Review: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

The good

• A somewhat unique premise: mobile cities that move around and hunt each other.

• The steampunk technology vibe is kind of neat: steam power, coal, hot-air balloons, airships, goggles, swords, etc.

• The plot takes some unexpected twists and turns through this unique world.

The not so good

• The characters are 2 dimensional tropes.

• The dialog is cringe-worthy.

• The writing is all over the place. The world building and steampunk parts are pretty good, but the story mixes the occasional adult theme (e.g., the story does not shy away from death) with characters and dialog from a children’s story (not even young adult—more like a story for young children), and I found it jarring.

Rating: 2.5 stars