The Drowned Cities

By: Paolo Bacigalupi

Narrated by: Joshua Swanson

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Apocalypse now: also listen to Ship Breaker.

©2012 Paolo Bacigalupi (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Suzanne Collins may have put dystopian literature on the YA map with The Hunger Games... but Bacigalupi is one of the genre's masters, employing inventively terrifying details in equally imaginative story lines." ( Los Angeles Times)

"Beautifully written, filled with high-octane action, and featuring badly damaged but fascinating and endearing characters, this fine novel tops its predecessor and can only increase the author's already strong reputation." ( Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"The novel's greatest success lies in the creation of a world that is so real, the grit and decay of war and ruin will lay thick on the minds of readers long after the final page. The narrative, however, is equally well crafted.... Breathtaking." ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

Better than Shipbreaker

I found Shipbreaker a bit of an anticlimax, but loved this. So did my husband (45), son (18), & daughter (15). Subject matter was gritty but beautifully written with a well-paced plot and engaging characters - didn't feel preachy or too earnest at all, though it did have a social "message" about humanity (& man's inhumanity to man), and the narrator did a fabulous job.

Too grim and brutal for me

I tried to like this book, but there was nothing in it that I could like, it was dark, grim and brutal. The book was well written and well read but just not for me.

Good read

It took some time to get into it because I didn't read the first book but was absorbed and got involved as the book progressed. Good read...not sure I will or need to read the first book tho

Another Novel in the world of Ship Breaker

Though this is listed as a sequel to Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker, it feels more like a connected standalone novel than a true sequel. In fact, the only character to carry over is the augmented human, animal hybrid, Tool. The titular Drowned Cities are also a different setting in Bacigalupi’s post-apocalyptic water-logged world. The audio version is narrated by the same performer and he does a wonderful job of reeling the listener in to Mahlia’s story. Tool plays a more prominent role here, but the bulk of the story is Mahlia’s. It’s an engrossing book and its climax is quite riveting! The ending definitely leaves you wanting more! I hope that these characters all - not just Tool - appear in the planned third book in the series!

This YA novel, like its predecessor, crosses the line into preachy at times (though this may be more apparent in the audio format). But this does nothing to dampen the exciting plot. This sequel, too, is much darker than Ship Breaker, but this adds to the book’s overall emotional investment. It’s an enjoyable listen (read) - but its rather cliffhanger ending definitely leaves me anxious for more to the story! I hope that the wait isn’t overly long!

Surprisingly Good!

Well written story, surprisingly deep in character development for a fantasy war story and expertly narrated. What a hidden jem of an audio book!

Love my books; why are the narrators so lame?

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I let a few mispronunciations slip by until the narrator told me that "Melia stared at them duly". No, Melia stared at them dully!! This is not erudite english. Don't these narrators graduate from high school? This is the 4th book in a row where the narrators have mispronounced various words and names of places, companies and famous people. Audible needs to be choosier, pay better, pre-qualify, or whatever it takes to find people who are proficient enough with their language and culture to read a book to us with some expertise! It ruins a listen to have to come out of the story to correct an ignorant reader. Jeez!!

Just average

Not impressed with this listen. A lot of violence and mutilation for shock value with out good story and character development to justify. I will not be listening to next installment.

Drowned Cities keeps its head way above water

Having read both of Bacigalupi's two previous novels, The Wind-up Girl and Ship Breaker, the audio version does an outstanding job of capturing the nuance of extremely complex characters. Tool, the genetically engineered half-man mercenary, becomes holy unforgettable. The reading also deftly captures both the Dickensian tragic elements and the modern heroic stoicism of the novels feminine protagonist. I would venture to say that not since Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy has a heroine breathed such life into a novel.

For the first-time readers of Bacigalupi's work I would say that there is sometimes a putting-off darkness, a constant impending doom that lays like an ever blossoming storm cloud over the novel. The torture sequence near the novels conclusion is heartrending for example. But the characters emerge better stronger than before. In the work of Bacigalupi the characters are not redeemed because it makes the reader feel good, this redemption is not a narrative device, but rather the characters have earned redemption and we feel that is so to our core as readers.

Not to be forgotten when discussing the work of Bacigalupi and this fine audio version in particular are the settings of his novels and the contemporary environmental questions in which they take root. In Drowned Cities, as predicted, the planet has warmed, super storms have rocked the planet, and the water level in most cities has reached the level of the third story of buildings. Busy urban streets have become canals choked with debris and waste. This is also captured with the appropriate solemnity in the audio version.

It must be said, Drowned Cities from start to finish keeps its head above water and with a deft stroke finishes with a mix of tragedy, resolve, and uplifting victory.

It's from Paolo Bacigalupi! Read it!!

I'm retired, so I have time to read a lot of books. Sometimes the stories and authors kind of run together. Then there's PB (and a few other authors**) whose books and stories are in a whole different class.

I think PB is a genius. I'd bet his IQ is right up there with Einstein's. These days, PB is my favorite author. My only complaint is that I haven't seen any new books from him for a while.

Most of the other "Drowned Cities" reviews nail the specifics of this book. There's no need for me to rehash what they've already written, so I'll just add a few comments:

Great book!

Great story!

Great character development and story arcs!

Great ending!

Grabbed me and held me all the way through.

Not always fun to listen to. Some of the suffering is pretty graphic, but it's necessary and makes the rest of the story work.

Tool and Sgt. Ocho were my favorite characters.

I cheered when the bad guys finally got theirs.

It's from Paolo Bacigalupi! Read it!!

P.S. I kept seeing "dystopic" in the other PB reviews. I didn't know what it meant, so I looked it up. It means a society in which there is something frightening or undesirable, like depression, oppression or terror. OK. Now I get it. And I agree. Most of PB's stories are set in dystopic societies, including "Drowned Cities".

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** The lists of my other favorite authors are in my reviews of "Tough Sh*t" and "Winter of Frankie Machine".

great story

I read this book back when I was still in highschool and was very excited to see that it was an audio book to, great story and keeps you on the edge for what is about to happen next in the story.