Mortal Engines (BR #13)

By Philip Reeve

Setting

Mortal Engines takes place on Earth several hundred years in the future. The world was destroyed in a nuclear holocaust known as the Sixty Minute War. This war led to a loss of technology along with several types of natural disasters, so traction cities, or cities on wheels, were made to escape these natural disasters. These cities would eat smaller cities. The idea of Municipal Darwinism came about, stating that large cities should eat smaller cities, and smaller cities should eat towns, and towns should eat stationary settlements. The main opposition to the traction cities and to Municipal Darwinism is the Anti-Traction League, which protects itself from the large traction cities with a mixture of natural and man-made barriers. In this world, archaeologists dig up pieces of Old Tech, or technology from before the Sixty Minute War, which they sell to cities for historical or technological purposes. The book takes place when traction cities are running out and cities are looking for new sources of prey.

Summary

In the book, the narrator follows Tom Natsworthy, a teenage boy from the city of London. He is an apprentice in the Guild of Historians in London (There are four guilds in London: Navigators, Engineers, Historians, and Merchants). His life is pretty normal until he tries to stop a girl, Hester Shaw, from killing Thaddeus Valentine, the head of the Guild of Historians. After Hester Shaw falls off of London, Valentine pushes Tom out of the city as well. As Tom and Hester try to make their way back to London, Katherine, Valentine's daughter, works with a young engineer named Bevis Pod to uncover the mysteries surrounding London, Valentine, and the Lord Mayor of London, Magnus Crome.

Characters

Tom Natsworthy

Tom was an orphaned child from London working as an apprentice for the Guild of Historians. He dreamed of adventure until he found his way into one when he is pushed out of London by Thaddeus Valentine. In the world outside of London, Tom is very inexperienced and just wants to get back home, but overall, Tom is a very interesting character who's life and attitude changes over the course of the book.

Hester Shaw

Hester Shaw is a girl who witnessed Thaddeus Valentine kill her parents over a piece of Old Tech. Valentine also cut Shaw's face, disfiguring it horribly, before Shaw was able to escape. She is completely bent on taking her revenge on Valentine. Shaw is also very interesting and is easy to relate too.

Katherine Valentine

Katherine is the daughter of Thaddeus Valentine, and she completely adores her father, but when Tom 'fell' out of London after saving Thaddeus from Hester Shaw, she begins to get suspicious of her father and of Magnus Crome, the Lord Mayor of London. She takes it upon herself to investigate what really is happening in London.

Thaddeus Valentine

Valentine is one of the most powerful men in London. He used to be an archaeologist, but something that he gave to Lord Mayor Crome led to his promotion to the Head of the Guild of Historians. Valentine's past is mysterious and he does whatever Crome asks of him. He acts as one of the main antagonists of the story.

Anne Fang

Anne Fang is an aviatrix, or pilot. Though airplanes are lost technology, pilots still fly blimps and balloons. Fang is also a spy for the Anti-Traction League. She, like Katherine, is trying to understand the mysteries of London. She is a likable character, but is not very dynamic within the book.

Bevis Pod

Bevis is an apprentice engineer in London. He knows some of the terrible things that are going on beneath the surface in London. He tries to help Katherine to find out what is happening in London, and later on, he helps her to stop what London is about to do.

Magnus Crome

Magnus Crome is the main antagonist of the story. He is the Lord Mayor of London as well as the head of the Guild of Engineers. He has plans to make London greater than any other traction city on Earth, though much of his plan is shrouded in mystery.

Shrike (Grike)

Shrike (or Grike in North America) is a stalker. Stalkers are metal men with human brains who were made before the Sixty Minute War. They cannot die unless killed. Shrike helped to raise Hester Shaw after her parents were killed, and later, under the orders of Magnus Crome, goes after her and Tom to kill them.

Conclusion

The book is very well written and develops its main characters well. The ending of the book is completely unpredictable and makes you sad, happy, and shocked all at the same time. I truly enjoyed this book. 9.5 waffles our of 11.

Brain Spill Movie Review #4

The Hunger Games

Setting

This setting is exactly like the book The Hunger Games. Twelve Districts are controlled by the tyrannical Capitol in the country of Panem, somewhere in the future. Each of the districts must send a boy and a girl as tribute to compete in the Hunger Games, where the 24 children must fight to the death. The winner is showered with fame and wealth.

Summary

In the story, the main character, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers as tribute after her sister, Prim, is chosen as tribute. Katniss and the male tribute, Peeta Mellark, go to the Capitol to prepare for the games. In one interview, Peeta admits that he loves Katniss in order to gain support of sponsors, who could send the tributes supplies during the games. The story revolves around Katniss and Peeta trying to keep up the appearance of being in love as well as trying to survive the games.

Characters

Katniss Everdeen

This is the third time I've done a character description of Katniss. Like always, I think she is annoying and that she complains to much. I might even despise her more in the movie than in the book. Its really annoying whenever Katniss and her mom have an encounter because the movie really emphasizes their conflict.

Peeta Mellark

Peeta is an interesting character, but is focused on even less in the movie than in the book. Sure, he is a big character, but you just don't see too much of him.

Haymitch

Haymitch has a big role in the film, as he does in the book. They cast Haymitch very well, and try to reveal his emotions in this film. 

Cinna

Cinna is the stylist as fashion designer for Katniss. He plays a big role as one of the people who Katniss can relate to within the Capitol. 

Rue

Rue was one of the characters they got spot on. She was innocent, yet powerful and they cast the perfect person to play her. She, like in the books, brings out the best in Katniss. Katniss actually looks like a sort of nice person when Rue is around.

Effie

Effie looks scary.

Conclusion

The movie makes more sense if you have already read the books. I liked how they tried to use Katniss's hallucinations to reveal the back story of her father, but it wasn't done to well. I also liked their use of muted or silent scenes to change the feel of the scene. I didn't like, however, how they made Katniss's prep team so serious. I thought the prep team was nice and fun in the books, and I didn't like the take the movie had on those characters. Overall, it was a 'meh' film. 6.25 out of 11 penguins.

Brain Spill Book Review #9

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

Setting

Catching Fire is a sequel to the book, The Hunger Games. This world takes place where the government, centered at the Capitol, has tyrannical control over the twelve districts surrounding it. Seventy-five years earlier, the thirteen original districts had rebelled against the Capitol, but had failed. The rebellion ended with the utter destruction of the Thirteenth District. As punishment for the rebellion, the Capitol creates the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the remaining twelve districts must each send one boy and one girl (between the ages of 12 and 18) as tribute. These 24 children must then go into an arena and fight to the death. The winning tribute is returned home and lives a life of wealth. Every twenty-five years, though, the Capitol puts a twist on the Games, called the Quarter Quell, and the upcoming Games will be the third Quarter Quell.

Summary

Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen competed in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, and with a stroke of good fortune, both won the Hunger Games by pretending to be madly in love with each other. Katniss is not in love, but Peeta is. Now living a life of riches, things are much different back at home. Peeta and Katniss are haunted by nightmares of the Hunger Games they were in. President Snow comes to meet Katniss, telling her that having both Peeta and Katniss winning has angered many citizens of the twelve districts. Peeta and Katniss must continue to pretend to be in love to continue to convince the districts that they were in love and to keep the districts from rebelling. Katniss fails, Katniss also begins to hear news of people rebelling in other districts. She hears stories that there might still be survivors in Disrict Thirteen. She wants to run away to avoid punishment for not stopping rebellion, but when law enforcement strengthens and Gale gets flogged for poaching, Katniss knows she must stay. To keep up the facade of love, Peeta and Katniss get publicly engaged. The president then announces that the next Quarter Quell will take previous winners of the Hunger Games and make them go through another game. District 12 only has three living winners: Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch, and Katniss and Peeta are chosen for the games. Now Katniss and Peeta must try to stay alive in the Hunger Games for a second time.

Characters

Katniss Everdeen

Katniss is the narrator of the story. She is still as annoying as in the first book, but now she actually has a reason for her complaining. She is caught in a love triangle. Gale is now a love interest, and one that she has known all her life, but she also sort of likes Peeta, and the Capitol continues to pressure her into the relationship with Peeta. She also has nightmares about the previous Hunger Games to complain about. She changes quite a bit in this book, where she decides to take up the cause of the districts and try to rebel. In the Quarter Quell, she also learns how to trust people more freely.

Peeta Mellark

Peeta is still madly in love with Katniss, though she still is not. They are, though, on good terms with each other. Peeta is not chosen to go into the Hunger Games, but volunteers in order to protect Katniss. He doesn't change to much. He just can't run well on his artificial leg and is always just in love with Katniss.

Gale

Gale is Katniss's other love interest. His two main characteristics are his love for Katniss and his ongoing anger at the Capitol. He becomes the main voice of rebellion in the book. He really doesn't appear for most of the book, though.

Haymitch

Haymitch is still important. He is now one of the few people that Katniss can confide in. He also works to help Katniss and Peeta survive in the games as their coach again. Haymitch also becomes a voice of reason when it comes to hopes of life in District 13 and of successful rebellion. Haymitch becomes much more of a respectable character over the course of the book.

Finnick Odair

Finnick is one of the other tribute chosen to fight in the Quarter Quell. He becomes a very helpful character and ally to the District 12 tributes in the games. He is also one of the more interesting characters, who can see deep into his emotions and the book continues.

President Snow

Finally! There is now a real antagonist in the books! President Snow becomes the voice of the Capitol and represents the force that the Capitol has in Katniss's life. 

Effie

Yeah. She is still here.

Conclusion

This book was actually very good. I don't enjoy the characters as much. The character development feels very rushed, but I really enjoyed the plot and how the entire book comes together. It was a very good book. 7 out of 11 waffles.

Brain Spill Book Review #7

The Hunger Games

Setting

The Hunger Games is a book written by Suzanne Collins about America in a distopian future. The Capitol is the center of wealth and the government and controls the twelve districts around it. The twelve districts were forced into submission after a large inter-district rebellion. As a warning to the other districts, the capitol completely destroyed a thirteenth district by bombing it. As part of the post-rebellion agreement, each district must give the resources it produces to the people back in Capitol. Also, once a year, each district must provide two tributes, a boy and a girl, for the Hunger Games The tributes, all of which are between the ages of 12 and 18, will then be put in a large arena where they must fight to the death.

Summary

Our story is told from the perspective of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old from the poor area of District 12. Katniss lives with her mother and younger sister, Prim. To feed her family, Katniss illegally hunts outside of the borders of her district with her friend Gale. When her sister is chosen as tribute for the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. A boy named Peeta is chosen as the male tribute from District 12. Peeta and Katniss, along with Effie and Haymitch, their trainers, go to the Capitol. The story revolves around the two tributes trying to gain the support of sponsors from Capitol and fighting for their lives in the Games themselves.

Characters

Katniss

Katniss is the narrator of the story. She is also, in my opinion, the most annoying character in the entire book. The whole time, Katniss is always angry, or sad, or suspicious, and that's not all. Katniss goes on to describe in detail how angry, sad, etc. she is at certain people. Yes, I understand she is fighting for her life, but can't she just show happiness a bit more? The one time she does show trust and is not acting is when she is with Rue. 

Peeta

Peeta is the other tribute from District 12. He seems better than Katniss because at least his actions are nicer and are actually nice instead of pretending to be nice for personal gain. He does happen to be lovesick with Katniss, which is his main annoying quality. He doesn't seem to realize (even though he helped plan this) that Katniss is only pretending to be in love so that she can get them sponsors and get them out alive. Whatever.

Gale

Gale is Katniss's hunting buddy from District 12. He's sort of not really mentioned too much other than that he is, like Katniss, in a situation where he is supporting the rest of his family. He mainly appears asa kind-of-sort-of-maybe love interest for Katniss which is keeping her from falling for Peeta. We know he is annoyed at the Capitol and that he takes his anger out while he's in the woods. He also helps to support Katniss's family when she leaves for Capitol.

Haymitch

Haymitch is the coach of Katniss and Peeta. He's their coach because he's the only living winner of the Hunger Games from District 12. He is also a major drunkard. He is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting characters. We can see his fear of the past through his continual drinking, which he uses to keep down the memories of his time in the Hunger Games and his time coaching tributes who he watch die in later Hunger Games. We can also see his attempt to save at least one of the tributes by focusing the sponsor's gifts on Katniss.

Rue

Rue is a tribute from District 11 who becomes allies with Katniss partway through the games. she brings out the best in Katniss, mainly because she reminds Katniss of Prim. Rue is 12 years old, and is the youngest tribute that year. Katniss allies with Rue because Rue reminds her of home. Because of this, Rue brings out the little happiness we see in Katniss, which is, besides herself, something that only Prim, Gale, and (until he died) Katniss's father.

Effie

Effie isn't really important, but I want to clear something up. Some might say that Effie is more annoying than Katniss, but that is not true. Effie, with her strange catchphrases and colored wigs, is a comical sort of annoying. She brings a sort of light tone to a dark plot. Katniss is just depressing.

Conclusion

The book is a good, intense read, even though I don't like Katniss. The book mixes moments of emotion with moments of action. In the book, the idea of an over-powerful government which people are fighting against is always interesting and always popular. I give it 7 waffles out of 11.