A review by theaceofpages
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The world has become a wasteland and cities have become mobile in order to survive. In the past, the landscape was salvaged but now that resources are running low, cities have started relying on each other to survive. And not in a wholesome cooperative kind of way. Larger cities chase down and eat smaller cities (which at least have the advantage of speed) in order to survive.

I don't know if it's just a me thing, but it almost felt like there was a bit of a mismatch between the writing style and the contents of this book. The writing felt more like what you typically find in books for younger teens, while the contents themselves were rather grisly. I loved the world building though. It's a very unique idea and I'm definitely interested in learning more about it, even if everything else was far more simplistic than I expected it to be. I haven't decided if I will continue the series yet, but the world its set in is definitely its strong point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Slavery, and Xenophobia

To build on some of the content warnings: Confinement/ slavery:

Our main characters are captured and kept locked up with the intention to sell them as slaves

Xenophobia:

Those who don't live on cities are seen as lesser and uncivilised

Colonisation:

Big cities literally eat and take over others