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A review by princess360
Railhead by Philip Reeve
5.0
Gripping for the first moment and a thrilling ride throughout.
A coming of age narrative which follows the journey of one Zen Starling, a railhead and petty thief from Cleave, in a world where the locomotive is the preferred mode of transport. He reminded me of Aladdin. Zen is a likeable character to follow, and whilst other potentially more irritating characters have their moment in the spotlight in various subplots, these are short enough that they do not overpower the overall tone, instead providing greater depth to the plot.
The pacing was facilitated by fairly short chapters, and the sense of jeopardy was high from the start. Personally I wouldn't have minded a slightly longer third act, but the pay of was still satisfying. I would give 4.5 stars if I could for that reason.
A coming of age narrative which follows the journey of one Zen Starling, a railhead and petty thief from Cleave, in a world where the locomotive is the preferred mode of transport. He reminded me of Aladdin. Zen is a likeable character to follow, and whilst other potentially more irritating characters have their moment in the spotlight in various subplots, these are short enough that they do not overpower the overall tone, instead providing greater depth to the plot.
The pacing was facilitated by fairly short chapters, and the sense of jeopardy was high from the start. Personally I wouldn't have minded a slightly longer third act, but the pay of was still satisfying. I would give 4.5 stars if I could for that reason.