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124th out of 816 books
—
2,035 voters
Infernal Devices (The Hungry City Chronicles #3)
by
Philip Reeve
Anchorage has become a static settlement on the shores of the Dead Continent, and its inhabitants have been living peacefully for sixteen years. But now trouble is approaching - in a limpet sub, and fast. The Lost Boys are back, and they'll do anything to get what they want. Tom and Hester's daughter Wren is their eager dupe, bored and desperate for adventure. When the the...more
336 pages
Published
(first published March 18th 2005)
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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-Vineland,...more
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 Handsome Africa...more
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 Handsome Africa...more
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
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
Definitely a drop in quality from the previous book (to be fair, it was a hard act to follow). I didn't buy much of the action in this book, from Caul's odd behaviour in the opening scenes to Hester's transformation throughout. About the only character I found convincing was Wren, which is a shame, because I also found her endlessly annoying (if believably so).
I did enjoy revisiting Professor Pennyroyal and the traction cities, especially seeing what Reeve did with artsy Brighton in its new inca...more
I did enjoy revisiting Professor Pennyroyal and the traction cities, especially seeing what Reeve did with artsy Brighton in its new inca...more
My first thought, in trying to sum up this story, is 'solid'. Everyone is here, from Shrike, the stalker-with-a-heart, to Gargle, the lost boy who saved Caul in the previous story (though his appearance is surprisingly brief). Tying them all together is the mysterious Tin Book, which young Wren steals in exchange for an Adventure...
This is one of those middle books that would make sense to those uninitiated in the world of Mortal Engines, but would probably feel like it was lacking something. Th...more
This is one of those middle books that would make sense to those uninitiated in the world of Mortal Engines, but would probably feel like it was lacking something. Th...more
If you really liked the two prior books in this series, than Infernal Devices may be a bit of a tough sell for you. Reeve takes the risk of skipping 16 years in the storyline to start this one -- so Tom and Hester are older, and less appealing -- and added their daughter Wren to the mix, and unfortunately she's too naive to be terribly interesting herself.
But, there are happy trade offs. An infamous character returns, with flair and panache, I might add, and the uncomfortable dynamic of Tom and...more
But, there are happy trade offs. An infamous character returns, with flair and panache, I might add, and the uncomfortable dynamic of Tom and...more
Wren Natsworthy lives on a static town on the Dead Continent, hopefully safe from predators. Down in the bottom tiers of Anchorage-in-Vineland an old burglar, a Lost Boy, receives visitors from old friends. Desperate to leave her slow life behind, Wren steals away an old Tin Book, one that threatens to start a war.
So Reeve took a very big gamble with the "fifteen years later" thing, and it didn't pay off. Tom hasn't changed in many ways other than to get a bit softer. Hester has lost any form of...more
So Reeve took a very big gamble with the "fifteen years later" thing, and it didn't pay off. Tom hasn't changed in many ways other than to get a bit softer. Hester has lost any form of...more
The third of Reeve's Hungry City books jumps forward a decade or so and hands the bulk of the action over to a new main character, but it's business as usual and much of the same. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it's another enjoyable entry to a great series, though I found Tom thoroughly disappointing this time round, his blandness seemingly amplified by age (perhaps that was intentional, but for me it was just unsatisfying).
The real intrigue here comes from the original set of character...more
The real intrigue here comes from the original set of character...more
It is always interesting to read when we meet a new character in WoME. At first, I have to admit I was not a huge fan of Wren, but the more I read, the more she matured as a character and the more I came to like her. It's still a bit hard to believe that so much time has passed between books two and three of this series. Many of the characters I had come to love in the previous books are all grown up!
Speaking of characters, Hester really bothered me in this book. I can see that she is going thro...more
Speaking of characters, Hester really bothered me in this book. I can see that she is going thro...more
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.
So...I'm sorry to say that I didn't like this book as well as the first two. I really didn't like Hester in this book. She as always been angry, but after 16 years of living with Tom, and having a child, I thought she would have softend up, but she seems as ruthless as ever. I'm interested to see where her character goes in A Darkling Plain.
I did like Wren, though Reeve has created a true 15 year old (i.e. thinks she know better than her parents). Wren is a true mix of her father's kindness and...more
I did like Wren, though Reeve has created a true 15 year old (i.e. thinks she know better than her parents). Wren is a true mix of her father's kindness and...more
This is the third book in the Mortal Engines series. For a third effort -- its not bad. The characters of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw (now Natsworthy) are further developed through the storyline's plot. Adding to this particular set of front-line characters are Wren Natsworthy (their daughter), Theo Ngoni, Doctor Zero and Fishcake - one of the Lost Boys. The plot moves along at a very good pace -- providing lots of storylines that appear to fade into an ending -- only to be resurrected at the...more
Pretty good third instalment in the Mortal Engines series. Everybody has grown up between books, which is a bit of a shock at first but it is well handled and typical of the style of the series to show that not everybody can be satisfied with a 'happily ever after'. Hester is even more mixed up than she was as a teenager and seems to have spent most of the intervening years falling out with her daughter Wren and honing her aim by hunting all the nearby wildlife. We still love her though. There's...more
I was a little disappointed in this book if I'm perfectly honest. A main focus for me when reading a book is character development. I found the characters in this book shave become more 2dimentional with more character regression than development. I also was uncomfortable by the underlying idea that the attractive characters such as Freya and Tom were good and the ugly characters such as Hester were all bad. I felt Reeves had the opportunity to portray light and dark in Hester showing that disfi...more
In this book, we learn that Hester is a jerk.
Honestly, though, I felt bad for her during the first two books, considering everything she went through. But in "Infernal Devices" I lost all the sympathy that I had for her after she goes on her little killing rampage and keeps smiling creepily the entire time. Of course, now that I've finished the book, I really just want to know if she'll be reconciled with Tom and Wren in the end, or if she'll die some sort of tragic death to redeem herself. (I'm...more
Honestly, though, I felt bad for her during the first two books, considering everything she went through. But in "Infernal Devices" I lost all the sympathy that I had for her after she goes on her little killing rampage and keeps smiling creepily the entire time. Of course, now that I've finished the book, I really just want to know if she'll be reconciled with Tom and Wren in the end, or if she'll die some sort of tragic death to redeem herself. (I'm...more
Between the end of Predator's Gold and the beginning of Infernal Devices, sixteen years have passed. In that time, Anchorage has become a static city, Hester and Tom have married, and their daughter has grown into a teenager. A huge risk for the author to take. I was emotionally invested in Hester and Tom, and wasn't ready to pass that on to their daughter, Wren. Luckily, they still play a large part in the storyline.
Wren did not make a good first impression on me. Within the first 50 pages, she...more
Wren did not make a good first impression on me. Within the first 50 pages, she...more
Considering that I cried audibly at the ending of this book, I have to give it 5 stars. It was amazing! Okay, it's still a silly premise, but the character development is excellent, and Reeve keeps you reading with his plot twists and turns. My heart was constantly in my throat worrying about this or that character!
This is such a great series! The character development goes so far beyond the usual in speculative fiction, the writing is good, and the story arc has me on the edge of my seat. I rea...more
This is such a great series! The character development goes so far beyond the usual in speculative fiction, the writing is good, and the story arc has me on the edge of my seat. I rea...more
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.)
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.)
Dec 08, 2009
Louai Alfaori
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
whoever like to read humorous adventure novels.
Recommended to Louai by:
no-one
Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve is a story that talks about Wren Natsworthy, who is the daughter of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw, and who feels so bored with her life in the sleepy static of Anchorage-in-Vineland, and goes to join the lost boys, who have turned up on the island in search of a mysterious Rasmussen family artifact named the "Tin Book", which is a copy of a document from the Sixty Minute War, found by the original founders of the New Anchorage on an old American nuclear submarin...more
YA fiction continues to appeal to me. There is a lightness and sense of humor and wonder that I don't get enough of reading my grownup books. And YA reads blazing fast. I'm reading this series out of order so I did feel occasionally left out of the history, but Reeve drops in mild exposition to help out readers like me. One trade off I deal with in YA fiction is characters who are caricatures or not really there, other than to move the plot. It's a Steampunk world of the future they live in and...more
This book of the series was sad. There was a lot of adventure, thriller, steampunkish drama going on. But it isn't my favorite, not even close. My eyes were riveted to the pages, my fingers flipping the pages as quickly as I could read...but it was sooooo sad! I couldn't believe the ending - GRRRRR! I usually try to pace myself with a series I like (to make them last as long as possible) but I might have to read the next book in line very soon! I am hoping all comes around to the good in the end...more
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dear reader,
the only reason I give this one one star less is because I didn't connect with Wren. Most of the times, I felt she was on the way. And fifteen years is a HUGE jump and I felt I no longer knew the characters. WAY TOO FAST MR. REEVE.
I liked the book; however, I feel it is the weakest one of the series. I think what killed my initial interest is the fact that the third book flash forwards more than a decade (sixteen years to be exact) into the future, not allowing the characters, that w...more
the only reason I give this one one star less is because I didn't connect with Wren. Most of the times, I felt she was on the way. And fifteen years is a HUGE jump and I felt I no longer knew the characters. WAY TOO FAST MR. REEVE.
I liked the book; however, I feel it is the weakest one of the series. I think what killed my initial interest is the fact that the third book flash forwards more than a decade (sixteen years to be exact) into the future, not allowing the characters, that w...more
Philip Reeve truly doesn't take any prisoners in his books, does he?
The body count in this one is very high. Relevant, though.
This brilliant book kept me up late, but it was a very hard read indeed.
I think I partly had to read it through to the bitter end - and bitter it is - because some part of me was hoping for some kind of redemption. Didn't happen.
The way the past comes back to haunt Tom and Hester and ultimately drives them apart was painful.
Because that's what happens between people.
I'm...more
May 23, 2011
AH
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
dystopian,
fantasy,
zzread-may2011,
science-fiction,
sos-bookshelf-bingo,
steampunk,
spies,
young-adult
2.5 stars
Philip Reeve’s Hungry City Chronicles is one of the more original and imaginative young adult series out there. Infernal Devices is the third book in the series and it is set 18 years after Predator’s Gold.
Tom and Hester are all grown up with a teenage daughter. Tom is a loving husband and a doting father to Wren. Hester – I’ll get to her later. They live in the static city of Anchorage and their lives are dull and uneventful in contrast to the adventures of the previous book.
It is Wre...more
Philip Reeve’s Hungry City Chronicles is one of the more original and imaginative young adult series out there. Infernal Devices is the third book in the series and it is set 18 years after Predator’s Gold.
Tom and Hester are all grown up with a teenage daughter. Tom is a loving husband and a doting father to Wren. Hester – I’ll get to her later. They live in the static city of Anchorage and their lives are dull and uneventful in contrast to the adventures of the previous book.
It is Wre...more
This review was originally posted on ThirstforFiction.com
15 prosperous years have passed, and Anchorage-in-Vineland is a delightful, growing town, completely secluded from the outside world, thanks to Pennyroyal. But for the first time, somebody has arrived there. It is Gargle, and he seeks The Tin Book; a pre-sixty minute war book, which contains unfathomable codes to perhaps even deadlier weapons than MEDUSA. But not all goes according to plan, and Wren, Tom and Hester’s daughter, is captured...more
15 prosperous years have passed, and Anchorage-in-Vineland is a delightful, growing town, completely secluded from the outside world, thanks to Pennyroyal. But for the first time, somebody has arrived there. It is Gargle, and he seeks The Tin Book; a pre-sixty minute war book, which contains unfathomable codes to perhaps even deadlier weapons than MEDUSA. But not all goes according to plan, and Wren, Tom and Hester’s daughter, is captured...more
This one is probably my least favorite in the series. Having said that, though, it is easily better than most teen books out there. Comment must be made however that, this book is much, much harsher than the previous two. This is the one that makes libraries sometimes put the series in the adult section instead of the YA. Still amazing though!
15 years have passed since "Predator's Gold" and Tom and Hester have settled in to Anchorage-in-Vineland. They are now in their thirties and their fifteen-...more
15 years have passed since "Predator's Gold" and Tom and Hester have settled in to Anchorage-in-Vineland. They are now in their thirties and their fifteen-...more
Another Hungry City Story with more ravenous cities, more zombie robot warriors, more young boys who use high tech submarines to steal little trinkets luckily for us all there is still more to come!
Sixteen years have gone by. The baby in Hesters belly at the end of Predator's Gold has grown up to be Wren. All is calm and cosy in Anchorage. That is, to say,until the Lost Boys (and girls) rock up. This time they want the Tin Book, a mysterious reminent of the Sixty Minute War. However they find a...more
Sixteen years have gone by. The baby in Hesters belly at the end of Predator's Gold has grown up to be Wren. All is calm and cosy in Anchorage. That is, to say,until the Lost Boys (and girls) rock up. This time they want the Tin Book, a mysterious reminent of the Sixty Minute War. However they find a...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...more
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Philip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for a number of years while also co-writing, producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects.
Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.
Philip has been writing stories...more
More about Philip Reeve...
Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.
Philip has been writing stories...more
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“Boo-Boo Pennyroyal did not like her male and female slaves to mingle. In the operas that she adored, young people brought together in tragic circumstances were forever falling in love with each other and then throwing themselves off things (cliffs, mostly, but sometimes battlements, or rooftops, or the brinks of volcanoes). Boo-Boo was fond of her slaves, and it pained her to think of them plummeting in pairs off the edges of Cloud 9, so she nipped all tragic love affairs firmly in the bud by forbidding the girls and boys to speak to one another. Of course, young people being what they were, girls sometimes fell in love with other girls, or boys with boys, but that never happened in the operas, so Boo-Boo didn't notice.”
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“Oenone had found the chapel by accident, and was not certain what kept drawing her back to it. She was not a Christian. Few people were anymore, except in Africa, and on certain islands of the outermost west. All she knew of Christians was that they worhsipped a god nailed to a cross, and what on earth was the use of a god who went around letting himself get nailed to things?”
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updated 22 nov. 17:00