qualities of war and human nature. The writing is engaging, haunting, and detailed. But the plot itself didn't really cut it for me.
The world building was enough so that you understood what was going on, but it wasn't enough to really feel like everything was real and happening. (I'm fairly certain these problems would've been solved had I delved more into Bacigalupi's books and universe prior to reading this one but...) I had no idea where the book was even taking place until about 2/3rd of the way through. I knew it was the Drowned Cities, but I didn't realize that was D.C as in Washington D.C, until they mentioned the capitol building. It was clear from the start that this place in our world, I just had no idea where in the world we were. I didn't even know it was in the United States until I was like 30% through. There's no explanation or background to this war, what Tool is, how he exists, what the rest of the world is like... and maybe the first book explains all of this and I'm just complaining- but I was really confused for a large portion of this book.
The plot wasn't extremely amazing either, I just kept expecting more... when I was towards the end I was still so confused and it didn't seem like there was enough pages to explain everything I didn't understand.. But here we go: The Drowned Cities is a post-apocalyptic book. Global warming has taken place and lots of land forms have been drowned in water- hence, The Drowned Cities. China is a super power who tries to be a peace keeper, but failed and ran away instead. There's a war in the Drowned Cities between like 6? different groups. It's been going on for so long, no one remembers why it started. The soldiers are all children (which can't be true if the war has been going on for so long no one remembers, because if all the children are dying where are these other children even coming from?)- sometimes as young as five, carrying guns to big for them, and being war fierce even though they're still terrified children inside.
The characters and their individual journeys were incredibly well written and deep. The book focuses on two characters Mahlia and Mouse, both of which are living under the wing of a village doctor. The doctor is a very- glass full, dislike war, peaceful person. One day, soldiers come, Tool enters the picture, the doc dies, Mahlia runs with the half-man, and Mouse is recruited to become a child soldier. Mahlia is a great character- she's half Chinese, and has had her right hand cut off by one of the warring groups (all who kind of hate the Chinese Peace Keepers). Her father was one of the Chinese Peace Keepers and so Mahlia lived in fair comfort, until one day, the Peace Keepers just all pull out- leaving the DC to fend for themselves. (What even happens to her father and why doesn't he come back, I don't know). But anyways, this creates a really interesting character- who was raised speaking Chinese and learning about Lao Tzu. It was cool how Chinese was written into the book, as well as bits of the culture. Mahlia survives because she runs and she avoids dangerous situations- she doesn't understand the doctor and his peaceful ways because she thinks- that's how you get killed. In the end though, she learns and understands him and when she realizes she agrees and such.. that portion of the book was very powerful. I imagine mouse as an adorable little kid who runs around and climbs things. Then he gets taken by the soldiers and becomes Ghost. Ghost, I imagine very differently than Mouse. Ghost's eyes are darker, and he knows how to kill, he knows how to survive. Bacigalupi's description of how child soldiers are made is frighteningly detailed and understandable. Tool... I don't really understand him.
Anyways. Super well written. Dark. War. Humans. Depth.
The world building was enough so that you understood what was going on, but it wasn't enough to really feel like everything was real and happening. (I'm fairly certain these problems would've been solved had I delved more into Bacigalupi's books and universe prior to reading this one but...) I had no idea where the book was even taking place until about 2/3rd of the way through. I knew it was the Drowned Cities, but I didn't realize that was D.C as in Washington D.C, until they mentioned the capitol building. It was clear from the start that this place in our world, I just had no idea where in the world we were. I didn't even know it was in the United States until I was like 30% through. There's no explanation or background to this war, what Tool is, how he exists, what the rest of the world is like... and maybe the first book explains all of this and I'm just complaining- but I was really confused for a large portion of this book.
The plot wasn't extremely amazing either, I just kept expecting more... when I was towards the end I was still so confused and it didn't seem like there was enough pages to explain everything I didn't understand.. But here we go: The Drowned Cities is a post-apocalyptic book. Global warming has taken place and lots of land forms have been drowned in water- hence, The Drowned Cities. China is a super power who tries to be a peace keeper, but failed and ran away instead. There's a war in the Drowned Cities between like 6? different groups. It's been going on for so long, no one remembers why it started. The soldiers are all children (which can't be true if the war has been going on for so long no one remembers, because if all the children are dying where are these other children even coming from?)- sometimes as young as five, carrying guns to big for them, and being war fierce even though they're still terrified children inside.
The characters and their individual journeys were incredibly well written and deep. The book focuses on two characters Mahlia and Mouse, both of which are living under the wing of a village doctor. The doctor is a very- glass full, dislike war, peaceful person. One day, soldiers come, Tool enters the picture, the doc dies, Mahlia runs with the half-man, and Mouse is recruited to become a child soldier. Mahlia is a great character- she's half Chinese, and has had her right hand cut off by one of the warring groups (all who kind of hate the Chinese Peace Keepers). Her father was one of the Chinese Peace Keepers and so Mahlia lived in fair comfort, until one day, the Peace Keepers just all pull out- leaving the DC to fend for themselves. (What even happens to her father and why doesn't he come back, I don't know). But anyways, this creates a really interesting character- who was raised speaking Chinese and learning about Lao Tzu. It was cool how Chinese was written into the book, as well as bits of the culture. Mahlia survives because she runs and she avoids dangerous situations- she doesn't understand the doctor and his peaceful ways because she thinks- that's how you get killed. In the end though, she learns and understands him and when she realizes she agrees and such.. that portion of the book was very powerful. I imagine mouse as an adorable little kid who runs around and climbs things. Then he gets taken by the soldiers and becomes Ghost. Ghost, I imagine very differently than Mouse. Ghost's eyes are darker, and he knows how to kill, he knows how to survive. Bacigalupi's description of how child soldiers are made is frighteningly detailed and understandable. Tool... I don't really understand him.
Anyways. Super well written. Dark. War. Humans. Depth.
Excellent and brutal. Nice to see Tool again. The idea of Chinese peacekeepers in trying to stop civil war in the U.S. was very creative. Will definitely be reading this and "Ship Breaker" again.
Not as gripping as Ship Breaker, but a good read, and certainly a powerful anti-war statement.
Was hoping for more of a sequel to Shipbreaker, this is more of a companion novel, but I still enjoyed it!
4.5 Stars
A dystopian tale set in the flooded world from [b:Ship Breaker|7095831|Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)|Paolo Bacigalupi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327874074l/7095831._SY75_.jpg|7352929] , a world where society has collapsed and all attempts to stop an all-out gang war by peacekeeping troops has been abandoned.
It's a fast paced, brutal tale following the gene-modified half-man tool and the two children Mahlia and Mouse, in their effort to survive.
A dystopian tale set in the flooded world from [b:Ship Breaker|7095831|Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)|Paolo Bacigalupi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327874074l/7095831._SY75_.jpg|7352929] , a world where society has collapsed and all attempts to stop an all-out gang war by peacekeeping troops has been abandoned.
It's a fast paced, brutal tale following the gene-modified half-man tool and the two children Mahlia and Mouse, in their effort to survive.
I really appreciate the work that Bacigalupi has put into his bleak vision of the post-petroleum near future (also the setting of [b:The Calorie Man|7805265|The Calorie Man|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|10800279], [b:The Windup Girl|6597651|The Windup Girl|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278940608s/6597651.jpg|6791425], and [b:Ship Breaker|7095831|Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)|Paolo Bacigalupi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327874074s/7095831.jpg|7352929]). It's always thought-provoking and uncomfortable to re-enter it. This time was no exception.
This title adds new horrors to the list of horrors that this world's characters must endure: amputation as a tool of terrorism, and military use of children. It's similar enough to recent current events in Sierra Leone and Liberia that I was encouraged to re-educate myself about those recent conflicts. For that I'm thankful (I think that's a good outcome for this type of fiction), but most of this book was really difficult for me to read. Not because it's bloody (although it is downright gristly in places), but because the characters' misery is so relentless. Bad things just keep happening. Although the characters themselves continue grimly on, it's hard to want to continue.
In fact, in talking with kids this summer about Ship Breaker (the precursor/companion to this novel), I found that several of them quit reading - not because they were bored, but because they found it too sad/disturbing. That's Bacigalupi's one failing, really - in his drive for realism, he's created fiction that's almost too harsh to enjoy. I hesitate to say that he should tone it down, because I appreciate that he pulls NO punches, and that's so rare in fiction written for teenagers. But by keeping things so bleak, he stands to lose a lot of the audience who could benefit most from reading his work. Thus, three stars (not a reflection of quality, but a reflection of my enjoyment of the experience of reading the book).
Some great and chilling images throughout. My favorite has to be the rubbish-fueled campfire on which the hardened and ignorant young soldiers unwittingly burn cultural treasures (including Andrew Wyeth's unnamed but unmistakably described Christina's World)
This title adds new horrors to the list of horrors that this world's characters must endure: amputation as a tool of terrorism, and military use of children. It's similar enough to recent current events in Sierra Leone and Liberia that I was encouraged to re-educate myself about those recent conflicts. For that I'm thankful (I think that's a good outcome for this type of fiction), but most of this book was really difficult for me to read. Not because it's bloody (although it is downright gristly in places), but because the characters' misery is so relentless. Bad things just keep happening. Although the characters themselves continue grimly on, it's hard to want to continue.
In fact, in talking with kids this summer about Ship Breaker (the precursor/companion to this novel), I found that several of them quit reading - not because they were bored, but because they found it too sad/disturbing. That's Bacigalupi's one failing, really - in his drive for realism, he's created fiction that's almost too harsh to enjoy. I hesitate to say that he should tone it down, because I appreciate that he pulls NO punches, and that's so rare in fiction written for teenagers. But by keeping things so bleak, he stands to lose a lot of the audience who could benefit most from reading his work. Thus, three stars (not a reflection of quality, but a reflection of my enjoyment of the experience of reading the book).
Some great and chilling images throughout. My favorite has to be the rubbish-fueled campfire on which the hardened and ignorant young soldiers unwittingly burn cultural treasures (including Andrew Wyeth's unnamed but unmistakably described Christina's World)
