Mortal Engines : 2 : Predators Gold 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.