Title and Author: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Plot Overview: In a post-apocalyptic world, the survivors have put their cities on massive tank treads and begun traversing the devastated landscape in search of resources. This includes “municipal darwinism” as cities overtake and destroy each other. Victorian-esque London has long isolated itself away from the main continent of Eurasia (the “hunting ground”). The story follows Tom Natsworthy, a guild apprentice historian. As London begins an inexplicable dash into the hunting ground, it chases smaller cities. When a girl aboard one of the towns it devours boards London, Tom witnesses her dramatic assassination attempt on historian guild head Valentine. Tom and the girl, Hester, are both pushed out a chute, off the city of London and into the wasteland. Hester and Tom reluctantly team up to chase down London, Tom must uncover why Hester attempted to murder Valentine, and Valentine and the city of London seek a mysterious goal on the other side of the hunting ground.

Most Compelling Aspects: This book’s worldbuilding is stellar. While London is portrayed as a steampunk society, the book is set in a post-apocalyptic world where “old tech” (think CD-ROMs, toasters, and iPhones) is collected by cities’ historians and characters refer to the effects of the “Sixty Minute War” wreaked by energy weapons. The transcontinental trip of London also lets us see flying airship cities, pirate towns, and “static cities” (not on treads) behind China’s Great Wall.

Disappointing Aspects: Because the setting is so jam-packed with details, the plot can be a little lacking here. Tom can be an unreliable enough narrator to make some plot events confusing. The author also has a predilection for brutally dispatching characters (both major and minor) in service of the plot.

Cover Critique: I absolutely love this cover! You can see Hester, in her characteristic red scarf, standing on the deck of a smaller city as London thunders toward it. This cover actually helped me a lot with imagining the scale of the city throughout the book: a city small enough to put on treads is kind of a weird concept to wrap your head around.

Rating: 5/5, would consider reading the rest of the series (quartet)!

From Ms. Yang: Thanks for posting. The concept sounds so intriguing! Did you know about the movie before reading the book? It came out last year, I think?