If you haven't read Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, you'd better get on to it. Or you won't be able to compare it with the movie - our very own Peter Jackson began shooting on this film in March 2017!
Written for young adults, Carnegie Medal winning Mortal Engines is a fast-paced tale of good and evil. The first of four stories, Mortal Engines is set in a dystopian, steampunk future where cities and townships have become portable, driven by machines; and predatory.
The Traction City of London has chased down and eaten a small town. Eaten!!? As celebrations begin, fifteen year old Tom Natsworthy, a third-class apprentice in the Historian's Guild, discovers corruption in the heart of the city.
The man he respects most, Thaddeus Valentine, is not what he appears to be. Tainted with this knowledge, Tom is ejected from London: pushed down a waste tube and out into the Hunting Grounds of Europe. Aided by a scar-faced girl intent on murdering his mentor, Tom must find his way back to his city, to fight for its future.
Philip Reeve creates great characters and scenes. The book is so visual that it reads like a movie. I'm excited to see how Phillip Reeve's Steampunk ideas of huge metal and cog cities, driven by steam, will translate to the big screen.
Mortal Engines releases in New Zealand on December 13, 2018.
Read more in the Making the Mortal Engines Movie website
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