Review by Booklist Review
Five years after The Drowned Cities (2012), Bacigalupi returns to his award-winning Ship Breaker series. This opens with a rare moment of peace in the Drowned Cities. Moments later, Havoc missiles rain down death on Tool and his young army, turning humans and city into ash. The Mercier Corporation and General Carora have finally located the DNA-enhanced Tool and are desperate to annihilate their renegade augment. The action is nonstop as Tool is marched through a series of brutal battles, meeting main characters from the earlier books along the way. The number of plot conveniences and narrow escapes is almost as high as the body count as Tool seeks revenge on his corporate makers. The central issue of Tool's humanity is burdened by plot contradictions that overwhelm character development, and the searing passion of the earlier books seems missing. Still, Bacigalupi's action scenes are brilliantly cinematic, powering the pacing with breathtaking superhero stunts. Tool, as ever, is a character impossible to forget, and all loose ends are tied up in an epilogue.--Rutan, Lynn Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bacigalupi's intense and violent follow-up to Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities finds Tool-a powerful "augment" made from animal and human DNA-finally in control of the Drowned Cities (the onetime District of Columbia) after years of battle. Before he can take in his victory, he's attacked by a missile strike and barely survives. He makes his way to the small ship that belongs to Mahlia, who-along with former soldier boy Ocho and his crew-is running her own operation, smuggling art and other artifacts out of the Drowned Cities. Meanwhile, Tool's creator, General Caroa, is determined to end his existence-after all, Tool has found a way to overcome his programming, and he answers to no master. Bacigalupi's environmentally ravaged world remains both richly described and terrifying, his characters diverse and complex. Through Tool, he explores free will and the consequences of humans playing at being gods. Not unlike the previous books, this amounts to a bloody, brutal race to survive, and is well worth the wait. Ages 15-up. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Set in a dark and dystopian world that might come to be, given current climate changes, this series installment focuses primarily on Tool, an "Augment." He's a bioengineered creature with human intelligence and genetic material from several animal species. While the civilization in this series has many "Augments," Tool is quite different in that he was created by a higher-up in one of the ruthless corporations running this world. However, the loyalty his creator instilled in him has frayed and is in danger of completely disintegrating. From the moment Tool is nearly incinerated by missiles aimed at him by a brash and smart young woman working for his creator, to the stunning confrontation aboard a giant airship over frigid waters, listeners will be on the edge of their seats. The conclusion is satisfying and leaves room for further adventures featuring Tool and the other characters who have populated the trilogy. Narrator Sunil Malhotra's pacing, inflection, and ability to convey the emotions various characters are experiencing in battle scenes all add to the listener's experience. VERDICT Not for the faint of heart owing to violence, but a dandy experience for teens and adults who like to be pulled in quickly. It serves as a stand-alone, although those who have read/listened to the prior books will get more from the experience.-John R. Clark, formerly with Hartland Public Library, ME © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
As The Drowned Cities (rev. 5/12) concluded, half-man Tool vowed to bring order to the battle- and climate changeravaged former Washington, DC, in Bacigalupis dystopian future America. Here, just as Tool is claiming victory, Mercier Corporation (his former owner) and General Caroa (his creator) launch a surprise airstrike that obliterates most of the Drowned Cities. Remarkably, a severely wounded Tool escapes and rejoins Mahlia, along with Ocho and his soldier boys, who all nurse Tool back to health until they arrive in the Seascape (a.k.a. Boston)where Merciers kill squads find them. Mercier and Caroa relentlessly pursue Tool, afraid of his uncanny ability to persuade and command others--and potentially turn their own bioengineered augments (like Tool) against them. Tools complex characterization is center stage here: Bacigalupi slowly reveals how this once-obedient slave now seeks war for justice. Tool also reunites with Nailer and Nita from Ship Breaker (rev. 7/10), requesting their help with his plan (diplomacy is war by other means). From the Drowned Cities to the Seascape to Merciers dirigible, frenetic action sequences allow readers to vividly experience combats brutality and finality. Multiple alternating viewpoints let Bacigalupi masterfully examine larger questions about humanity, genetic engineering, loyalty, freedom, violence, and survival. This striking novel, which is an all-too-timely reminder that humans actions have the power to change the world for better or worse, has a satisfyingly hopeful, yet realistic, conclusion. cynthia k. ritter (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Bacigalupi returns to probe his brutal, post-apocalyptic American landscape and darkly provocative characters in this third installment of the series begun in Ship Breaker (2010) and continued in The Drowned Cities (2012). Following the pattern of existential fracture found in its predecessors' narratives, this latest novel further explores the consequences of war and corruption with a focus on the DNA-spliced "augment" called Tool. Tool (also called Blood, Blade, and Karta-Kul the Slaughter-Bringer) is a finely honed weapon, bred for massacre, survival, and loyalty. But after breaking free of his conditioned servitude, Tool represents a serious threat to his former masters, who attack with everything available in their considerable arsenal to destroy him lest they be forced to face the terrifying question of what happens when a weapon turns on its creators. For Tool was uniquely designed for more than just the tactical strategy and lethal bloodlust of most augmentshe has a power that, now unleashed, could spell the end for a violently factionalized, inhumanly cruel humanity. Told in third person, the novel alternates among the perspectives of several new as well as familiar characters, none of whom shy away from the constant gore and near-paralyzing moral complexities of their war-torn existence. After playing fascinating, catalyzing roles the first two books, Tool is at center stage at last as readers move through Bacigalupi's exploration of the intricate relationships connecting hunter and prey, master and enslaved, human and monster. Masterful. (Dystopian. 14-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
