“One of the best parts of The Drowned Cities is the intelligent war-beast Tool. Bacigalupi admitted to being fascinated with Tool. “He emerged on the page when I needed a thug character to be part of Richard Lopez’ crew in Ship Breaker, and then he developed into something far more interesting. I’ve been fascinated with the idea of human-animal hybrids for some time, so in a lot of ways, Tool’s bioengineered super-soldier combination of human, tiger, dog, and hyena is just another iteration of my continuing obsession”¦Tool gives me a chance to explore questions of loyalty and individuality, and I love that he stands outside of humanity, looking at us and judging us.” For Bacigalupi, Tool evokes “the same qualities that I love about the ronin–the masterless samurai–mixed with the raw physical power and contempt for civilization that Conan the Barbarian evokes. I keep thinking that I’d like to write a series of stories just about Tool. At this point, I’m completely obsessed with him.””
3.5 out of 5
Tags: 3.5, article, z non fiction