Philip Reeve
Author of Mortal Engines
About the Author
Philip Reeve was born in Brighton, England, and worked in a bookshop for many years before breaking out and becoming the illustrator of children's book He has also produced and directed several no-budget theater productions, and cowrote a musical, The Ministry of Biscuits. Mr. Reeve and his wife show more and son now live in a hamlet high above the moorland in Devon, England show less
Series
Works by Philip Reeve
Oxford Reading Tree Treetops Greatest Stories: Oxford Level 16: Gawain and the Green Knight (2016) 6 copies
Goblini versus trpaslíci 1 copy
Goblini 1 copy
The Traction Codex 1 copy
Bolos no Espaço 1 copy
Duendes 1 copy
Duendes Contra Anões 1 copy
Associated Works
Professor Fiendish's Book of Diabolical Brain-benders (2002) — Illustrator, some editions — 52 copies
The Future of Horror: The Collected Solaris Horror Anthologies, featuring House of Fear, Magic and End of the Road (2015) — Contributor — 7 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1966-02-28
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Brighton, Sussex, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Dartmoor, Devon, England, UK
- Education
- Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology
Brighton Polytechnic - Occupations
- bookstore clerk
illustrator
science fiction writer - Short biography
- Philip Reeve (born 28 February 1966) is a British author and illustrator of children's books, primarily known for the 2001 book Mortal Engines and its sequels. His 2007 novel, Here Lies Arthur, based on the legendary King Arthur, won the Carnegie Medal, which sets out to choose the year's best children's book published in the UK.
Born on 28 February 1966 in Brighton, Reeve studied illustration, first at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT – now Anglia Ruskin University), where he contributed a comic strip to the Student Union magazine, and later at Brighton Polytechnic (now the University of Brighton). Before becoming an illustrator he worked at a bookshop in Brighton for several years. During his student years and for a few years afterwards he wrote for and performed in comedy sketch shows with a variety of collaborators under various group names, among them The Charles Atlas Sisters. He lives on Dartmoor with his wife Sarah and their son Sam.
With Brian Mitchell, Reeve is the author of a 1998 dystopian comic musical,The Ministry of Biscuits. "Stop! Think before you eat that biscuit! Is it in any way fancy? If so, then you are a criminal! In Post-War London, The Ministry of Biscuits casts its sinister shadow over every tea-time and elevenses in the land. Established to 'control biscuits, and to control the idea of biscuits', it prohibits decadent sweetmeats, such as the Gypsy Cream." This was performed at the Pavilion Theatre, Brighton, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, and the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It underwent a revival in 2005 at the Sallis Benney, Brighton, and began playing at Brighton's Lantern Theatre in November 2017. It has also toured to various other locations throughout the United Kingdom.
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Statistics
- Works
- 74
- Also by
- 18
- Members
- 14,015
- Popularity
- #1,642
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 486
- ISBNs
- 644
- Languages
- 21
- Favorited
- 31
Reeve's writing itself is still super readable and interesting, a lovely blend of storytelling-like narration and vivid descriptions. I love the cities and towns he creates! The world of Mortal Engines is easy to get lost in, and he has managed to keep things feeling fresh throughout three books.
I also really enjoyed the time jump and getting to know Wren. I was a bit hesitant when I saw that this book was 17 years after the events of "Predator's Gold" but Reeve transitioned to this story almost seamlessly. Wren, while a tad underdeveloped, is an interesting character and I liked the generational leap.
Unfortunately, the plot itself wasn't very good. It felt a bit rehashed, like the first book with a bunch of bits and pieces rearranged and a new setting. I also have to admit that I'm 100% DONE with Pennyroyal's reoccurring appearance. He's predictable. He's blustering. He was fine originally, but I wish we could have gotten much less of him. I don't usually mind reoccurring characters, like Shrike, but because Pennyroyal is so predictable it makes the book that way, too.
One of the biggest problems with this book is Hester's characterization. The whole book she is angry, violent, childish, and lacked any sort of development. She seems almost jealous of Wren, and says several times that she wishes Wren would have never been born or that she is glad Wren got kidnapped. I would have thought that all those years in Anchorage would have given Tom and Hester time to get to know each other even more and communicate with each other, but apparently Hester hated it there the whole time and just never said anything to Tom even after all they've been through together. :/ Everything with Hester was just disappointing in this novel.
All in all, "Infernal Devices" was fine. I liked bits of it, disliked other bits. I'm still going to read the final book because I really am invested in the series, but I'm realllllyyy hoping the last book has more of the dynamic, action-packed wonders and fun of the first couple books, with way less murderous Hester.
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