L. Arkwright
Vimes's stunt double
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2003
- Messages
- 94
Excerpt from Mortal Engines.
"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. In happier times, London would have never bothered with such feeble prey. The great traction city had once spent its days hunting bigger towns than this, ranging north as far as the edges of the Ice Waste ans south to the shores of the Mediterranean. But lately prey of any kind had started to grow scarce and some of the larger cities had begun to look hungrily at London. For ten years now it had been hiding from them, skulking in a damp, mountainous, western district which the Guild of Historians said had once been the island of Britain. For ten years it had eaten nothing but tiny farming towns and static settlements in those wet hills. Now, at last, the Lord Mayor had decided that the time was right to take his city back over the land-bridge into the Great Hunting Ground."
This is how Mortal Engines begins. Its one of those books thats a surprise. Surprising that the idea is one that Ive found to be completely new and original, surprising that It just kind of leapt out of the book shelf towards me while I was shopping in my local Tesco and surprising that that its a book aimed at children. Now, im not being disrespectful of childrens stories here but this book is a fantastic read for adults as well. I cant really give much away about the plot or how the cities all become mobile because thats part of the enjoyment as you piece together the history that Reeve has developed within the pages. Suffice to say that London, as the others, roams the land on vast wheels and caterpillar tracks hunting down and devouring smaller suburbs. They are pulled inside a vast maw at the front of the city where they are dismanteled and their wreckage is then recycled and used upon London. The population of the now captured city become slaves or are killed. Theres a brilliant term for this. Municipal Darwinism
The author has thought this premise out thoroughly and at no time did it seem to me silly or unbelievable. It captures you and drags you along with it and you find yourself caught up in a story where, yes people are killed or there is pain but it is not gratuitous or graphic which I found to be something of a refreshing change. Another thing that the author should be commended on is that it would have been so easy to turn this book into an adult aimed novel. I love the fact that this adventure, this concept and this brilliant writing are the property of a young adults book.
"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. In happier times, London would have never bothered with such feeble prey. The great traction city had once spent its days hunting bigger towns than this, ranging north as far as the edges of the Ice Waste ans south to the shores of the Mediterranean. But lately prey of any kind had started to grow scarce and some of the larger cities had begun to look hungrily at London. For ten years now it had been hiding from them, skulking in a damp, mountainous, western district which the Guild of Historians said had once been the island of Britain. For ten years it had eaten nothing but tiny farming towns and static settlements in those wet hills. Now, at last, the Lord Mayor had decided that the time was right to take his city back over the land-bridge into the Great Hunting Ground."
This is how Mortal Engines begins. Its one of those books thats a surprise. Surprising that the idea is one that Ive found to be completely new and original, surprising that It just kind of leapt out of the book shelf towards me while I was shopping in my local Tesco and surprising that that its a book aimed at children. Now, im not being disrespectful of childrens stories here but this book is a fantastic read for adults as well. I cant really give much away about the plot or how the cities all become mobile because thats part of the enjoyment as you piece together the history that Reeve has developed within the pages. Suffice to say that London, as the others, roams the land on vast wheels and caterpillar tracks hunting down and devouring smaller suburbs. They are pulled inside a vast maw at the front of the city where they are dismanteled and their wreckage is then recycled and used upon London. The population of the now captured city become slaves or are killed. Theres a brilliant term for this. Municipal Darwinism
The author has thought this premise out thoroughly and at no time did it seem to me silly or unbelievable. It captures you and drags you along with it and you find yourself caught up in a story where, yes people are killed or there is pain but it is not gratuitous or graphic which I found to be something of a refreshing change. Another thing that the author should be commended on is that it would have been so easy to turn this book into an adult aimed novel. I love the fact that this adventure, this concept and this brilliant writing are the property of a young adults book.
