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leyaruth42's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent steampunk young adult novel. I suggest reading these before the Mortal Engines series.
aurodon's review against another edition
2.0
Well-written, but for some reason it didn't suit me - I guess I'm more into fantasy than tech-driven stories.
turrean's review against another edition
4.0
Reeve was hampered by having plot points he had to insert in order to provide the “prehistory” of a world he’s already created. I didn’t find this quite as compulsively readable as his other books. (Though, since were talking about Reeve, is still damn compulsively readable.)
sandst's review against another edition
3.0
It's interesting to see how the origin of Municipal Darwinism pans out, yet I am surprised at how simple the idea came about. This prequel is less gruesome (and less complicated) compared to the sequels, the characters having more heart, although the lack of character development yet again is rather irritating. But I guess Reeve would be able to develop them more in the next few books. Shrike makes a predictable comeback in the name of Stalkers but it's still nice to read about who he used to be. The ending definitely leaves me curious as to how it all comes through, so I guess I have to buy the next book, sigh.
indianajane's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't know that this book was a prequel to the Hungry City Chronicles when I grabbed it off the library shelf to kill time until my hold on Infernal Devices came in. I was enjoying the story, but kept feeling little tugs at my attention, and finally figured out why midway through. Now I'm waiting for the next one, glad I still have a couple of the Hungry City books to read.
meijhen's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first of the books set in this world that I've read, and I liked it very much.
The setting is post-Apocalyptic, and a bit steampunky. The description and worldbuilding I liked very much, but I was a little disappointed by some of the character development, and the "big reveal" was actually a bit anti-climactic.
It was definitely enough to keep my interest, though, and I will be looking up further books in the series to find out more.
The setting is post-Apocalyptic, and a bit steampunky. The description and worldbuilding I liked very much, but I was a little disappointed by some of the character development, and the "big reveal" was actually a bit anti-climactic.
It was definitely enough to keep my interest, though, and I will be looking up further books in the series to find out more.
kat_greenwood99's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Starting this book, I was stunned by the intricately layered history and world-development of this post-apocalyptic, London-esque steampunk world and city. Later on, I realized this was a prequel, which explains the richness of the characters and the tantalizingly brief glimpses into unexplored corridors of this world that the author gives us but never explores.
Do you or your youngster like Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan? Love China Mieville but think his stories a bit too adult for the YA crowd? This is your book, then.
Westerfeld gets around the whole "younger heroine written by man" issue by making his protagonist impersonate a boy on an airship. Reeve pulls a similar stunt by making it okay for his teenage protagonist, Fever, to be somewhat emotionally stunted and aloof by having her grow up within a society of Engineers who insist emotionals are unreasonable and require her to shave her head bald.
While Fever herself isn't the strongest rack to hang your emotional hat on, the world building is so interesting, both in the "I spot that famous London landmark" and the "what a cool way to use remnants of our society" ways. Fever's journey into her city, after living mostly isolated from politics, is exciting. We get to see secret tunnels, remains of decadents societies, lost tech, mobs of angry townspeople, and awful cyborg warriors (a la cybermen).
Reeve definitely doesn't seem to mind really putting his characters through the wringer, nor doing terrible, irrevocable things to main characters (which kind of makes sense if this is a prequel since presumably we won't care about these "side" characters once we hit the main series)
Definitely worth your time if you're a steampunk fan or just like fantastic world building. Pretty much zilch on the romance side, but a bit of bloodthirsty reference to skinning people alive.
Do you or your youngster like Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan? Love China Mieville but think his stories a bit too adult for the YA crowd? This is your book, then.
Westerfeld gets around the whole "younger heroine written by man" issue by making his protagonist impersonate a boy on an airship. Reeve pulls a similar stunt by making it okay for his teenage protagonist, Fever, to be somewhat emotionally stunted and aloof by having her grow up within a society of Engineers who insist emotionals are unreasonable and require her to shave her head bald.
While Fever herself isn't the strongest rack to hang your emotional hat on, the world building is so interesting, both in the "I spot that famous London landmark" and the "what a cool way to use remnants of our society" ways. Fever's journey into her city, after living mostly isolated from politics, is exciting. We get to see secret tunnels, remains of decadents societies, lost tech, mobs of angry townspeople, and awful cyborg warriors (a la cybermen).
Reeve definitely doesn't seem to mind really putting his characters through the wringer, nor doing terrible, irrevocable things to main characters (which kind of makes sense if this is a prequel since presumably we won't care about these "side" characters once we hit the main series)
Definitely worth your time if you're a steampunk fan or just like fantastic world building. Pretty much zilch on the romance side, but a bit of bloodthirsty reference to skinning people alive.
deadscreen's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting world but I wasn't too invested in the characters.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
Refreshingly brisk after reading the last in the Hungry City Chronicles, with an appealing new character and a revelation about Grike's origins that was surprising and satisfying. Now on to the next!