Ship Breaker is bleak, desolate—and an entirely engrossing account of Nailer, a scavenger crew member who rummages through the pitted bowels of wrecked oil tankers for metal parts in a dystopic near future society. The novel opens with a well-written and breathtaking scene that involves Nailer becoming entrenched in a vat of oil locked within the depths of a tanker. Thematic concepts of survival, desperation, and loyalties begin to become set up from the very first few pages.
Soon after, Nailer comes across a wrecked clipper ship, one of the nicer ships, and on that ship, a pretty girl. Nailer’s background clashes with his morals as he must decide whether to save the girl (and give up the potential money/swag of the clipper ship parts) or to kill the girl and reap the benefits of the wrecked ship. Complicating matters is his devilish figure of a father, Richard Lopez, who relentlessly chases him.
I couldn't stomach The Windup Girl, but I was pleasantly surprised by Bacigalupi's dystopic version of our future in Ship Breaker. It's bleak yet entirely comprehensible; our protagonist is likeable and believable. Some of Bacigalupi's overwrought similes were distracting, but overall it was well-written and paced nicely.
Reading excerpt: http://amcabu.podbean.com/2011/02/03/ship-breaker/
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