Scan barcode
A review by karinapplesauce
Railhead by Philip Reeve
5.0
I follow certain reviewers on Goodreads, and this was a 5-star recommendation that seemed few and far between from that person. So, with that, I decided to give this ago. The premise seemed sort of interesting, but I wasn't entirely sure how a book about trains could possibly hold my attention.
But it did. This was a fantastic example of world building. Zen Starling, as a thief and a train junkie ("railhead"), gets recruited for a mission and then the reader gets to see a world wide open.
Traveling between planets in fiction tends to be one of a few things, but this was totally unique. The novel could have gotten itself bogged down by the details at the sacrifice of a narrative (like in [b:Seveneves|22816087|Seveneves|Neal Stephenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449142000l/22816087._SY75_.jpg|42299347], which I just read recently), but this was a perfect blend of both.
But it did. This was a fantastic example of world building. Zen Starling, as a thief and a train junkie ("railhead"), gets recruited for a mission and then the reader gets to see a world wide open.
Traveling between planets in fiction tends to be one of a few things, but this was totally unique. The novel could have gotten itself bogged down by the details at the sacrifice of a narrative (like in [b:Seveneves|22816087|Seveneves|Neal Stephenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449142000l/22816087._SY75_.jpg|42299347], which I just read recently), but this was a perfect blend of both.