A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve
Apr. 10th, 2009 12:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Hester is missing - presumed dead.
Wren's mother has been gone for six months. Her father is hiding something. And now the fragile truce between the Traction Cities and the Green Storm is crumbling.
It will be a battle to end all battles. This time, each side is determined to crush the other for ever.
Set 6 months after Infernal Devices, Wren and her father, Tom, have set up an air trading business in the Jenny Hanniver, Theo has returned to his family in the static city of Zagwa, Fishcake has partly rebuilt the Stalker Fang and is travelling with her in search of more parts and Hester ... well, no one knows where Hester is. The Green Storm is now led by General Naga who, persuaded by his wife Dr Zero, has entered into a truce with the Traction Cities. But there are those on both sides who wish to restart the war.
When Dr Zero visits Zagwa to persuade them to enter into an alliance, Theo thwarts an attempt to assassinate her and, hoping to meet Wren again on the air roads, agrees to accompany Zero back to the Green Storm to warn her husband of the danger. Meanwhile, during a stop at Peripatetiapolis, Tom sees a woman he believes to be a fellow Apprentice Historian from London, but who claims to be an air trader specialising in old tech. He and Wren decide to go after her to see if there are other survivors from London. These two independent decisions, spark an interconnected, multi-layered adventure that sees familiar characters return (including Professor Pennyroyal, Shrike, Dr Popjoy, and Sathya) and new characters introduced (most notably the dashing but emotionally troubled Wolf Kobold).
Longer than the other works in the quartet, Reeve is in complete control of his twisting and intertwining plot lines and although it's a complex story, the reader never gets lost. The pace is cracking and there is some beautifully sly humour (notably the mention of the God of Municipal Darwinism - Thatcher). Most of all though is that this is an incredibly moving story. Whether it's the lost Fishcake's pitiful relationship with the Stalker Fang (who herself is troubled by the revived personality of Anna Fang, who shows kindness to the boy), Hester's bitterness and relationship with Shrike (the only being who truly understands and loves her), Dr Zero's attempts to make up for her blood-thirsty past or Tom's attempts to shield Wren from his worsening health, there is much in this book that is truly affecting and yet is wrapped up in a thrilling action adventure.
The world building remains superb, particularly Reeve's accounts of the war-exhausted city of Murnau, the remnants of London and the rise of New London. The storylines build to an stunning conclusion that I'm not ashamed to admit, brought a tear to my eye and although Reeve utilises a literary conceit at the end of the book that doesn't quite come off (mainly because of the unlikelihood of such information being available to that character), it takes this series full circle in a way that is completely fitting.
The Verdict:
A fitting conclusion that brings this stunning quartet full-cricle, this is one of the few series of books that I would urge anyone (whether a fan of fantasy, science fiction or YA) to buy.
Wren's mother has been gone for six months. Her father is hiding something. And now the fragile truce between the Traction Cities and the Green Storm is crumbling.
It will be a battle to end all battles. This time, each side is determined to crush the other for ever.
Set 6 months after Infernal Devices, Wren and her father, Tom, have set up an air trading business in the Jenny Hanniver, Theo has returned to his family in the static city of Zagwa, Fishcake has partly rebuilt the Stalker Fang and is travelling with her in search of more parts and Hester ... well, no one knows where Hester is. The Green Storm is now led by General Naga who, persuaded by his wife Dr Zero, has entered into a truce with the Traction Cities. But there are those on both sides who wish to restart the war.
When Dr Zero visits Zagwa to persuade them to enter into an alliance, Theo thwarts an attempt to assassinate her and, hoping to meet Wren again on the air roads, agrees to accompany Zero back to the Green Storm to warn her husband of the danger. Meanwhile, during a stop at Peripatetiapolis, Tom sees a woman he believes to be a fellow Apprentice Historian from London, but who claims to be an air trader specialising in old tech. He and Wren decide to go after her to see if there are other survivors from London. These two independent decisions, spark an interconnected, multi-layered adventure that sees familiar characters return (including Professor Pennyroyal, Shrike, Dr Popjoy, and Sathya) and new characters introduced (most notably the dashing but emotionally troubled Wolf Kobold).
Longer than the other works in the quartet, Reeve is in complete control of his twisting and intertwining plot lines and although it's a complex story, the reader never gets lost. The pace is cracking and there is some beautifully sly humour (notably the mention of the God of Municipal Darwinism - Thatcher). Most of all though is that this is an incredibly moving story. Whether it's the lost Fishcake's pitiful relationship with the Stalker Fang (who herself is troubled by the revived personality of Anna Fang, who shows kindness to the boy), Hester's bitterness and relationship with Shrike (the only being who truly understands and loves her), Dr Zero's attempts to make up for her blood-thirsty past or Tom's attempts to shield Wren from his worsening health, there is much in this book that is truly affecting and yet is wrapped up in a thrilling action adventure.
The world building remains superb, particularly Reeve's accounts of the war-exhausted city of Murnau, the remnants of London and the rise of New London. The storylines build to an stunning conclusion that I'm not ashamed to admit, brought a tear to my eye and although Reeve utilises a literary conceit at the end of the book that doesn't quite come off (mainly because of the unlikelihood of such information being available to that character), it takes this series full circle in a way that is completely fitting.
The Verdict:
A fitting conclusion that brings this stunning quartet full-cricle, this is one of the few series of books that I would urge anyone (whether a fan of fantasy, science fiction or YA) to buy.
