Hungry City Chronicles
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The Hungry City Chronicles is the title of a series of four novels, Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices, and A Darkling Plain, written by the British author Philip Reeve.
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[edit] Concept
The novels are set in a postapocalyptic world ravaged by a nuclear conflict known as the Sixty Minute War, which caused the loss of much technological and scientific knowledge. Following the war, the world suffered a period of immense geological upheaval, in which volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis harassed surviving human settlements.
To survive these phenomena, Traction Cities were invented: enormous, mobile cities which could escape dangerous areas. Naturally these huge cities required vast amounts of fuel, and quickly began to strip the world of its natural resources. After some time, as resources dwindled, a system called Municipal Darwinism was devised, in which cities began to "eat" smaller cities and towns, by chasing them, dragging them inside and melting them down for fuel and materials.
Those opposed to the concept of Traction Cities and Municipal Darwinism formed the Anti-Traction League, which sought to restore the Earth to its former ecology. The league holds sway in Asia and much of Africa.
[edit] Novels
The first two novels centre around two adventurers named Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw. The second two novels include a wider cast of characters, while still including Tom and Hester.
While mostly focusing on the adventures and relationships the characters have, the series also examines the clash between the two ideologies of Municipal Darwinism and the Anti-Traction League. The futility of such a wasteful system is evident in the title of the first book, Mortal Engines.
The series is notable for a large amount of dramatic irony which is only present when re-reading the books. For example, at the end of Mortal Engines, Tom hopes desperately that Chudleigh Pomeroy and Clytie Potts might still be alive, sorting things out, and it is revealed in A Darkling Plain that this is the case. Additionally, a reference is made in Predator's Gold to "Cruwys Morchard", a seemingly irrelevant air-trader Pennyroyal knew, who is much later revealed to be an alias for Clytie Potts.
[edit] The World of the Hungry City Chronicles
Nations no longer exist, except in the lands of the League; Traction Cities are fiercely independent city-states. Trade is mostly accomplished by airship, though sometimes cities of roughly equal size (unable to devour each other) will stop to trade with each other.
The Great Hunting Ground consists of Europe and Northern Asia, and is the domain of the Traction Cities. It is a muddy wasteland, as the constant movement of the cities has destroyed all vegetation. The land is referred to by city-dwellers as the "Out-Country."
The Ice Wastes is the new name for the Arctic, which is also home to Traction Cities, which use iron runners to skate across the ice.
Africa is split between the Sahara Desert, which is a land of Traction Cities, and the southern kingdom of "Zagwa", which is staunchly Anti-Tractionist.
The Dead Continent is North America, reduced to an irradiated wasteland by the Sixty Minute War. Rumours abound as to whether it is completely dead or not, which proves much of the focus of Predator's Gold.
Asia is the stronghold of the Anti-Traction League. Eastern China is evidently irradiated from the Sixty Minute War, and the Himalayas are now the centre of civilisation (the mountainous terrain makes it impossible for cities to approach).
Nuevo Maya is the new name for South America, which was severed from North America when "slow bombs" destroyed Central America during the Sixty Minute War. Like Africa, South America is split: static settlements rule the Andes, but the lowlands are filled with ziggurat Traction Cities. Tom and Hester visit Nuevo Maya in the gap between the first two books, but it is never visited in the series itself.
Antarctica is mentioned only once, and is evidently the domain of oil-drilling Traction Cities. Tom and Hester visit Antarctica in the gap between the first two books, but it is never visited in the series itself.
Australia is never mentioned. It is notably the only continent never mentioned or visited over the entire series.
[edit] Names
A few of the people in the books are named after places in Devon, where Reeve lives. Miss Plym and Chudleigh Pomeroy are both in the Guild of Historians, and Tamarton Foliot is an "Alternative" historian.
Friends of Phillip Reeve are also occasionally mentioned in the books; for instance 'Poskitt' is included as a god, clearly referring to Kjartan Poskitt, friend and author of books that Reeve has illustrated in the past.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "Urbivore" - , a short story written by reeve in the 1990s, which became the basis for the Chronicles
Fansite for The Hungry City Chronicles
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| Books: | Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices, A Darkling Plain |
| Characters: | Tom Natsworthy, Hester Shaw, Wren Natsworthy, Shrike, Anna Fang, Nimrod Pennyroyal, Theo Ngoni, Magnus Crome, Thaddeus Valentine |
| Organisations: | Traction Cities, Traktionstadtsgesellschaft, Anti-Traction League, Green Storm |
| Other: | Municipal Darwinism, Sixty Minute War, Stalkers, Jenny Haniver |
