Postby Davidizer13 » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:30 pm
The Mortal Engines series, by Philip Reeve. In the far future, cities on wheels, called Traction Cities, hunt each other on the remains of Europe, eating each other in a system called Muncipal Darwinism. With a concept like that, it has to be good, right? Well, it is.
There's four books in the series, with a prequel, Fever Crumb, available in Europe (US release is in March/April). The first, Mortal Engines, is an introduction to the concept and world. A young historian from London finds himself chucked out of the city with a girl who tried to assassinate his idol, meets up with an Asian airship pilot, and finds an undead cyborg, who gives chase.
The next two, Predator's Gold and Infernal Devices, are slower and not as good, but are necessary reading to understand the final book, A Darkling Plain. The characters grow older and develop in the middle two, and the third sets up the main plot for the fourth. The threat of war between the Traction Cities and a radical anti-Traction faction, which had been simmering near the surface through the series, becomes reality, and things get considerably more complicated.
Anyway, a very fun read, if you can find it.
Also, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. It's a memoir of a woman growing up in post-Revolutionary Iran, told in graphic novel form. It deals with some very heavy themes, and, as you probably know, just because it's in comic book form, doesn't mean it's kid-friendly. That is in full effect here. It is one of the most emotionally wrenching books I've read, and yet, it's not without moments of great levity. It's very challenging slice-of-life, really. There's a movie based on it, which I'll see...eventually. Look it up if you can handle it, and if you need a good Western graphic novel.
We are loved even though we suck.
Psalms 37:37 (NHEB)
Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
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