Infernal Devices (Hungry City Chronicles)

by Philip Reeve

book data

186 ratings, 4.01 average rating, 22 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		32%
4		39%
3		24%
2		2%
1		0%

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published

March 20th 2006 (first published 2005) by Scholastic Point

binding

Paperback, 336 pages

isbn

0439963931 (isbn13: 9780439963930)

description

Nearly twenty years after the city of Anchorage settled down on the shores of the Dead Continent of America, Tom and Hester are leading quiet, peacef

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 269)

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09/04/08

Sean rated it:

Read in September, 2008

This "sixteen-years-later"-quel suffers from the main problem of letting your characters grow up off screen: when you get back to them they are no longer the people you grew to love or hate or (at least) know. Hester, the grumpy-but-lovable urchin from the previous books, has become a hardened, hateful and hate-filled grown-up with next to no good qualities. She has also who has somehow turned into a warrior extraordinaire in the years she spent in the sleepy backwater of Anchorage-in-...more

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01/06/09

Philip rated it:

I liked this book, but I think it's the weakest yet in the series. For one, letting your main characters grow up between books rarely works, because they inevitably don't turn out to really be the same characters any more. Which I think is often why authors do it...they're tired of the character as is and really want to work with something new. Totally understandable...in my attempts at fiction I'm frequently either sick of or annoyed at my characters 100 pages into it, but readers haven't spent...more

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03/27/08

Brooke rated it:

bookshelves: books-read-in-2008

Read in March, 2008

More Hungry City Chronicles! More towns on wheels! More oddly obsessive descriptions of the characters' clothing! More action, more traction!

This book leaps forward 16 years from Predator's Gold. Young Wren Natsworthy is kidnapped after her plans to run away go awry, and her parents, Tom and Hester (the heroes of the previous two books) chase after her and the three of them are swiftly embroiled in political intrigue, danger, entanglements with evil cyborgs, Falling in Like With...more

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03/04/08

Megan rated it:

bookshelves: adventure, books-in-a-series, flight, political-theory, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, steampunk, want-to-own

Read in August, 2008

I don't know how it's possible but this series is really growing on me, and the books keep improving as the series goes on. Usually I find books about the children of main characters insufferably annoying, but this one surprised me. And true to the form of the past books, so did the characters. I don't want to spoil anyone's read but I have to say that my favorite thing about this author and this series is that the characters often do things I don't expect, but more than that, neither do they do...more

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01/28/09

Becky rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Infernal Devices is the third novel in the Hungry City Chronicles. (I reviewed Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold last week.) The novel begins roughly sixteen years after the close of Predator's Gold and eighteen years after the close of Mortal Engines. Our main character, Wren, is the daughter of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw. This once-adventurous pair has been settled in Anchorage--a city who roams no more--for sixteen years. And Wren--though she's heard differently, of course--believes that...more Infernal Devices is the third novel in the Hungry City Chronicles. (I reviewed Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold last week.) The novel begins roughly sixteen years after the close of Predator's Gold and eighteen years after the close of Mortal Engines. Our main character, Wren, is the daughter of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw. This once-adventurous pair has been settled in Anchorage--a city who roams no more--for sixteen years. And Wren--though she's heard differently, of course--believes that her parents have always been boring. B-O-R-I-N-G. Wren wishes that she could live even half as adventurous life as her parents. Anchorage holds little interest to her really. But little does she know that her dreams are about to come true. Or that those dreams would turn nightmarish.

When the Lost Boys reappear (secretly of course) in Anchorage with a task for Caul, their former companion, then certain things are set in place. You see even though Caul refuses to steal what they've come for--The Tin Book--there is one person in town who will. Wren. She makes a bargain with the leader of the Lost Boys. She'll help them steal the book, if they'll let her join them. Of course, she doesn't know what she's asking...not really. And when the job goes wrong, really wrong, Wren ends up kidnapped by the very people she thought were on her side. And then her kidnappers get kidnapped. Poor Wren, now a slave to MAYOR Pennyroyal and his wife, Boo Boo, is living in Brighton...and things just aren't going as Wren wants.

Tom and Hester, of course, are ready to resume their adventures in order to save their daughter--their only daughter.

Of course, there are villains in Infernal Devices. The Green Storm anti-tractionist faction who are all-war, all-the-time. And there are Stalkers--some of whom we've met previously Stalker Fang and Stalker Grike--and the humans that sometimes control and manipulate them. But the good guys can create enough tension on their own.

Here is a sample of the writing style--one of my favorite aspects of the books--

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a fake explorer in possession of a good fortune must be in search of a wife, and Pennyroyal had got himself saddled with Boo-Boo Heckmondwyke. Fifteen years earlier, when Predator's Gold was topping the bestseller lists aboard every city of the Hunting Ground, she had seemed like a good idea. Her family were old Brighton aristocracy, but poor. Pennyroyal was a mere adventurer, but rich. The marriage allowed the Heckmondwykes to restore their fortunes, and gave Pennyroyal the social clout he needed to get himself elected mayor. Boo-Boo made an excellent wife for a man of ambition: She was good at small talk and flower arrangements, she planned dinner parties with military precision, and she was expert at opening fetes, galas, and small hospitals. Yet Pennyroyal had come to regret his marriage. Boo-Boo was such a large, forceful, florid woman that she tired him out just by being in the same room. A keen amateur singer, she had a passion for the operas of the Blue Metal culture, which went on for days with never a trace of a tune, and usually ended with all the characters dead in a heap. When Pennyroyal annoyed her by questioning the cost of her latest frock or flirting too openly with a councillor's wife over dinner, she would practice her scales until the windows rattled, or crank up her gramophone and treat the household to all six hundred verses of the Harpoon Aria from Diana, Princess of Whales. (183-184)

There is action, adventure, family drama and dysfunction, and humor. I just love the names of some of the flying machines in the book: The Visible Panty-Line, the Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Machiney, Is That All There Is?, and Damn You, Gravity!
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02/29/08

Linnae rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy-sci-fi, young-adult

Read in February, 2008

This is book three in Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles. I don't read very much science fiction, but this series has intrigued me. Big cities on the move that "eat" smaller cities, an opposing force called the Green Storm, and well-rounded characters, all make it a worthwhile read. You'll definitely want to start at the beginning of the series, though. That would be Mortal Engines.

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12/17/08

Marco Narajos rated it:

bookshelves: mortal-engines-quartet

Read in December, 2008

recommends it for: everyone!

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

"Mortal Engines" was a triumph, but given the roaring success of that book it would be nearly impossible to produce a sequel that tops it. Philip Reeve managed that anyway in "Predator's Gold". After that dazzling display of literary bravado, Reeve had nowhere to go but down. Yet he decided to go up anyway. "Infernal Devices" is more than just a worthy successor to the first two books of the series. It climbs new heights and plumbs new depths in the universe of the ...more "Mortal Engines" was a triumph, but given the roaring success of that book it would be nearly impossible to produce a sequel that tops it. Philip Reeve managed that anyway in "Predator's Gold". After that dazzling display of literary bravado, Reeve had nowhere to go but down. Yet he decided to go up anyway. "Infernal Devices" is more than just a worthy successor to the first two books of the series. It climbs new heights and plumbs new depths in the universe of the mobile cities. What it finds there is nothing short of amazing.

Tom and Hester have spent fifteen peaceful years in the ruins of Anchorage, which came to rest on the long-abandoned shores of North America. They've raised a daughter, Wren, and carved out a life for themselves among the quirky inhabitants of the city. Now, however, other forces are afoot. The Lost Boys and the mysterious Uncle are still at work in their underwater citadel, and soon Wren will be caught up in their net. Tom and Hester will wind up on a rescue mission that takes them back to the arctic, then to the floating paradise of Brighton in search of their daughter.

Meanwhile, other forces are at play in other parts of the world. The Anti-Traction League has regrouped in the Far East under the leadership of Stalker Fang, and is waging a relentless war against the cities. The battles are many but successes are few for either side. A new character emerges who may change everything.

Reeve deftly juggles the two settings. In Brighton everything looks bright and shiny on the surface. Yet Reeve uses the scalpel of satire with amazing dexterity to expose the flaws in the system. "Infernal Devices" delves into topics that you never expected to see in a nominal children's book: class conflict, exploitation, elitism, and the intersection of political and cultural decay.

In the Far East things are dark and gloomy. Yet when despair hovers, our new heroine finds hope in the most likely place. Yes, in fact, "Infernal Devices" takes religion seriously, and is not afraid to contend with the prejudices of our era. The contrast between the two locations and moods could easily fall apart in the hands of an unskilled author. In Reeve's hands, it carries the book upward to greatness, literally and figuratively.

Yet don't let me suggest that the book is depressing, pedantic, or boring. "Infernal Devices" is first and foremost an adventure story, and what an adventure story it is. Theft, kidnapping, narrow escapes, desperate rescues, trickery, betrayal, double agents, suicide missions, it's all here. Just as in the first two books, perfectly-timed comedy mixes flawlessly with the action. There is literally nothing in this book that disappoints. Reeve's series comes alarmingly close to perfection. The only thing that I can't understand is why his books remain virtually unknown while lesser authors (much lesser authors, in some cases) dominate the children's market. Whatever the reason, you can help rectify the situation right now by buying this book!!(less)

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06/24/08

melydia rated it:

(review of isbn 0060826363)

Read in May, 2006

This is the third installment in a science fiction series (The Hungry City Chronicles) of which I have read no other books. It felt very sequelish: the heroes of the previous books have settled down and had a daughter who grows up with tales of their adventures back in the day. Said daughter then runs away and revisits old villains from said adventures. Despite the rather cliche set-up, it's a reasonably fast-paced book with fairly interesting characters. If I sound a little tepid, there's a rea...more

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06/20/09

Laura rated it:

Great, except that SIXTEEN YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE LAST BOOK! I think the Philip Reeve should have written another book to fill in the rapidly-passing time frame.

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03/06/09

Bob rated it:

Read in September, 2008

It was almost as good as the first, Theo was the best.....

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06/21/09

Angela rated it:

Read in January, 2007

Best one of the series.

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04/10/09

Catherine rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, teen

Read in July, 2008

#3 in Hungry Cities Quartet

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03/14/09

SF SQRL rated it:

bookshelves: books-2009, fiction, science-fiction, to-read

Read in April, 2009

Really enjoyed this. I love the way Reeve never has things turn out as you expect, and also his fully-rounded, unreliable, fickle, believable characters.

Almost wasted on the young :D.

Waterstones.

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7 comments

11/12/08

josh rated it:

bookshelves: from-the-library

I've devoured every book in this series finishing them in 48 hours if notunder 24. Philip Reeve has written some brilliant YA pulp adventure novels with this series. I will be crushed when there is no more after A Darkling Plain.

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09/01/08

Brian rated it:

bookshelves: steamy

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in December, 2007

I liked this book the least from the series. Mostly becasue I want more adventures of Tom and Hester in their prime, I want them to continue on the Jenny Haniver and not settle down. This was still a really good book.

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11/16/08

Duncan rated it:

Read in November, 2008

1)Read this series
2)Read the Twilight series (I actually haven't read it).
3)Answer the question: Who would win in a fight, Grike (Yeah!) or Edward Cullen (Booo!)?
4) (The answer is Grike.)

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3 comments

01/30/08

Shinynickel rated it:

Read in February, 2008

I can't help it. These books and the Carrie Vaughn werewolf novels are apparently my own personal brand of crack.

I'm still trying to figure out how to articulate why.

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