#railhead trilogy
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If I had a nickel for every story I accidentally discovered to have huge powerful vehicles of transportation that possess AI intelligence that renders their passengers inferior to them yet uphold their duty to serve and protect with love and passion, I'd have two nickels- which isn't a lot but DAMN AMAZING that it's happened twice now (and if any onlookers happen to know of more PLEAAAAASE tell me, begging on my knees)
#railhead#railhead philip reeve#philip reeve#railhead trilogy#trains#robots#murderbot diaries#secunit#martha wells#ai trains#ART murderbot#ai ships#asshole research transport
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favourite books of all time? best non-fiction/fiction?
okay so this is just what i can think of right this second and i’m answering in the vein of these are my favourite books to read for the 💖💖 or when i need to feel warm or safe or whatever. i also admire & learned from their authors’ writing so. that too.
red sister and its sequel grey sister by mark lawrence (it’s gay nuns you guys like that right?)
sabriel and lirael by garth nix (for the beautiful magic system and because lirael made me feel seen as a kid)
best served cold by joe abercrombie (very fucked up. monza murcatto may have invented feral bloodsoaked girlfailures for me 🤔)
the black magician trilogy by trudi canavan (i would die for sonea no-last-name)
assassin’s apprentice by robin hobb (the whole series but this book i have read twenty times)
railhead by philip reeve (trains trains gender trains)
senlin ascends by josiah bancroft (there’s a tower and a guy who looked away for one second and lost his entire wife)
the locked tomb by tamsyn muir (self-explanatory)
the his majesty’s dragon series by naomi novik (but especially the first one. GOD 😭)
nevernight by jay kristoff (blood reasons, the prose might annoy you but it’s a fuck buddy to me)
the fifth season by n.k. jemisin (will destroy you. make you understand things about me and hands and breaking and bea in swau)
the poppy war by r.f. kuang (when i say this whole trilogy is brutal take me seriously)
she who became the sun by shelley parker-chan (again. GENDER)
on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong AND night sky with exit wounds by same (makes me bite)
the unbroken by c.l. clark (gay gay gay gay. haven’t read the sequel yet but i love this one)
the girl and the stars by mark lawrence (🥺🥺)
#hope this is okay anon 💖#i could probably make a much longer list and i’m gonna immediately be like ‘ah shit i forgot x’#but these are all great books#anon
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I saw someone share some niche fictional trains so here's some more niche fictional trains
The trains of Philip Reeve's Railhead Trilogy, gigantic trains hauled by sentient AI-operated locomotives. Trains that are the only thing able to go through the gates between planets, so are the lifeblood of the Network Empire that rules space. Locomotives that name themselves after ancient culture, write poetry, and sometimes fall in love with each other. And have guns.
It's a very good series and I wholeheartedly recommend it for train enjoyers, space enjoyers, and cyberpunk enjoyers alike.
I was wondering why this series seemed so familiar when I realized that Philip Reeve is the person who wrote the Mortal Engines books. I was OBSESSED with those books as a kid. unfortunately, I was obsessed with them exactly as the mortal instruments series, which was much more popular, was coming out, so it was a little hard to track down all the volumes lol
The premise of Railhead sounds Incredible to begin with, but knowing how Philip Reeve depicts raw technology, machinery and its power... I am so hyped for this. His traction cities were awestriking. I'm gonna have to wait till the polls are over to buy those books, because once I get them I will not be thinking about anything else.
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6, 9, 22
These were tough but thank you so much, hunny! <3
6. 3 characters that inspire you
Buffy Summers - who fights and fails and fights again and is more than just a strong female character
Phryne Fisher - living her life to the fullest, unapologetically, but always with a caring heart and helping hand for others
Anne Shirley Cuthbert - with her indomitable spirit and imagination, marvelling at the world around her
9. 3 things you like doing on a rainy day
already answered here
22. 3 movies/books/tv shows that made you cry
for someone who doesn't cry a lot in 'real' life I sure do cry a lot over fictional people. But since my memory is bad, let's see what comes to mind first.
Movies: Avengers Endgame, Brother Bear (I was super sick when I first watched it and probably cried 3/4 of the whole movie ... that was an experience!), The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Books: "The Galaxy and the Ground Within" by Becky Chambers (so much with relief and happiness and love) and I'm pretty sure I cried somewhere both in Justin Cronin's "The Passage" trilogy and in Philip Reeve's "Mortal Engines" and "Railhead" series
tv shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ted Lasso, Castle
Ask Game
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Rules: Tag 9 people who you want to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions.
Tagged by: @popliar
3 ships: Uh, at the moment I guess Yuuri/Victor, Phoenix/Edgeworth, and Maria/Chatham from an online origfic I’m following
Last song: Catch Me If You Can (Korean Version) by Girls Generation
Last movie: Genuinely unsure because I have the attention span of a gnat these days (I was a film student, lol). Suspect it was either Blades of Glory or I, Tonya.
Currently reading: Among the many books I'm currently partway through - A Dream of the Red Chamber, a re-read of Philip Reeve's Railhead trilogy, The Dead Zone, Austerity Britain 1945-51, the four volume translation of Journey to the West, a re-read of Manufacturing Consent, a friend's book of short fiction, the collected Colette short fiction, Time Travel in Einstein's Universe... (yes, this is why I almost never finish anything).
Currently watching: Still slowly watching Bleach and Sailor Moon, and I have one episode left of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim
Currently consuming: coffee
Currently craving: a semi-decent job
Tagging (no pressure only if u want to) @butterflydm @proteinscollide @kaesaaurelia @unpuzzling @aethel @queenitsy @vappa
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Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Wildcard ~ May
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
My opinion in three sentences:
I have to admit I was slightly blown away - The Illuminae Files, Kaufman & Kristoff's previous sci-fi trilogy was out of this world, and I wasn't quite expecting anything subsequent to live up to its epic legacy. Aurora Rising does, and whilst it's not the wide-eyed awe and jaw-dropping disbelief that only a fresh discovery of a new author's awesomeness can offer, it is more than up there with its loveable characters, humorous storytelling and unexpected plot twists. Plus, I can tell there's something bigger, larger and long-term brewing in those outer-space nebulae, and I am so ready for it.
(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:
The larger plotline may be something new, but it's a principle and a premise done before - a group that must work as a team despite their differences, quirks and not really knowing each other prior. What really sets Aurora Rising apart, however, is the characters themselves. Kaufman & Kristoff really craft them into their own, larger-than-life beings, bursting with some top-quality banter (although, if I had to critique, it's not quite the A-grade standard I found in The Illuminae Files...) Still, when you're reading a familiar trope and the story has multiple character perspectives, you really need a stellar set of finely-crafted characters, and that is certainly what this book delivers.
A warning for the book:
It ends, and at the time of going to press, the third and final installment in the trilogy has not been released! So, prepare to fall hook, line and sinker for the ragtag crew called Squad 312, become uber-invested in the unfolding drama taking place centuries in the future and miles from Earth, and then be left crying into the blackness in yearning for book three. (But be glad you've discovered it now, for the second book is fresh out this year!)
Recommended for fans of:
- Railhead by Philip Pullman
- Titantic 2020 by Colin Bateman
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
#razreads#bookshelf2020#book review#aurora rising#amie kaufman#jay kristoff#queue have a good day now
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Book Review: Station Zero (Railhead Trilogy #3)
Book Review: Station Zero (Railhead Trilogy #3)
I did it again. I requested a book that concludes a trilogy I haven’t read. Oops.
Because I didn’t read the previous books in this series I’m afraid my review is probably going to be a bit more critical than if I had read them. The first thing I’m going to say is that I had problems immersing myself in the world set by Reeve, and a lot of the concepts, characters and terms used took a bit of…
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#3#AI#aliens#arc#artificial intelligence#book#book review#galley#netgalley#Philip Reeve#Railhead trilogy#Review#sci-fi#space#Station Zero#technology
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Recent reading:
Philip Reeve's Railhead & Black Light Express -
It's been a very long time since I read anything in third-person omniscient, so it took a couple chapters in before the narrative was comfortable reading. He does it well, but be prepared to work to figure out whose perspective you're in because it does change mid-paragraph. I also enjoyed how it had a diversity of characters without feeling like he was running down a Representation Checklist a la Cashore's Bitterblue, and delved into a very innocent human-android romance without crossing into fetishism the way Newitz's Autonomous did.
Books 1 & 2 of Natalie Parker's Seafire trilogy-
Haven't read book 3 yet, but very much enjoyed the first two. It's best described as a Waterworld - Fury Road crossover. And despite a mostly teenage cast never feels like a "teenage wasteland" the way most post-apocalyptic YA series do. For one, it has helpful adult characters and for another, the teenagers behave with a lot of intelligence and planning, and are driven by "let's make the world a better place" and not their hormones. (finally. thank you.) It doesn't shy from its physical violence but doesn't live on it the way Tahir's Ember in the Ashes did. Overall looking forward to book 3, when I have a full day to do nothing but read!
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2017 reading highlights
Newly a omg-i-would-die-without fan of:
Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy / Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (awaiting next release)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Mass (finished early 2018 but hey; awaiting next release)
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (awaiting next release)
Railhead trilogy by Phiip Reeve (incomplete; next up: Blacklight Express)
Cool new-to-me books:
Our Dark Duet/This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (incomplete; next up: The Dream Thieves)
Universal Harvester and Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
Kraken and The City and The City by China Mieville
Caraval by Kristen Britain (awaiting next release)
Relics by Tim Lebbon
Rediscovered:
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (incomplete)
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (incomplete; next up: Queen of the Damned)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
#reading#favourite books#read in 2017#dosab#acotar#the bear and the nightingale#relics#the dresden files#caraval#railhead#kracken#the city and the city#our dark duet#the raven cycle#good omens#his dark materials#valdemar#strange the dreamer
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Chandni Hansa is a secondary character in Black Light Express, the second book in the Railhead trilogy by Philip Reeve. She was just (as good as) confirmed as aromantic during the “reevening” chat on the Mortal Engines discord last night!!!!
(The book excerpt is from page 29 of the hardback, and Caspian is me, btw)
Image descriptions under the cut.
First image: a photo of the page of a book
‘So you just got talking to Tallis Noon because you fancied him?’ asked Kala Tanaka, who was standing guard a little way off, watching the slow movements of the chess pieces.
Chandni made a scornful sound. ‘Fancy him? That stuck up Noon boy? No. I’m not interested in boys. I’m not interested in girls, either, in case you’re getting any ideas. A man paid me to make friends with Tallis Noon and take him to Karavina, that’s all. Said I was to keep him there for a week, but after a few days I was sick of him, so I stole his headset and his cash and took off.’
Second image: a screenshot of a conversation in a chatroom
Caspian
Following on from the general question about diversity, Chandni in Black Light Express really struck me as aromantic and asexual (that is, some who experiences minimal or no romantic and sexual attraction). I’m thinking specifically of when she’s talking to Threnody and Kala Tanaka and she dismisses having a thing for Tallis Noon, saying, “No. I’m not interested in boys. I’m not interested in girls, either…” What do you think? Could you get on board with this? (Pun totally intended). I’m aro-ace (aromantic asexual) myself, so seeing a character written by my favourite author saying that she doesn’t like boys or girls meant a lot to me.
PhilipReeve
Well one of the things that bogs down a lot of YA novels is a plethora of love affairs, so I guess when I introduced a Chandni I wanted her to state right up front that there wasn’t going to be any of that nonsense! But yes, you may be right - I’m writing Railhead 3 at the moment and she hasn’t shown a flicker of interest in romance.
[emoji reactions to the post: 1 smiling with pointed eyes, 3 old google angels, 1 black heard, 1 green heart, 1 yellow heart]
[an off-topic post has been cropped out here]
PhilipReeve
Re Chandni: I guess also, I’m an old softy and like a love story, but I don’t want to appear to be saying that being half of a happy couple is the only way to live your life,…
Caspian
Thank you so so much, this means the world to me
[emoji reactions: 2 up fingers, 2 angels]
I’m actually almost crying
#mortal engines#philip reeve#aromantic#aromantic representation#canon aromantic character#canon LGBT representation#lgbt#lgbtq#lgbtq+#the reevening
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Just some of the many train snippets from Philip Reeve's trilogy of "Railhead" :
"The loco made a noise. Just coolant shifting, deep in its engine compartment, but it sounded like a warning growl."
"I've been listening to the locos talking...They tease each other, and sing, and talk about old times...People say they're twins, but they aren't. They're lovers."
"Later when they had gone, the train spoke again.
Flex?
Mmm?
Flex?
Yes?
I really like the angels."
"I am the last of the fighting C12's,' said the Thought Fox proudly. Still it did not fire. It seemed to be savoring the moment, enjoying the fear it could hear in the voices of its victims. It was not like a machine at all...It was as cruel as a human being."
ghhhg these are all from the first book, 'Railhead', and every time i read a smidge of the last book left I end up kicking my feet and swelling with love over how good this author gets trains. Ggaaahh
#railhead#scifibooks#scifi#sentient trains#trainwriting#space trains#philip reeve#ai character#trains#scifi trains
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Hi @philipreeve Where’s the best place to pre-order Black Light Express? Who pays you the most?
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the wonderful @diamondorloj tagged me. Thank you, sweetie!!!
🌿 favourite comfort food: something with melted cheese.
🌼 favourite alcohol: nope. I guess if I drank alcohol, it’d be mojitos?
🌷 favourite relaxing activity: reading
🌸 favourite fluffy/feel good fic: if I can’t pick my own, it’s probably something @kawaiibooker wrote!
🌻 favourite calming scent: the ocean, vanilla and cinnamon, fresh laundry
🌺 favourite relaxing/uplifting song: as for relaxation, my No 1 always go to album is “Les Voix Humaines” by Jordi Savall which never fails to calm me the fuck down. As for uplifting, I’ve been listening to “Hatef**k” by -The Bravery pretty much non-stop for the last three days ...though maybe it’s not what you’d think uplifting?
🌵 favourite white noise: rain and thunder.
🍄 favourite book to get lost in: there are so many but I’ll go with the “Railhead” trilogy by Philip Reeve, which is scifi with singing interplanetary trains and hive monks that are literally just a pile of bugs in a robe with a paper mask, also lots of adventure and awesome characters.
💐 favourite chill tv show: I’m actually not good at rewatching shows, though I want to ... but how about Avatar, She-Ra, and Castle?
🌹 the best advice you’ve ever had: “The importance of a job half done” I probably read it on tumblr but I can’t recall. I just know that yes, this is good. If you can’t clean all the dishes, it’s okay to just do half of them. A job half done is always better than not done at all.
I’m gonna throw some tags at @acrazyobsession, @bethanyactually, @tacohead13, @kawaiibooker
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Black Light Express by Philip Reeve
Challenge #22 ~ “A book you have high expectations or hope for.”
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
My opinion in three sentences:
I'll be the first to admit that prequel Railhead was among my favourite books that I read last year, and it was hands-down my choice to win the Carnegie medal. Black Light Express, that didn't even make this year's shortlist, was a bit of a let-down, with the lack of a real driving plot to propel the reader through. In all other ways, however, Reeve nailed it - characterisation, language and the rest - so I'm hoping the final installment of the trilogy will redeem it all.
(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:
Black Light Express is definitely a sequel, and yet Reeve references things in such a way that it sparks a memory of the event - I certainly found myself remembering events I'd totally forgotten about. The imaginative work and beautiful language from the first book also seeps into the second, and once again Reeve transports the reader to a wonderfully-crafted universe of majesty.
A warning for the book:
The reader needs some self-motivation to get into the real action. Reeve spends a considerable amount of the book setting up for the final quarter of non-stop action, relying on the burning question of "Who were the Railmakers, and what happened to them?" to propel the reader through. The question isn't really enough alone, however, and as such it can be a bit of a drag in places.
Recommended for fans of:
- Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
- All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
- Unearthed by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
#razreads#bookshelf2018#philip reeve#black light express#railhead#book review#queue have a good day now
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for the unusual asks meme :)
37, 78, 95
thank you, darling!! <3
37. do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?
I don't read as much anymore as I would like (and would be better for my mental health) but generally, yes, and hence I don't have one favourite book (honestly, how do people have one favourite of anything?!)
So I'm gonna share some all-time favourites because I can ;D
Becky Chamber's Wayfarer series: domestic scifi focused on different alien cultures
Walter Moers' 13 1/2 Lives of Capt'n Bluebear: based on a kid's show character and full of adventure and bizarre creatures and teeming with imagination
Jill Barklem's Brambley Hedge books: because I've always wanted to be a little woodland creature bustling about happily and also the artwork is gorgeous
Samit Basu's Gameworld Trilogy: typical fantasy but in a genre-savy-bending way with more allusions to stuff than you can count or would think fit (Hollywood, Tarzan, Bridget Jones' Diary, James Bond, Tolkien, and lots of Indian mythology that I unfortunately don't quite get). It's just really, really good!
Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus: all those Victorian magic and circus vibes with a truly gorgeous aesthetic!
Philip Reeves' Railhead Trilogy: YA scifi that's absolutely amazing! It's kind of Stargate meets Tommy the engine, with singing AI trains connecting a vast interstellar human empire
...all right, I'm gonna stop now ;D
78. do you sleep with your door open or closed?
it really varies now that I live alone. It's usually not closed completely but not left wide open either.
95. summer or winter?
early or late summer, i.e. when it's not unbearably hot (I can't deal with heat) and you can sleep at night but also there's lots of light. Comfortable jeans and t-shirt weather is my kind of weather!
Ask me things!
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Wildcard #8 ~ “A book that has been recently adapted for film or television.”
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
My opinion in three sentences:
My thoughts on this were definitely split - there was intrigue to grab the reader's attention from the get-go, but equally nothing really got going until halfway through. I remember the hype when the series was first launched, and, whilst the plot and characterisation were good, they didn't quite prove to be the exceptional I was expecting. Plus (and it may be it worked better in written format than audio), the book jumped around characters and locations quite a bit, which did leave me a little lost at times.
(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:
It is, without a doubt, quite an original plotline, and Reeve creates the world well. Throw in the subtly-crafted social commentary and puns on local geography, and you have both a vibrant and humorous setting that I felt translated quite well from word to imagination (especially given how removed it is from our contemporary ideas of urban geography!) I can certainly see how something so different captured the attention of many and (eventually) ended up being adapted for the screen.
A warning for the book:
At its time, Mortal Engines was something so different and acceptably well-wrtiten that it warranted such hype. Now, several sub-genres it falls into have seen a surge of diversity and creativity that large elements of it have lost their uniqueness, and as such it feels slightly dated - Reeve himself has adapted to this growth in his subsequent works, and you can especially see this difference between this and his Railhead trilogy. That's not to say it's not enjoyable, but to appreciate the full wonder it's often lauded with, I would say you need to take the book as a product of its time.
Recommended for fans of:
- Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracey Deebs
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
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