Tool of War - (Ship Breaker) by Paolo Bacigalupi (Paperback)

About the Book

This third companion novel in this award-winning series by Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist Bacigalupi tells the gripping story of the most provocative character from his acclaimed novels "Ship Breaker" and "The Drowned Cities."

Book Synopsis

Set in a dark future devastated by climate change, Tool of War is the third book in a major adventure series by a bestselling and award-winning science fiction author and starring the most provocative character from the acclaimed novels Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities.

In this gripping, eerily prescient sci-fi thriller that Kirkus described as "masterful," Tool--a half-man/half-beast designed for combat--proves himself capable of so much more than his creators had ever dreamed. He has gone rogue from his pack of bioengineered "augments" and emerged a victorious leader of a pack of human soldier boys. But he is hunted relentlessly by someone determined to destroy him, who knows an alarming secret: Tool has found the way to resist his genetically ingrained impulses of submission and loyalty toward his masters... The time is coming when Tool will embark on an all-out war against those who have enslaved him.

From one of science fiction's undisputed masters comes a riveting and all-too-timely page-turner that explores the intricate relationships connecting hunter and prey, master and enslaved, human and monster.

"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

Review Quotes

Praise for Ship Breaker
Michael L. Printz Award Winner, 2011A New York Times Bestseller
National Book Award Finalist, 2010
A VOYA 2010 Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers BookA Rolling Stone 40 Best YA Novels Book
A Washington Post Best Book for Young Readers, 2012
Green Earth Book Award Young Adult Fiction Honor Book, 2011
YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2010
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 2010
ALSC Notable Children's Books, 2011

"Bacigalupi's future earth is brilliantly imagined and its genesis anchored in contemporary issues...The characters are layered and complex, and their almost unthinkable actions and choices seem totally credible. Vivid, brutal, and thematically rich, this captivating title is sure to win teen fans for the award-winning Bacigalupi." --Booklist (starred review)

"A stellar YA debut...the book's message never overshadows the storytelling, action-packed pacing, or intricate world-building." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

*"A strong, entertaining continuation of Bacigalupi's postapocalyptic series."--School Library Journal, starred review

*"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. ...Well worth the wait."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"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."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A cleverly described, intricate, and equally desolate world. Fans of the series will love it, and...new readers will quickly understand the world."
--BCCB

"Bacigalupi masterfully examine[s] larger questions about humanity, genetic engineering, loyalty, freedom, violence, and survival. This striking novel...is an all-too-timely reminder that humans' actions have the power to change the world for better or worse."
--The Horn Book

"Bacigalupi's action scenes are brilliantly cinematic, powering the pacing with breathtaking superhero stunts. Tool, as ever, is a character impossible to forget."--Booklist

"Makes readers think about what it means to be human, the price of genetic engineering, and the inhumanity of the corporations who put profit above all else."
--Booklist

Praise for The Drowned Cities
A 2012 Kirkus Reviews Best of YA BookA 2012 VOYA Perfect Ten BookA 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize FinalistA 2012 Los Angeles Public Library Best Teen BookA 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults BookA 2013 CBC at Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year BookA 2013 Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens Book
A Junior Library Guild SelectionA 2014 Tennessee Volunteer Book Award Nominee

Praise for Tool of War:
A 2018 Locus Awards Finalist for Young Adult Books

About the Author

Paolo Bacigalupi is the author of the highly acclaimed The Drowned Cities, Tool of War, and Ship Breaker, a New York Times bestseller, Michael L. Printz Award winner, and National Book Award finalist. He is also the author of the Edgar Awards nominee The Doubt Factory; a novel for younger readers, Zombie Baseball Beatdown; and two bestselling adult novels for adults, The Water Knife and The Windup Girl. His first work of collected short fiction was Pump Six and Other Stories. He co-wrote The Tangled Lands with Tobias S. Buckell. The winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Compton Crook, John W. Campbell Memorial, and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards, he lives in western Colorado with his wife and son. The author invites you to visit his website at windupstories.com.