Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve

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I recently read the first part of this young adult's fantasy quartet. It's extraordinary, like a Miyazaki film in novel form. How's this for an opening sentence:

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

What starts off as a light-heartedly exuberant romp turns in to something very bleak and morally ambiguous. Anyone else read any of these?

chap, Thursday, 10 April 2008 20:23 (sixteen years ago) link

I haven't read this yet, but his "Larklight" and "Starcross" for juvies are excellent. Very glad he's writing for kids, but I haven't had much success pushing him on my young readers.

Virginia Plain, Friday, 11 April 2008 01:43 (sixteen years ago) link

five months pass...

I've just finished the last one, it's pretty phenomenal. Maybe second only to Pullman in the young adult fantasy vein.

chap, Tuesday, 16 September 2008 19:20 (fifteen years ago) link

I love love love these oh I'm so glad someone started a thread! They're wonderful. Good new US covers, too.

Laurel, Tuesday, 16 September 2008 19:22 (fifteen years ago) link

LARKLIGHT is cute but I'm afraid it's more enjoyable to an adult understanding of the subtext than it might be right on the surface, in terms of getting your library kids to read it, Mary. :(

Laurel, Tuesday, 16 September 2008 19:23 (fifteen years ago) link

That final chapter was beautiful.

chap, Tuesday, 16 September 2008 19:25 (fifteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Wiki says that Peter Jackson is doing the films.

A brownish area with points (chap), Thursday, 11 November 2010 01:03 (thirteen years ago) link

eight years pass...

Somehow this was the film that was picked for the yearly office movie outing. It was terrible.

silverfish, Friday, 14 December 2018 21:54 (five years ago) link

Shame, books are great fun.

chap, Saturday, 15 December 2018 10:38 (five years ago) link


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