A Web of Air

A worthy sequel to Fever Crumb. Sometimes second books in a series are slower-paced and not as engaging, but A Web of Air is just the opposite. Reeve adds complex and interesting new characters and revs up the tension with plot twists and political machinations. Arlo Thursday, the inventor, is a great contrast to Fever. Where Fever is a logical and scientific engineer, Arlo is a whimsical and spontaneous artist. They are opposites that attract. My favorite new characters are the angels, genetically-engineered gulls with some intelligence and hand-like appendages that allow them to do more than their bird cousins. They are Arlo's friends, sometime spies, and inspiration for the creation of his flying machine. Unfortunately, many groups, show more including the establishment and religious factions, prefer the status quo and do not want newfangled contraptions like flying machines. They harken back to the "bad, old days" of technology that caused a major world disaster. Fever and Arlo are swept up in a whirlpool of intrigue and danger. I look forward to the final installment, Scrivener's Moon. show less

Two years have passed since the events of Fever Crumb, and Fever is still travelling aboard the actor's land-barge on which she fled London, raising the children of the deceased Kit Solent. The actor's troupe has arrived in the Portuguese city of Mayda, built around a flooded nuclear crater, and Fever's scientific interests are piqued by the rumours of a young man attempting to build a flying machine.

Like Fever Crumb, A Web of Air dispenses with the high-flying, globetrotting, swashbuckling adventures of the Mortal Engines series in favour of a slower-paced story confined to a single location. This is something of a shame, since swashbuckling adventure was part of what I enjoyed most about the Mortal Engines series. Combined with the show more fact that I'm now an older reader, plus the fact that nostalgia is doubtless a significant factor in my love of the first series, and I continue to find the Fever Crumb series far less compelling. (Although judging from other reviews I'm not the only one, so perhaps nostalgia isn't a very big factor after all.)

Nonetheless, A Web of Air is a somewhat better novel than Fever Crumb. It just seems slightly more interesting, a bit tighter, and has more creativity and visual description and less stupid jokes (although they're still there - what the hell was with the barbershop quartet mafia?) Although it doesn't have anything that quite compares with the final moment Kit Solent sees his children in Fever Crumb, that was a) the only great moment in Fever Crumb and b) piggybacking on readers' established love of a character from the Mortal Engines series. The emotional, character-driven moments in A Web of Air stand on their own, and there's more than one, even if they are merely good rather than great.

Overall, the Fever Crumb series continues to lag a significant distance behind the Mortal Engines series, and I'm reading it more out of obligation than genuine desire. But I'll see it through, and hopefully it will pick up. It's still better than most of the young adult steampunk dreck that lines the shelves these days. show less

I've enjoyed this series since the first mortal enjines installment, and so I was thrilled when this one was delivered last week. It's 2 years since the events of the last book, and Fever is working the lights for a travelling theatre when she meets a boy who is trying something new; something that threatens the guild of engineers in London- the secret of flight. As their enemies press all around them, Fever and Arlo work to create the first heavier than air flying device since the ancient times. A good book, and the blossoming of their relationship is a pleasure to read, yet this book is little more than filler between fever Crumb and the next in the series. Still, will please fans like myself and well written and enough to deserve 4 show more stars. show less

I found this book delightful. I'm not sure it's actually 5-star amazing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The protagonist, Fever Crumb, is intelligent and admirable. After escaping the chaos of London, which was in the midst of exchanging one oppressive regime for another, she and the two orphans in her care become valued members of a traveling theater. Fever, being a skilled engineer, uses bits of old tech to provide it with electric lighting effects, much to the astonishment of all who are not familiar with such marvels. Some are delighted by them, but others react with self-righteous indignation. Many people in the coastal city where the theater has stopped view the old technologies as sinful. Fever discounts their opinions as being show more unreasonable, and even (perhaps unwisely) publicly confronts the city's religious leader at one point. This, however, is only one of the challenges she must meet. There is a mystery, here. Someone appears to be trying to build a flying machine, and someone else is apparently killing anyone who succeeds. And then there is her internal turmoil. Can her cherished rationality withstand the biological urges of becoming a woman?

Although the prose still sounds unpolished to me, this is a great story. show less

Not as good as its predecessor. Still clever and amusing, but the elements of the tale are not as interesting. The take on organized religion should limit its success in the US a bit if anybody notices.

As other reviewers have mentioned A Web of Air is a much stronger book than the first book in the series, Fever Crumb. In this book Fever is traveling with the acting troupe to the South American city, Mayda. I loved the world building in this book. The elevator houses and the angel birds were all quite intriguing. We see a lot of character growth for Fever in this installment. Fever learns to be a little less cerebral and more emotional when dealing with people. The ending of this book left me absolutely heartbroken. There are quite a few loose ends that I'm not sure will be resolved in the next installment. Great book, highly recommended!

For the past couple years Fever Crumb has been traveling with a theater troupe and her two young charges. In Mayda, Fever discovers a flying machine which leads her to an eccentric inventor obsessed with flying. And Fever is inspired to assist young Arlo Thursday. But there is an unknown enemy ready to put a stop to any advancement in flight technology. And just as dangerous, thieves that wish to steal the incredible invention.

Fever is a mature young adult who values rational thinking above all. The engineers in Reeve's world are akin to Star Trek's Vulcans who shun emotion in favor of logic. But Fever does have emotions, which make her struggle with her feelings versus her logical reasoning.

A Web of Air is second in the Fever Crumb show more trilogy for young adults. Set in a futuristic, mildly dystopian universe, the steampunk setting is imaginative and inspired. As before, the story is full of suspense, mystery and fantastic characters. While a bit predictable, Fever's latest adventure is fast-paced and riveting. Ending with a bit of a cliffhanger, the final installment in the trilogy can't come fast enough. show less