--- product_id: 11022230 title: "The Drowned Cities" price: "€ 16.60" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11022230-the-drowned-cities store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # The Drowned Cities **Price:** € 16.60 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Drowned Cities - **How much does it cost?** € 16.60 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11022230-the-drowned-cities) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description 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. Review: A Brutal Tale of War and the Human Spirit - The world's oceans have risen, flooding the shore line on every continent. Some places are still doing well, others, not so much. Paolo Bacigalupi doesn't explain what got the world in the shape that it's in. His characters have little time to contemplate the why of it - they are struggling moment by moment to survive. The story centers around a place called the Drowned Cities where warlords recruit children for their armies (meat for the grinder) because folks don't seem to live too long under the constant bombardment of war. A new beast has entered the war. A special creature, bred in a lab from the world's most fearsome predators to be a machine of war. It's a creature that is feared and sought after to be a gladiator, then as much more. Mahlia and Mouse are two kids living in the most brutal of environments. Both are orphans, but Mahlia is despised by her community because of her Chinese origins. They only let her exist because she assists the only doctor in town, but they don't hold back their malicious thoughts about the girl. She's a maimed thing, losing a hand to the Army of God, one of the local warlord militias. When a rival army comes into their community while pursuing Tool, the beast, Mouse is recruited into their army against his will and Mahlia makes an alliance with Tool to enter the Drowned Cities and bring Mouse back. Drowned Cities is a brutal tale of senseless war - death and destruction over different ideals and not the betterment of the society that people live in. Paolo Bacigalupi wastes no time in getting the readers attached to the characters. Tool is a brutal war machine, a thing perfectly bred for death and destruction, but he's much more than that. There's an intelligent man within that beast, one with a heart that is ruled by his mind. Mahlia is a spirited girl who has been damaged by the people around her, both physically and emotionally. She's a survivor with a conscience and loyalty to those who have been good to her, but she also wants payback for the wrongs she sees every day. Against impossible odds, she wants things to change. There's a better life out there, and she wants to live it. Amazingly, Mouse seems to be almost care free, living in a man-made hell, but not analyzing things too much. He's a child who is forced to take up arms and do things that his conscience tells him is wrong to fight a cause that he doesn't believe in. Ship Breaker is the predecessor to Drowned Cities. Each can be read separately because the only ground they share is the world setting and the character Tool. Ship Breaker was a fantastic novel and is appropriate for the YA reader - though adults will enjoy it just as much. Drowned Cities might still be a good book for most YA readers, but it's brutal portrayal mindless war gave it more of an adult edge. Of the two books I enjoyed Drowned Cities better, though both books are excellent. Review: uncomfortably real, and completely riveting - Wow. Few authors can blow me away like Bacigalupi can. After I finished this book, I had to just sort of sit there catching my breath (I felt the same way after finishing Ship Breaker). Bacigalupi can *go there* like no other YA author I've read. This book is brutal and no punches are pulled, but not in a gratuitous way. The violence is real and believable and absolutely necessary to the story. Actually, it IS the story. This is a companion novel to Ship Breaker: America is no longer, and the east-central region is rife with civil war. There are several factions fighting for control, each calling themselves true patriots, but are really just warlords seeking power. Everything about it reminds me of certain areas of Africa, which made it real and extremely uncomfortable, and yet I couldn't stop reading. Mahlia and Mouse have grown up in the Drowned Cities, which is the Washington D.C. area. They knew a short time of Peace when China intervenes in an attempt to end the fighting (and this reminds me of the Middle East). In the end, though, China pulls out and the fighting resumes as though it had never stopped. Ten years isn't long enough to erase animosity and hatred, real or imagined. Any semblance of peace is shattered, and soldiers go where they please, take whatever they want in the name of patriotism, and leave a path of destruction behind them. Mahlia and Mouse learned how to stay out of the soldiers' paths, but then Tool enters their lives. Tool is the only character from Ship Breaker--half man, half animal hybrid of dog, hyena, tiger, and a few other predators. He was built with one purpose in mind, to fight in a war. Mahlia and Tool find an unlikely alliance, and the story delves into themes of loyalty, friendship, family, and being forced into all of the above--like kidnapped children in Africa being forced to fight in a warlord's army. This is explored in full detail, along with the horrors of war, and my heart broke for Mahlia and Mouse. At the same time, I cheered for Tool. In Ship Breaker, he discovers himself as an individual, which goes against his breeding and genetic engineering. In Drowned Cities, Tool discovers that he can have a purpose. He has an amazing revelation: "I have never been defeated, but have I ever won anything?" That really illustrates the difference between avoiding what you don't want and going after what you do want. Tool is such a fantastic character, and I can't wait to see what he'll do next. I am wondering if absolute power will corrupt absolutely. If violence or war isn't your thing, then you won't enjoy Drowned Cities. But if you like stories with vast amounts of depth and emotion, then it's definitely for you. Definitely recommended. To get the full effect of Tool as a character, you should read Ship Breaker first. However, this book can be read on its own. Age appropriateness: the realities of war are up front and center in this book, so it might be too much for younger teens. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #440,593 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #261 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Social & Family Violence (Books) #422 in Teen & Young Adult Survival Stories #489 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Action & Adventure | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,140 Reviews | ## Images ![The Drowned Cities - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1Z+De2cAxL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Brutal Tale of War and the Human Spirit *by B***N on September 5, 2012* The world's oceans have risen, flooding the shore line on every continent. Some places are still doing well, others, not so much. Paolo Bacigalupi doesn't explain what got the world in the shape that it's in. His characters have little time to contemplate the why of it - they are struggling moment by moment to survive. The story centers around a place called the Drowned Cities where warlords recruit children for their armies (meat for the grinder) because folks don't seem to live too long under the constant bombardment of war. A new beast has entered the war. A special creature, bred in a lab from the world's most fearsome predators to be a machine of war. It's a creature that is feared and sought after to be a gladiator, then as much more. Mahlia and Mouse are two kids living in the most brutal of environments. Both are orphans, but Mahlia is despised by her community because of her Chinese origins. They only let her exist because she assists the only doctor in town, but they don't hold back their malicious thoughts about the girl. She's a maimed thing, losing a hand to the Army of God, one of the local warlord militias. When a rival army comes into their community while pursuing Tool, the beast, Mouse is recruited into their army against his will and Mahlia makes an alliance with Tool to enter the Drowned Cities and bring Mouse back. Drowned Cities is a brutal tale of senseless war - death and destruction over different ideals and not the betterment of the society that people live in. Paolo Bacigalupi wastes no time in getting the readers attached to the characters. Tool is a brutal war machine, a thing perfectly bred for death and destruction, but he's much more than that. There's an intelligent man within that beast, one with a heart that is ruled by his mind. Mahlia is a spirited girl who has been damaged by the people around her, both physically and emotionally. She's a survivor with a conscience and loyalty to those who have been good to her, but she also wants payback for the wrongs she sees every day. Against impossible odds, she wants things to change. There's a better life out there, and she wants to live it. Amazingly, Mouse seems to be almost care free, living in a man-made hell, but not analyzing things too much. He's a child who is forced to take up arms and do things that his conscience tells him is wrong to fight a cause that he doesn't believe in. Ship Breaker is the predecessor to Drowned Cities. Each can be read separately because the only ground they share is the world setting and the character Tool. Ship Breaker was a fantastic novel and is appropriate for the YA reader - though adults will enjoy it just as much. Drowned Cities might still be a good book for most YA readers, but it's brutal portrayal mindless war gave it more of an adult edge. Of the two books I enjoyed Drowned Cities better, though both books are excellent. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ uncomfortably real, and completely riveting *by T***A on April 22, 2012* Wow. Few authors can blow me away like Bacigalupi can. After I finished this book, I had to just sort of sit there catching my breath (I felt the same way after finishing Ship Breaker). Bacigalupi can *go there* like no other YA author I've read. This book is brutal and no punches are pulled, but not in a gratuitous way. The violence is real and believable and absolutely necessary to the story. Actually, it IS the story. This is a companion novel to Ship Breaker: America is no longer, and the east-central region is rife with civil war. There are several factions fighting for control, each calling themselves true patriots, but are really just warlords seeking power. Everything about it reminds me of certain areas of Africa, which made it real and extremely uncomfortable, and yet I couldn't stop reading. Mahlia and Mouse have grown up in the Drowned Cities, which is the Washington D.C. area. They knew a short time of Peace when China intervenes in an attempt to end the fighting (and this reminds me of the Middle East). In the end, though, China pulls out and the fighting resumes as though it had never stopped. Ten years isn't long enough to erase animosity and hatred, real or imagined. Any semblance of peace is shattered, and soldiers go where they please, take whatever they want in the name of patriotism, and leave a path of destruction behind them. Mahlia and Mouse learned how to stay out of the soldiers' paths, but then Tool enters their lives. Tool is the only character from Ship Breaker--half man, half animal hybrid of dog, hyena, tiger, and a few other predators. He was built with one purpose in mind, to fight in a war. Mahlia and Tool find an unlikely alliance, and the story delves into themes of loyalty, friendship, family, and being forced into all of the above--like kidnapped children in Africa being forced to fight in a warlord's army. This is explored in full detail, along with the horrors of war, and my heart broke for Mahlia and Mouse. At the same time, I cheered for Tool. In Ship Breaker, he discovers himself as an individual, which goes against his breeding and genetic engineering. In Drowned Cities, Tool discovers that he can have a purpose. He has an amazing revelation: "I have never been defeated, but have I ever won anything?" That really illustrates the difference between avoiding what you don't want and going after what you do want. Tool is such a fantastic character, and I can't wait to see what he'll do next. I am wondering if absolute power will corrupt absolutely. If violence or war isn't your thing, then you won't enjoy Drowned Cities. But if you like stories with vast amounts of depth and emotion, then it's definitely for you. Definitely recommended. To get the full effect of Tool as a character, you should read Ship Breaker first. However, this book can be read on its own. Age appropriateness: the realities of war are up front and center in this book, so it might be too much for younger teens. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Children of war in Bacigalupi's dystopic not-so-distant future *by W***D on May 31, 2012* Welcome back to Paolo Bacigalupi's dystopic world of our not-so-distant future, a world already familiar to readers of his earlier novels The Windup Girl and Shipbreaker and of some of his short stories, collected in Pump Six And Other Stories. It is the world of Mahlia, a castoff girl left behind by her father when he and the other Chinese peacekeepers gave up on trying to restore sanity in the war zone called the Drowned Cities. It is the world of Mahlia's best friend, Mouse, who saved her when she was fleeing the Drowned Cities and had been captured by soldier-boys who cut off one of her hands and were about to cut off the other. And above all, it is the world of Tool, a "half-man", part human and part wolf, tiger and hyena, a fearsome creature bioengineered for war. Bacigalupi's style is, as always, rivetting and subtle, as can be seen in this section where Tool has captured two soldier-boys after Mahlia has tricked them into following her and she has just picked up a shotgun belonging to one of them: The gun felt solid in her hand, reassuring. Powerful. She could stand tall with a weapon like this. --No wonder soldier boys had so much damn swagger. With a gun under your arm, you walked tall. If she'd had a gun when the soldier boys caught her the first time, everything would have been different. --All her life she'd been ducking and running, always rabbiting, while the coywolv did all the hunting. But with this big old gun, she could stand tall. --The weapon was heavy, but she suddenly felt light, as if the weight of all of her past had suddenly fallen off, like a concrete block, tumbling away. --She grinned at the weapon in her hand. Yeah. She liked this gun, all right. "Brace it against your shoulder when you fire," Tool said. "The kick will bruise you." --"It'll kill, though," she said. "It'll kill good." --"Resist the urge to think that weapon makes you strong." --"It sure don't make me weak." --"Weaker than you think," Tool said. "Resist its swagger." --"I don't swagger." --"Everyone swaggers with a gun. Look at it." --"What about it?" --Mahlia looked down. It seemed fine. Looked clearn. In good condition. Ready. --"It gives you confidence." Tool shook the boys under his arms. "It gave these two confidence as well. And look at them now. From a position of strength to an asset of their enemy, and all it took was confidence. The swagger a gun gives when you're following some harmless crippled girl into the jungle." --Tool suddenly snarled. "Now look at it again!" --Mahlia startled at the force of Tool's words. She looked down at the shotgun. "I am! I am!" --Scrapes and scratches. Heavy black barrel. A wooden stock that had been carved by hand and hammered back on to the main mechanism. --It was painted. Lots of guns were painted, though, and this one wasn't any different. Lots of things on it. Mostly green crosses, for Deepwater faith. The red stars of the Army of God. --"Yeah? What of it?" --It was like every other gun she'd ever seen. Beat-up, but ready for action. --"Look," Tool said again. --Mahlia stared at it, trying to see what Tool saw. --"The paint is chipped," Tool said. --Mahlia glared up at him. So?" --"So. Look." --Sure, some of the paint had chipped off. But there was just more paint underneath. Might have been a couple of Fates Eyes, from the shape of them, under the green crosses. Sure. It could be. Something red, too. Maybe a bit of a white star on a blue background. Maybe a UPF tag... --A cold crawling moved up her spine. Mahlia's breath snagged. --The gun gave her swagger, all right. And it had given their prisoners swagger. --And whoever owned it before that. --And whoever before that. --And before that. --And on and on and on... --She could look at the gun and see the history of hands that held it. Soldier after soldier, making it his own. Covering it with luck symbols and charms, Fates Eyes and crosses and whatever they thought would give them the edge. --And every one of them was dead. --The shotgun didn't care who owned it. It went hand to hand. She was just the latest in a chain that might as well have gone all the way back to the Accelerated Age when people had cities that worked and they didn't shoot at one another all the time. --A lot of hands had held this weapon, and if it had done any of them any good, they probably still would have been holding it, instead of passing it down the line to her. --She shivered, suddenly wondering if she was a dead girl. If just holding the gun made her a ghost. --Tool growled. "You understand, now." Highly, highly recommended. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker) - Ship Breaker (National Book Award Finalist) (Ship Breaker, 1) - Tool of War (Ship Breaker) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11022230-the-drowned-cities](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11022230-the-drowned-cities) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-10-05*