theteamsreader's review
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
crowcaller's review
5.0
OF COURSE I bought this day one.
OF COURSE it is excellent.
The original traction codex this was born from was small and nearly impossible to find. This is a gorgeous, full color, lovely, wonderful book full of GREAT PUNS and FUN IDEAS and COOL CONCEPTS. And it is very good.
If you like mortal engines you gotta get this book. Or even if you just like the idea of mortal engines and want to read great worldbuilding based on the idea and look at art.
When I first got this book, I was surprised- it is full of art! Pretty much every page has drawings, in various styles, all top notch, colorful, and imaginative. Heck yes.
OF COURSE it is excellent.
The original traction codex this was born from was small and nearly impossible to find. This is a gorgeous, full color, lovely, wonderful book full of GREAT PUNS and FUN IDEAS and COOL CONCEPTS. And it is very good.
If you like mortal engines you gotta get this book. Or even if you just like the idea of mortal engines and want to read great worldbuilding based on the idea and look at art.
When I first got this book, I was surprised- it is full of art! Pretty much every page has drawings, in various styles, all top notch, colorful, and imaginative. Heck yes.
caitlyn's review
5.0
This has to be one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Every page is a delight. It combines the authors' excellent 'historical' account of the rise of tractionism with gorgeous illustrations, diagrams and maps from a range of illustrators.
I have loved the Mortal Engines (and Fever crumb) books ever since I read them many years ago, and reading this book brought back so many wondeful memories. The many inside jokes made me smile and even laugh out loud sometimes. I also teared up on a few occasions when reading about favourite characters or places.
As I read, I was reminded of the immense amount of work and creativity that has gone in to the world-building for these books. The history of tractionism is well planned out and thoughtfully created and this would be a great achievement on its own. However, it is made even more impressive by the way the authors have managed to link our world and the times we live in now to this far off future.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the Mortal Engines series. I think it is best to read all of the Mortal Engines and Fever Crumb books first so that you get the most from all the little details and so you aren't spoiled for anything. It is a fabulous collector's piece that I shall treasure forever.
I have loved the Mortal Engines (and Fever crumb) books ever since I read them many years ago, and reading this book brought back so many wondeful memories. The many inside jokes made me smile and even laugh out loud sometimes. I also teared up on a few occasions when reading about favourite characters or places.
As I read, I was reminded of the immense amount of work and creativity that has gone in to the world-building for these books. The history of tractionism is well planned out and thoughtfully created and this would be a great achievement on its own. However, it is made even more impressive by the way the authors have managed to link our world and the times we live in now to this far off future.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the Mortal Engines series. I think it is best to read all of the Mortal Engines and Fever Crumb books first so that you get the most from all the little details and so you aren't spoiled for anything. It is a fabulous collector's piece that I shall treasure forever.
lucyturnsthepage's review
5.0
Having loved the world created in the mortal Engines quartet I just had to have this book and I am so glad I picked it up. The narration has the same wit that is present in the books and you can see that Reeve knew exactly what he envisioned the world as being. Add in the beautiful illustrations and it’s a sure fire win - I recommend it to anyone who loved the books and would like to know more.
phonebook27's review
3.0
good world building, i think it could have gone a bit more into social structures and issues of this world but i guess you can only do so much when all 2/3 of the protagonists are young sheltered teens. the ending was...abrupt i guess and there could have been more character development and closure from the aftermath of whole ordeal for both tom and hester. but i think this is a series so hopefully that happens in the next book i guess?
fianaigecht's review
4.0
This reread was long overdue. So many years overdue, in fact, that I'm not sure I'd added it to Goodreads before, as I've only just noticed it's listed under the awful series title of "The Hungry City Chronicles" (which I'm pretty sure I've seen Philip Reeve complain about on his blog in the past, and I can't blame him).
Anyway. Hester Shaw was one of my childhood heroes, alongside Kestrel from The Wind Singer and Holly Short from the Artemis Fowl series. Seriously, I think I read all three of those series at around the same time, and they were definitely formative influences. And of the three, I'd say Hester Shaw's stuck with me the most in terms of the kind of characters I tend to sympathise with: the stabby, traumatised ones who do terrible things but will also sacrifice everything for the people they care about, even if there are only like two people alive that fall into that category.
Rereading this also reminded me how deeply, deeply attached to this series I am, and how I really hope the film adaptation doesn't screw it up, because this was my pre-fandom love and I'm not sure I could handle that.
It also continues to be disproportionately funny to me that Tunbridge Wheels is a pirate suburb.
Anyway. Hester Shaw was one of my childhood heroes, alongside Kestrel from The Wind Singer and Holly Short from the Artemis Fowl series. Seriously, I think I read all three of those series at around the same time, and they were definitely formative influences. And of the three, I'd say Hester Shaw's stuck with me the most in terms of the kind of characters I tend to sympathise with: the stabby, traumatised ones who do terrible things but will also sacrifice everything for the people they care about, even if there are only like two people alive that fall into that category.
Rereading this also reminded me how deeply, deeply attached to this series I am, and how I really hope the film adaptation doesn't screw it up, because this was my pre-fandom love and I'm not sure I could handle that.
It also continues to be disproportionately funny to me that Tunbridge Wheels is a pirate suburb.
glkrose's review
4.0
This was such a quick read! I didn't realize until I picked up my copy from the library but this is technically YA and it checks out. Still, I love adventure YAs. The world building wasn't as great as it could have been and the characters were a little one-note but I had such an enjoyable time. And I loved all the female characters being great. But *SPOILER ALERT* they kill a dog! Not cool, book.
nightxade's review
3.0
A friend introduced me to this book and its opening line:
It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.
I loved the concept of this book - mobile cities hunting each other like animals, trying to survive in a post one-minute war future. London is one of the greater cities, but even it will falter if it does not find better hunting grounds.
The first protagonist we meet is Tom, a friendless orphan, who soon becomes wrapped up in the espionage brought on board London by Hester Shaw - a once pretty girl, hideously scarred by Tom's hero, Valentine, against whom Hester seeks revenge. Valentine is also the father of Katherine, who in turn meets shy engineer, Pod, as she searches for the truth about her dad. The four of them are, typically,very unlikely heroes and, what I appreciated more, unlikely couples. I was pleasantly surprised by their ultimate fates and the fate of those they meet along their journeys. Not everything needs a Hollywood ending.
Unfortunately, the book fails slightly on delivery. Some things feel a bit rushed, but most notably is the change of tense that usually comes when dealing with an 'evil' character. Initially the change to present tense is bound within the respective chapters, but when everything and everyone comes together in the end, it becomes an annoyance.
This isn't enough of an issue to prevent the book from being enjoyable. It is part of a series based on an interesting concept, so I am curious to learn more about this future.
It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.
I loved the concept of this book - mobile cities hunting each other like animals, trying to survive in a post one-minute war future. London is one of the greater cities, but even it will falter if it does not find better hunting grounds.
The first protagonist we meet is Tom, a friendless orphan, who soon becomes wrapped up in the espionage brought on board London by Hester Shaw - a once pretty girl, hideously scarred by Tom's hero, Valentine, against whom Hester seeks revenge. Valentine is also the father of Katherine, who in turn meets shy engineer, Pod, as she searches for the truth about her dad. The four of them are, typically,very unlikely heroes and, what I appreciated more, unlikely couples. I was pleasantly surprised by their ultimate fates and the fate of those they meet along their journeys. Not everything needs a Hollywood ending.
Unfortunately, the book fails slightly on delivery. Some things feel a bit rushed, but most notably is the change of tense that usually comes when dealing with an 'evil' character. Initially the change to present tense is bound within the respective chapters, but when everything and everyone comes together in the end, it becomes an annoyance.
This isn't enough of an issue to prevent the book from being enjoyable. It is part of a series based on an interesting concept, so I am curious to learn more about this future.
whitneymouse's review
3.0
This was closer to a 2.5 for me.
SOMEONE will love this book. It’s just not me. I read it for my Children’s Library Services class (and also because the movie is coming out soon). I’m hoping Peter Jackson messed with it a little because this was slooooooooooow. The main plot doesn’t pick up until Part II, which is something like 24 or 25 chapters in (in a 37 chapter book). Part I is main characters running around to a place, hanging there for like two chapters at most and being chased by a terminator-like hybrid robot called a Stalker. Rinse and repeat.
Kathrine was my favorite character. I wish we spent more time with her on the mystery to find out who Hester is and what the city of London is planning. Tom, the “main” main character is boring and has no individual thoughts. He just kind of exists to have his mind changed by whatever civilization they’re in contact with at the time. Hester, while not given much action until the end, was interesting with a fleshed out motivation. I will give Philip Reeve this: he does a nice job with his female characters.
If you want to see the movie, by all means, read this. But know it is slow moving at times and can be kind of random until Part II.
SOMEONE will love this book. It’s just not me. I read it for my Children’s Library Services class (and also because the movie is coming out soon). I’m hoping Peter Jackson messed with it a little because this was slooooooooooow. The main plot doesn’t pick up until Part II, which is something like 24 or 25 chapters in (in a 37 chapter book). Part I is main characters running around to a place, hanging there for like two chapters at most and being chased by a terminator-like hybrid robot called a Stalker. Rinse and repeat.
Kathrine was my favorite character. I wish we spent more time with her on the mystery to find out who Hester is and what the city of London is planning. Tom, the “main” main character is boring and has no individual thoughts. He just kind of exists to have his mind changed by whatever civilization they’re in contact with at the time. Hester, while not given much action until the end, was interesting with a fleshed out motivation. I will give Philip Reeve this: he does a nice job with his female characters.
If you want to see the movie, by all means, read this. But know it is slow moving at times and can be kind of random until Part II.