Mortal Engines

DNF at 35.7% (page 120)

Why, just why. I was so excited to read this because of Peter Jackson's new movie so I decided to give it a go before watching the movie. Big mistake. Here I am, 6 months after the theatre release and I still haven't watched it because I've been stuck at 35% of the book, not able to read past that point and finish it.

So what happened? This book was directed at a middle-grade audience, which is fine, don't get me wrong, but it was so incredibly juvenile, even for an MG. I read that the author had originally intended to publish his book in the adult fiction but that the publishers didn't want to accept it, so he had to “dumb it down” to have it published in kid's lit instead. That is absolutely heartbreaking because, in all honesty, this book would have been absolutely killer as an adult sci-fi/fantasy novel. The author's concept was very cool and original (all the cities move around on giant tractor wheels, eating each other up? Awesome.) but because it had to be simplified for kids, it was just plain painful, boring, and horrible to read.



On behalf of sci-fi fans, I want to extend a hearty thanks to Reeve's publishers for ruining a book that had great potential with an adult audience