Mortal Engines (Mortal Engines, #1)

by Philip Reeve

[rakesandrogues]

I heard about the Mortal Engines quartet while working on Fever Crumb during my internship. I devoured Fever Crumb. I thought it was clever and addicting, and it gave me an appreciation for science fiction. I did start out reading the prequel series (Fever Crumb) but I couldn't get enough. As much as I wanted to read the books in order, I could not resist the allure of Mortal Engines. Sure, the characters are entirely different, but I wanted to learn more about this futuristic world that Reeve had created.

When I first opened the book, I did have my doubts. Was I going to enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed reading Fever Crumb? To answer that, I did. Immediately, Reeve set a fast pace that made me want to keep flipping the pages. While reading, I get sucked into his world and time flies by without me noticing. I love reading descriptions about "Old Tech" and archaeological finds of modern things that we use currently. I think he brilliantly describes them like the foreign things that they will become in the future, like the way we admire a fossil. The concept of Municipal Darwinisim? Genius. It's still a difficult concept for me to grasp, however. I can't imagine how our world could be turned into a place where it's a town eat town society. I don't think it's likely to ever happen, but when I'm reading I get convinced otherwise. I loved reading about London society and the separation of the classes. The characters really come to life, and I found myself rooting for them in the face of peril. Though a bad guy, Shrike was my favorite character. I was fascinated by the Stalkers. I think I kind of developed a soft spot for him.

There's never a dull moment in this book. Whether it's Tom and Hester's adventures or Kate's investigations, I just wanted to keep reading on. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the quartet. Honestly, I cannot wait for Scholastic to repackage this for the US market. It's still probably going to take a while for this to happen, but I assure you that this is one of the rare books that I will dash at the store to get. For now, maybe I'll nab a copy at the Book Depository. Too tempting, indeed.