7/10, a very unique and interesting apocalyptic book. ( )

Once again, Bacigalupi writes a book that is hard, gritty and pulls no punches. I finished this book this morning and still don't know for sure what I think about it. I do love that with each book, you get a more detailed peek into this post-Accelerated age that he has created.

( )

Good story, YA-ish but brutal, child soldiers figure prominently. I have not read Ship Breaker. ( )

FROM AMAZON: Soldier boys emerged from the darkness. Guns gleamed dully. Bullet bandoliers and scars draped their bare chests. Ugly brands scored their faces. She knew why these soldier boys had come. She knew what they sought, and she knew, too, that if they found it, her best friend would surely die.

In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man - a bioengineered war beast named Tool - who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible.

This thrilling companion to Paolo Bacigalupi's highly acclaimed Ship Breaker is a haunting and powerful story of loyalty, survival, and heart-pounding adventure.

Not really a sequel to Ship Breaker, The Drowned Cities is about war, the life of those living in it, loyalty, and the fact that hope will never die.

Mahlia is a wonderfully complex character, with a realistic journey between hatred and survival to loyalty and looking for the better options; Ocho, as well, is a sympathetic though despicable character. Mouse isn't the most developed, but he doesn't need to be - he just needs to represent family and friendship and love. Tool is the most complex and opaque character - why he rebelled against his training yet continues to help Mahila (and the choice he makes at the end) are mysteries yet still entirely in character. ( )