[openbook booknumber=”9780452296299″]
What a spectacular book! It’s not a children’s book, by any means, but it plays off both Harry Potter and Narnia. It feels quite a bit more literary than most books I read, and multiple times while reading I stopped to think, “That feels really True.” Grossman did a really good job with his characters. He really captures the teenage experience.
There’s a sequel coming out in 2011.
[openbook booknumber=”9780439978897″]
This is the second book in the Hungry City Chronicles. It follows at least a year after the events in Mortal Engines, and chronicles further exploits of Tom and Hester. I liked it a little less than I liked Mortal Engines.
[openbook booknumber=”0345464028″]
This is the third Bas Lag book. It doesn’t really have any characters in common with any of the other two, but the completely awesome world is the same. The book originally starts as two stories, and they intertwine and meet at the end. It’s a little more political than the previous two, but if you love the Bas Lag setting, you should love this book.
[openbook booknumber=”0060082070″]
Mortal Engines is the first book in the Hungry City Chronicles. They’re set about 2000 years in the future. Sometime in the near future, there is a Sixty Minutes’ War. This wreaks enough havoc (kills the continent of North America and creates a chain of volcanos in Europe) that after a few hundred years, some folks cut up some cities and put them on treads with massive engines. Municipal Darwinism is the idea that all cities should be on treads and mobile, and stronger, more worthy cities will run down the weaker ones and salvage their parts and inhabitants.
Add in airships, Old Tech, and the fact that at least one civilization bloomed and died between modern day and the world in Mortal Engines, and you’ve got the setting.
If you liked Airborn, you will likely like this. The characters are a little more three-dimensional than in Airborn.
[openbook booknumber=”9780345486103″]
Looking for Jake is a collection of short stories. One of them is set in Bas Lag, otherwise I believe all the stories are completely standalone.
They’re not bad. If I had to compare them to anything I’d pick someone like Neil Gaiman.
[openbook booknumber=”0060105585″]
The Sheep Look Up is a dystopia from the early 70s. I enjoyed seeing which ideas were still in fashion and which were really outmoded, but on the whole, it’s a downer.
I enjoyed it, even with its age.
[openbook booknumber=”9780765322166″]
For some reason, I liked this the least of all of Doctorow’s stuff so far. I was hoping it would be Little Brother caliber, but it really fell short for me.
[openbook booknumber=”9781597801270″]
I didn’t really like this book. Normally I enjoy mashups of Lovecraft and anything, but this felt like a fairly poor Laundry files plus some commentary on sex.
[openbook booknumber=”9781439133040″]
I thoroughly enjoyed Ringo’s first four novels. I read the next 10 or so. I no longer enjoy them. I don’t know if his earlier novels were more carefully edited, or if perhaps he’s more confident in his current stuff, but I think I will no longer put John Ringo stuff at the top of my To Read list.
[openbook booknumber=”0439023491″]
After I finished The Hunger Games, the next day I took the sequel to my local coffeeshop and didn’t leave until I was finished. Highly recommended.