Home > Categories > Books > Fantasy > Mortal Engines : 2 : Predators Gold review
Tom and Hester are in danger.
Pursued by the grim aviators of the Green Storm, they stumble onto the ice city of Anchorage just in time. But Anchorage is not a safe refuge: devastated by plague and haunted by thieves or ghosts, the city is barely lurching along. And savage Huntsmen are closing in. Surrounded by danger, Tom and Hester struggle as jealousy threatens to destroy them and the city.
In a desperate bid for survival, the young ruler of Anchorage sets a course for the Dead Continent: America.
Product reviews...
SO loving this series!
Normally I will take 3-4 weeks to plow through a standard paperback... primarily because other committments take up a lot of my 'spare' time these days... however I find myself unable to put these books down, and so I seem to be getting through them in about 10 days... and I would like to thank all my suffering compatriots for the extra workload they are shouldering because I am sitting in the office with my nose rammed in a book. -blush-
Seriously though, this series is amazing. For a die-hard sci-fi fan like me, a fantasy series that can grab me like this is pretty stunning. It has enough "strange tech" in it to capture me when the storyline goes a bit off my prefered track, enough action to keep you hooked, and enough 'gushy stuff' fo that it appeals to a softer market as well.
Again we meet up with, and follow, Tom and Hester as they journey. Anna Fang makes a surprising reappearance, as does Shrike, and we meet The Lost Boys. There are twists and plots aplenty in here, love, jealousy, action, betrayal, trust given, and abused... if you read this and can't find anything that grabs you... find your nearest dictionary, it might be more your pace.
Overall... so good, I finished it last night and am already half way through the next book!
A good sequel to Mortal Engines, Predators Gold picks up about five years from when the last book left off and we discover that Tom and Hester are now a couple - though Hester is convinced that she's just gotten lucky and eventually, Tom will realize he's with a monster and leave her for some prettier girl. Cue soaring adventure, airships and lost boys, plus the ressurected ghost of an old friend.
I found this one a little slower to read than the last, possibly because I am not huge on a story that starts with an insecurity you just know is going to be fulfilled. You keep waiting for the inevitable disaster to strike.
On the other hand, I really liked that Reeve did not need his characters to be all 'good'. Hester, for example, realizes who she really is and that she is capable of necessary evils, if they serve to protect Tom and those Tom cares about.
The only slightly awkward thing about this story is that it is gritty enough in the violence to be a book for say, fourteen year olds (beheading, skewering, stabbing etc), the relationships between the three main characters are limited to jealousy and the occassional stolen kiss, making the off hand-note about Hester's pregnancy in the final page a rather massive surprise. (I remember thinking 'huh'? When did that happen?)
Still, it is a good book and I have just begun reading the next - Infernal Devices - about Tom and Hester's daughter Wren, so I suppose that final note was sort of important.
Random listing from 'Books'...
The prince makes everyone around him feel as small as a castle mouse. One morning he awakes to discover a big problem: he has shrunk! He demands that the cook, gardener and laundrywoman help him grow, but the crosser and meaner he gets, the smaller he becomes. Only by making his heart bigger can he feel tall again.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an bacon-and-eggs breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' but the pig was 'committed'"
anonymous