Tag: steampunk

Mortal Engines Review

IndiaReadsALot3 Comments
  • Author: Phillip Reeve
  • Series: Mortal Engines Quartet #1
  • Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopian
  • No. of pages: 336
  • Dates read: 29.05.19 – 10.06.19
  • Rating: 4 stars

I didn’t know much about this story going into it, I had watched the trailer for the movie and that was about it. I am so happy that I have found this series!

Plot: London is a city on wheels – a future city like you’ve never known before. In the terrible aftermath of the Sixty Minute War, cities which survived the apocalypse became predators, chasing and feeding on smaller towns. Now London is hunting down its prey, getting ready to feed. But as the chase begins, Tom uncovers a secret – a secret full of deadly consequences. Soon he is plunged into a world of unkillable enemies, threatened by a weapon that will tear his life apart.

First of all, the setting was unlike anything I have read before. I loved the world-building of the city of London with its many cogs, levels and pipes. It had a massive steampunk feel to it, the city felt like it was just patched together with what was available. Reeve did an amazing job in painting a picture for you of London and all the other places that we visit. I just fell in love with this messed up world.

The characters in this book were incredibly varied. I loved seeing Tom turn from coward to hero, becoming the hero he dreamed of being. I loved Hester’s character the most, she was a woman with a goal and was unwavering! (Ignore the fact her goal is to murder someone.) Katherine was such a beautiful and hopeful character and you just want to see her succeed. The female characters especially lift quite a lot of the male characters up in this story which was great to see!

One thing I didn’t love, there is probably a reason behind this, was the emphasis on Hester’s “ugliness”. She has a scar which haunts her everywhere she goes and I felt slightly uncomfortable whenever she was referenced as ugly or disgusting by all the male characters she comes into contact with, it’s a sign of trauma in her life and it’s something that should be dismissed as ugly and unworthy of someone’s time. But there is probably a deeper meaning to this but I had to say it.

I loved the different POV’s we got throughout the story, we were watching many different sides to this big narrative! We got Katherine’s journey of discovery, Tom’s journey of survival and Hester’s journey of revenge. All very different journey’s so it made for an incredibly interesting read and very dynamic plot!

The romance that brewed in this novel worked well for me. It wasn’t too over-empowering but also developed enough so you didn’t think it came out of the blue.

I loved the theme of loss that flows its way through the story. While I can’t say too much due to spoilers, nearly every character has experienced, prior to the story or during the story, some element of losing something and now has to deal with that loss. It was a theme that follows you from page to page.

My final point would be that it felt very much like a standalone novel, someone the actions and plot points felt very final to me rather than the pathway to a second novel. So, I am interested to see where Reeve goes with the series, as it’s quite unclear to me.

The next book I will be reviewing is The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell. A more light-hearted and fun novel. I am still re-reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as I am typing this but there will be a blog post about that book as well.

The Arm of the Sphinx Review

IndiaReadsALot4 Comments
  • Author: Josiah Bancroft
  • Series: The Books of Babel #2
  • Genre: Fantasy/Steampunk
  • No. of pages: 448
  • Date Read: 09.02.19 – 12.02.19
  • Rating: 4.5 stars
  • Challenge: 2019 sequels

Another brilliant instalment to an incredible series by Mr. Bancroft! This was probably my highest anticipated book for 2019. I read Senlin Ascends last April and loved it! I was a bit nervous getting into this that it might not match up to my expectations but I couldn’t of been more wrong!

Bancroft’s writing is exceptional. I just love the way he writes. It draws you in and paints a perfect picture for you. I was about 4 pages into the book and fell back in love with this story purely based on Bancroft’s writing. It stands out as probably my favoirte writing style.

The world that Bancroft has created is so inventive. I loved re-entering this scary but inticing world and it was so much fun to learn more about the features and the history of the tower. I think it was a brilliant expansion on a world that was set up really well in the first installment.

I love the representation of women in this book. All the women in this book have a variety of different qualities whether it’s strength, wisdom or curiosity. And despite these differing qualities, each woman is presented as strong in her own way and I loved it. We had Iren’s strength, Voleta’s curiosity, Madame Bhata’s intelligence. No women is shown to be less than the other. Especially when it comes to the women of the Stone Cloud, they all bring something key to the team which helps them succeed in what they set out to do. I love seeing a strong woman in novels but what I loved about this story is we get not just one strong women but a good number of strong women. We also see a variety of women of colour which also makes me happy.

All the new characters introduced, like in Senlin Ascends, have such important roles to play in the story and continuing the narrative and it just shows the thorough detail Bancroft has put into this book. Every decision made, in this story, has a consequence or level of importance in progressing the plot and I love that about this book.

I loved the friendship between the crew of the Stone Cloud. They are a rag-tag group of individuals forced together and they form this amazing unlikely bond. They all disagree and fall out but ultimately look out for one another which was an interesting dynamic. I also loved how we got to focus a bit on each crew member and learn it a bit more about them as people. The first book was all about Senlin and his journey but this story felt for about the group as a whole rather than Senlin specifcally.

However, this book does feel more like a set-up book for the following novels to come. The second half of the book felt very stand still in, terms of action, as Bancroft had to set up points that would be important for the rest of the series. I ultimately didn’t mind this, as loads of interesting plot points and character developments were made and introduced to the story. That ended up with me asking more questions and created more tension but not a lot of action really happened in this novel compared to the first book.

I am so excited to pick up his next book as I feel all the setting up he’s done in this book will come to full fruition later on and I want to see it all unfold. The next book I will be reviewing is The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah.