Ship Breaker is SciFi, post apocalyptic earth and the apocalypse was the three things that everyone who has not had there heads up their butts, knows are around the corner. The setting is not too clear on the date but it is at least two hundred years in the future, more likely a hundred.
The first disaster that they mention is peak oil. Not only has peak oil happened, it is over. Oil is the most valuable resource on the planet and it is also in many ways illegal. The tar sands are banned from production, because of the second and more devastating disaster, at least for those of us not obsessed with our cars. Global Warming has melted all the ice, and the worst case scenario has occurred. By worst case, I mean the global temperatures have risen 6°C and the sea level has risen 100+ meters. The Gulf Coast of the United States, where this story takes place has been inundated and the new coastline has been turned into a mix of jungle and swamp. The water is so polluted that there is no description for clean ocean water and hurricane season is the entire year, most are stronger and there are category six storms: City Killers, on average once a month.
Oh the third disaster, with the loss of oil, the rise of the ocean waters and thus the destruction of many cities, America's economy collapsed and never regained its footing. The economic powers in the world are, in order strongest to weakest are, India, China, Africa and Europe. Yes it sucks to be an American.
I have often wondered how I would write my novel on a post apocalyptic world and the stumbling block has always been story, settings are great for me, but stories all suck. Paolo Bacigalupi on the other hand tells a great story set in a dysfunctional America. There is love, there is danger and there is moral ambiguity. That is the best part, when you are reduced to abject poverty, when the world has fallen apart, what morals are healthy and which morals will leave you too weak to live?
Great book, I can hardly wait to read the sequel.
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