Comments on: Drowned Cities

By: TeenReader

TeenReader — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 05:14:06 +0000

I agree with everything Sarah said about the strengths, but this did have some significant plot weaknesses. First, having not read Ship Breaker, I was left in the dark on many of the little intricacies of this world. I do not think that, judged on its own, the world-building is that great. Second, the last twenty pages were pretty messy. I didn’t buy how easy it was. After 400 pages of showing how difficult this world was, Bacigulapi threw that careful construction away to have a glimmer of hope at the ending. (Which as a reader, I liked, but as literature, it’s weak.) There is A LOT of good here, but there are significant flaws that hold up Drowned Cities’ chances at the gold, in my opinion.

By: Hank Weddingham

Hank Weddingham — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:58:33 +0000

It’s interesting that you were on the committee that chose Ship Breaker. This blog often talks about books that are flawed or fail to live up to expectations, and I can’t think of a novel in 2011 that was as structurally flawed and failed to live up to the promise of its first chapter than that one. The first chapter was marvelous. The first quarter was excellent, but from the time he left on the train, the story went downhill, turning into a pedestrian swashbuckle that left the setting and themes started in the first chapter unexplored. There were better books last year.

By: Anne

Anne — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 08:00:48 +0000

I read this book a few months ago, and it still ranks very high in my books for this year. I too was squeeing inside over Tool. One of the best characters I’ve run across in YA fiction. I think this book has a good chance, unless the committee shies away from awarding the same author so close together…

By: Jen J.

Jen J. — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:36:00 +0000

I’m actually debating using my official Pyrite nomination on this one. But I find it interesting, Miriam, that you liked this better than Ship Breaker because I felt exactly opposite: I liked Ship Breaker so much (and enjoyed much more than Drowned Cities) because I felt it balanced adventure/plot aspects with deep themes making it thought provoking, but not depressing. While I appreciate the world building and characters in this one, I found it really hard to read because it was so unrelentingly bleak. As I said in my Goodreads review, perhaps child soldiers just bother me as a reader more than insanely dangerous child labor. I know my enjoyment is not a Printz criteria, but when I struggle with books like this (or The Children and the Wolves), I find myself intensely second-guessing my judgement – am I championing it because I’m trying to overcome my bias? Here I find myself also struggling because my first instinct is to compare it to Ship Breaker (one of my favorite books of recent memory) when it’s not competing against Ship Breaker but against this year’s titles. I know neither of these are new problems – we’ve discussed them both here at the blog and I’m sure they’ve been discussed on awards committees through the years. I would also like to join Sarah in going TOOL!! because he’s such a great character. If Bacigalupi continues with this future world, I hope we see him again.

I’m playing a waiting game on the nominations, I must admit. A couple of contenders for my nomination have been brought up by other people (Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone; Seraphina), so I keep hoping someone will hop in there and narrow down the few I have left (Grave Mercy, Drowned Cities, The Children and the Wolves).

By: Miriam

Miriam — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:13:09 +0000

I actually liked this one WAY more than I liked Ship Breaker, for two reasons: 1) it was consistent about what kind of book it was, and didn’t randomly go “And now I will be a swashbuckling pirate adventure!” or the like; 2) it didn’t try to have minor characters, so I couldn’t be annoyed by underdeveloped minor characters.

Which left all the room open for the stuff Bacigalupi does really well: well-developed realistic major characters and really good worldbuilding. It didn’t feel heavy-handed, despite dealing with topics that would be really easy to heavy-hand, and it hit a really good level with the violence, where it was omnipresent and the horror was apparent, but (for me, at least) it wasn’t overwhelming and sick-making.

Not in my Personal Top 6 for the year, but I was quite impressed.

By: Tatiana (The Readventurer)

Tatiana (The Readventurer) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:09:46 +0000

I am a huge fan of this book as well. It might be the best YA title I’ve read this year. But I do wonder if it’s reasonable to expect Bacigalupi to win again…