lisalark's review against another edition
3.0
Philip Reeve is a confusing one for me, because I love hi descriptions and details and world-building and dialogue, but his characters and plots don't do much for me. For me personally, they all just come across as hopelessly flawed and fairly stupid. And really bad at communicating. And never learning. And then I just don't care about them or what happens to them, because hello, immobile idiots are utterly boring.
But the other stuff is good and highly creative, so three stars.
But the other stuff is good and highly creative, so three stars.
theteamsreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
realrexy_'s review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
annikastanisch's review against another edition
4.0
My second read to the year. I adored this book and read it in the span of 17 hours.
arelybros's review against another edition
4.0
Ando en conflicto.
Ya reflexioné. De nuevo siento que no era necesario otro libro (aunque este si construyó un final para el cuarto) pero la historia fue buena, más los cambios de narración. Me encanta el villano, lo odio. La protagonista... meh. El plotwist padrísimo. No me gustó tanto como el segundo pero me encanta la manera en que me hizo entrar en conflicto por que yo casi nunca escribo y solo por eso subimos una estrella.
Ya reflexioné. De nuevo siento que no era necesario otro libro (aunque este si construyó un final para el cuarto) pero la historia fue buena, más los cambios de narración. Me encanta el villano, lo odio. La protagonista... meh. El plotwist padrísimo. No me gustó tanto como el segundo pero me encanta la manera en que me hizo entrar en conflicto por que yo casi nunca escribo y solo por eso subimos una estrella.
dhiladesu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
I confess The Hungry City books are really growing on me. A series about a future where giant traction cities wage battles against an extremist group promoting static settlements while underwater burglars, aerial balloonists, and a group of people hidden away in North America engage in various manners. Some of the best characters are truly excellent, like Uncle who is a Fagin-like figure running a group of burglar boys, Pennyroyal who is a foolish, venal, cowardly liar who in this book has become the Mayor of a town, and some of the locations themselves are like great characters--in this book the floating pleasure city of Brighton. The plot is also quite fun as well.
Overall, everything one could hope for in a book to read to/with a 9 and 10 year old--if not quite what I would read on my own.
Overall, everything one could hope for in a book to read to/with a 9 and 10 year old--if not quite what I would read on my own.
nonsensicaljourney's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the first two books and I think I might just love this one even more. They've added interesting dimensions to every character, added new characters that come right off the page, and developed the plot to a place that's great in the lead up to the final book. It was a bit slow at first, but some of the best fantasy fiction is like that. The inter-generational character set is unique to these books, and they make you feel for their entire history. You're at knife's edge of tension for the entire end quarter of the book, and you don't know what the characters are going to do. Maybe Hester's not going to save the day any more - and then what? This book brings into question everything earlier in the series. As a sequel, particularly a penultimate sequel, it does its job extremely well. I am so excited for the next one!
stiricide's review against another edition
1.0
This book is so bad that it retroactively makes the other books, which were mediocre enough, even worse. It should have been a DNF, but a friend coincidentally started reading it at the same time, so we suffered through it together.
I don't know how else to say it. This book is bad and Reeve should feel bad. Reeve's editors should feel bad. The publishers should feel bad. Everyone involved in allowing this book to emerge in the public consciousness as-is should feel bad.
Everything - and I do mean EVERYTHING in this novel is solved with a deus ex machina. The character arcs, which were iffy to begin with, are shot. Everyone in this novel makes stupid, terrible decisions with no rhyme or reason other than they're characters being forced to make them. No person, not even a tractionist, would act like any of the people in this book do, even if they were ridiculous caricatures of protagonists/villains/anti-heroes, etc. It could honestly be a meta-parody of terrible YA novels, except it is so clearly sincere in all of its faults.
Don't read this. Don't let friends read this. Don't let Peter Jackson's new movie convince you that you need to know the whole story. You do not, because there is none. None of it makes sense, and none of the questions you have will ever be answered.
I don't know how else to say it. This book is bad and Reeve should feel bad. Reeve's editors should feel bad. The publishers should feel bad. Everyone involved in allowing this book to emerge in the public consciousness as-is should feel bad.
Everything - and I do mean EVERYTHING in this novel is solved with a deus ex machina. The character arcs, which were iffy to begin with, are shot. Everyone in this novel makes stupid, terrible decisions with no rhyme or reason other than they're characters being forced to make them. No person, not even a tractionist, would act like any of the people in this book do, even if they were ridiculous caricatures of protagonists/villains/anti-heroes, etc. It could honestly be a meta-parody of terrible YA novels, except it is so clearly sincere in all of its faults.
Don't read this. Don't let friends read this. Don't let Peter Jackson's new movie convince you that you need to know the whole story. You do not, because there is none. None of it makes sense, and none of the questions you have will ever be answered.