Philip Reeve has imagined a most unusual future dystopia, the setting for his wonderful Mortal Engines quartet and now this new series which is a preqPhilip Reeve has imagined a most unusual future dystopia, the setting for his wonderful Mortal Engines quartet and now this new series which is a prequel to the former stories, filling in the history of the rise of the traction cities.
This prequel begins not with this book but with Fever Crumb. I would highlight that fact because I made an error in purchasing and reading this book before the former. I had (and still have) Fever Crumb on reserve at the library. After several months of waiting I thought I was giving up and buying the book from Amazon - but accidentally got book two instead and did not realise until I was scratching my head over what appeared a confused start.
Read in the proper order though, these stories are wonderful. This one is about a boy who wants to fly, and has the intelligence and resources (more or less) to achieve his dream, where it not for sinister forces attempting to prevent him. It is also about the girl, Fever Crumb, who is a wonderful overly analytical type, who says what she means and does not care who hears her.
In the background of this story are issues over prejudice, blind faith and the dangerous forces that we can unwittingly unleash. It had me thinking about the law of unintended consequences. As such it was a thoughtful book as well as a very good read. It is written for children and young adults, but it is one of those books adults should enjoy too, if they want something more thoughtful, weighty and well researched than a Dan Brown book....more
Set in an alternative Victorian London, this is the second in the series about Ben Kingdom, an ordinary "artful dodger" style poor London boy who findSet in an alternative Victorian London, this is the second in the series about Ben Kingdom, an ordinary "artful dodger" style poor London boy who finds himself swept up into the ultimate battle of good against evil.
Plenty of action and adventure, a little bit of humour and a good, if somewhat predictable storyline. What ultimately lets this book down is weak characterisation, although as it is aimed at mid grade children, you have to bear in mind that the author wanted to keep the story succinct.
Not the best book I have read in this genre, but not bad either. This is number 2 of a trilogy, but I don't think I will bother with the third book....more
This is a good book for older children and young adults filled with historical detail from the seventeenth century, as well as plenty of myth, magic aThis is a good book for older children and young adults filled with historical detail from the seventeenth century, as well as plenty of myth, magic and dark sorcery.
Jem is a servant boy working in the kitchens of a powerful Duke in London. His mother serves the Duchess and he does not know who his father is. However dark things are afoot, and Jem appears to be more interesting to some nasty and powerful people than a mere kitchen boy should be.
A nicely put together story. The ending does not quite tie up all the loose ends so perhaps a sequel is planned (and having written that I looked it up, and there is indeed a sequel). Still the story is complete enough as it stands....more
I bought this doorstep of a book in August 2015. I forget why I chose it, perhaps as holiday reading, but like many books, on my TBR, that never happeI bought this doorstep of a book in August 2015. I forget why I chose it, perhaps as holiday reading, but like many books, on my TBR, that never happened. It was on my list of 75+ books for this year, so I have finally waded through it. My thoughts? In short, probably not worth the effort unless you are a committed Steampunk fan.
Perhaps I bought it as an attempt to get the Steampunk genre more, but if so, this one failed.
But first, let's look at the positives: the setting of this book is vast and filled with many imaginative ideas. Most of those ideas are actually probably not original to this work, but the world building mixes and matches borrowed ideas from such a vast range of literature that the world of Pellas feels rich and conveys the impression of vastness that allows one area to be at the tech level of the wild west and another nation, thousands upon thousands of miles away can have anti gravity technology and other vast and almost magical levels of tech development. There are humans but also intelligent non humans on this world, and all kinds of interesting things.
the size of the world, however, is challenging to straight sci-fi fans, who will note that the immensity of the world makes it of stellar proportions, dwarfing even gas giants like the planet Jupiter. Indeed this world may not even have an end, so don't try to think of this as sci-fi at all. Instead, think of Narnia - a world so different from our own that our notions of the physics of worlds don't apply. (Nevertheless the pedant in me wonders why the book references compass points like North and South if the world is really endless and thus without poles).
In this vast landscape, a group of young people (adults, but young adults in their early 20s) are kidnapped to serve as slaves in floating mines. The father of one of them, Jacob Carnehan, who has a mysterious past, but who has lived peacably as a pastor for many years, sets out to rescue them, revealing that he is something of an action hero en route.
Despite the huge setting and the myriad of possibilities this setting offers, there is a certain predictability to the whole thing. Also it is really very very slow, and quite overwritten. Dialogue is often stilted and then includes colloquialisms that pull you out of the setting: "shut your cakehole!" Paragraphs can be huge, at least once lasting well over a whole page. We have lots of internal monologue and soul searching and other stuff that really slows things down so that after a third of the book, really you are barely into the story. It is only the last third of the book where pace picks up a bit, and leads to an action packed finale, which may or may not be worth the wait, depending on your tolerance for such things.
There are also coincidences in the book that feel contrived, and plot elements that could have been thought through some more. Some things are just too convenient, and the ideas can be strongly reminiscent of other works.
Editing was generally good, but a few howlers got through, and one wonders if that was because, given the length of this work, maybe even the editors might have skimmed it a little!
This is one for my "wish I hadn't bothered" pile, but your mileage may vary. Steampunk fans may forgive the pacing and dialogue issues for the benefit of a huge and unusual setting. Non steampunk readers will probably be better served with a different introduction to the genre....more
Lots of people have been talking about this book, and I know it has been nominated for several prizes. I am not sure if it has actually won any thoughLots of people have been talking about this book, and I know it has been nominated for several prizes. I am not sure if it has actually won any though, and if not, that is a pity.
I think I saw it on Roni's thread first but someone else I follow recommended it too, and Kerry wrote a very positive review of the sequel so I had to read it!
Like much of Reeve's work, this book is Steampunk (I think! Never quite sure on the boundaries and you could maybe call it straight Sci-fi, but the sentient trains probably make it Steampunk). To be honest, I did not really know the term Steampunk when I first read Mortal Engines some years back. At the time I just thought the ideas in those books were remarkably innovative and a tad strange! Now I know a bit better, although it is not a genre I read a lot. On the other hand, Philip Reeve is an author I would always be happy to read.
Zen Starling is a petty thief, travelling on the trains, sentient AIs, that are needed to move through the gates between different planets criss cossing the galaxy. When he is approached by the mysterious Raven to infiltrate the Emperor's train, he can see something is amiss but still dives right in to the adventure. Was it such a great choice though? and what will be the consequences of his decision for him... and the whole great network?
The depth of world building in this novel is just amazing, and Reeve's characters are always ones you can get behind. In places I was reminded of Garth Nix's A Confusion of Princes, not because the worlds of the books were the same, but rather because of all the ways the authors were able to run away with their imagination and produce a deeply detailed and compelling backdrop for fast paced and enjoyable storytelling....more