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Mortal Engines Series - Philip Reeve
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Josie
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May 15, 2009 05:21PM
Ooh, I was thinking of starting this thread, as I read all four books earlier this year! I found them amazing in their originality and scope, and the characters are all really memorable - especially Hester and Anna Fang, and Striker... Very cool series, I recommend you read it, Fiona :)
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What? Fever Crumb? There's another one? I thought there were just four! (*Scurries off to look it up*)I'm so glad you liked it!
The is a great series! I think I probably liked the first and last best.I would agree with Josie about who the best characters are, but who was Striker? Shrike was interesting.
I have Fever Crumb on my giant pile of books to read - looking forward to it.
Anybody read his other stuff? I liked the two Larklight books but found Here Lies Arthur rather disappointing.
Well, the take on the Arthur story is very original and the overall concept is the best aspect of the book. It's largely disappointing in contrast with the really high standard of his other works - I wouldn't want to deter people from reading it.Shrike is the mechanical man.
The story started in Mortal Engines is definitely finished in the fourth volume. As mentioned above Fever Crumb is set a long time prior to Mortal Engines. Whether there will be more books set in that world I don't know.
There's a third Larklight book in hardback, I think - haven't read that one.
On the other hand, waiting for volumes of on-going series to be published can be greivous....
Robert wrote: "I would agree with Josie about who the best characters are, but who was Striker? Shrike was interesting." I am duly chastened! Shrike, not Striker...
Larklight was actually the first of Reeve's books I read, and after enjoying that, I discovered Mortal Engines. I thought that Larklight seemed to be aimed at a younger audience, and (despite huge, violent, power-hungry spiders) was much more light-hearted than the Hungry City Chronicles though. I loved the alternate Victorian London, and all the space dwellings (and also the pictures, but I'll just whisper that, because I AM, after all, twenty-two).
Yeah - there's a very different tone - the first one seems quite heavily influenced by Lemony Snicket - that aspect of it was absent from Starcross.
Now that you mention it, yes a definite Lemony Snicketness to it (but better)! I haven't read the second one, as my library's yet to order it in, and our bookstores don't stock it...
I just won Fever Crumb from a Goodreads giveaway so I'm waiting for it to come in the mail and looking forward to reading it. If I like it I'm definitely going to be reading the rest of the books in the series.
The series (1-4, I haven't read the prequel) was pretty good. One thing for sure is that Reeve does not go for the easy, happy ending. Each of the books had a huge body count, probably one that was higher than a Shakespeare tragedy.
Are you all referring to The Hungry Cities series? There were no links in the posts so I want to make sure I found the right book.
Yes. Since the Hungry Cities series starts with Mortal Engines, sometimes people just call it the Mortal Engines series.
