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Mortal Engines Quartet
Bridge of Storms
An edge-of-your seat adventure set in the iconic world of Mortal Engines!Can they get out of the Frying Pan without getting into the fire?Tamzin Pook and her group of unlikely fighters-turned-friends have managed to make it out of Thorbury alive. Now with a massive, terrifying, armored, and un-dead Revenant (and its pet kitten) as one of their gang.For their next mission, Tamzin and her friends head to the city of Museion to help save it from the ferocious predator suburbs that surround it and keep it trapped in the mountain valley known as the Frying Pan.Here, Tamzin, Max Angmering, Oddington Doom, and Hilly Torpenhow are in for the toughest fight of their lives. But as they battle for the fate of Museion against the terrible predators that surround them, people on board Museion start to die one by one from a traitor within.They’ve got to figure out an escape, but every direction looks like a trap.Don’t miss this epic companion to Thunder City, set in the world of the Mortal Engines quartet.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 3, 2026
7 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Philip Reeve
176 books2,733 followersPhilip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for a number of years while also co-writing, producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects.
Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.
Railhead, published by Oxford University Press, will be published in the UK in October 2015
Pugs of the Frozen North, written with Sarah McIntyre, is out now.
Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.
Railhead, published by Oxford University Press, will be published in the UK in October 2015
Pugs of the Frozen North, written with Sarah McIntyre, is out now.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 26, 2026
Well straight off the bat let me just say that I’m a HUGE fan of the original series so my excitement to dive once more into the world of mortal engines meant that this book could have been a 1 star rag and I still would have absolutely loved it.
However, I’m delighted to report that this is probably better than its prequel (thunder city); it’s just got more of the feel of the original books and is a thoroughly enjoyable swashbuckling adventure.
It was a difficult decision, but it did lose a star in the end and let me tell you why. It’s really difficult to put my finger on it, but the original series just had more depth to the characters. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt with Tom, Hester, Shrike, Anna Fang and Valentine etc there was just a bit more darkness, the characters were a bit more raw - do you know what I mean?
Having said that, let me stress that I loved it and was not disappointed - fully recommend all of Reeves subsequent books based in the mortal engines universe. I suppose it’s that elephant in the room where I can’t help but compare to the fantastic original quartet.
However, I’m delighted to report that this is probably better than its prequel (thunder city); it’s just got more of the feel of the original books and is a thoroughly enjoyable swashbuckling adventure.
It was a difficult decision, but it did lose a star in the end and let me tell you why. It’s really difficult to put my finger on it, but the original series just had more depth to the characters. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt with Tom, Hester, Shrike, Anna Fang and Valentine etc there was just a bit more darkness, the characters were a bit more raw - do you know what I mean?
Having said that, let me stress that I loved it and was not disappointed - fully recommend all of Reeves subsequent books based in the mortal engines universe. I suppose it’s that elephant in the room where I can’t help but compare to the fantastic original quartet.
February 19, 2026
I was hoping for a bit more than Thunder City delivered, and I got it.
Not just a return to the Traction Era, but a welcome widening of the world in a way more fundamental than new terrains and new cities: Bridge of Storms has nomads* (presumably the ancestors of the Snowmads of the Ice Wastes from the original Mortal Engines quartet), nightwights, and a new use for Revenant technology. The world is knitting together too, with references to Cluny Morvish, Fever Crumb, and Arlo Thursday (from Fever Crumb and its follow-up prequels), and some hints at where Magnus Crome got the info on Medusa and London's longstanding interest in Stalker-tech. The characters get better too, and Vespertine is fast becoming my second favourite Stalker. I hope Altan stays: we need more on the ATL angle. There will be another book, and finally we might get to see some Nuevo Mayan ziggurats in action.
*So Viking Jam had a point about Mad Max in the review they posted, though how they posted it months before publication and what the reference to 'soon to be a movie' actually means I don't understand: it still looks a bit suss. As for the Mad Max parallel: when the Mortal Engines movie came out, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian likened it to Star Wars (that's A New Hope, for anyone born after 1995). I'd never made that connection myself before, but it's there in the super weapon which must be stopped. Fair point, but one trope does not define a work, and for critics any novelty eventually becomes chaotic static around the trendlines (super weapons, underdog hero, revenge best served cold, etc. etc.) - which is why it's important to look beyond the obvious. There are Fury Road style antagonists here, but there is more to the book than that.
Not just a return to the Traction Era, but a welcome widening of the world in a way more fundamental than new terrains and new cities: Bridge of Storms has nomads* (presumably the ancestors of the Snowmads of the Ice Wastes from the original Mortal Engines quartet), nightwights, and a new use for Revenant technology. The world is knitting together too, with references to Cluny Morvish, Fever Crumb, and Arlo Thursday (from Fever Crumb and its follow-up prequels), and some hints at where Magnus Crome got the info on Medusa and London's longstanding interest in Stalker-tech. The characters get better too, and Vespertine is fast becoming my second favourite Stalker. I hope Altan stays: we need more on the ATL angle. There will be another book, and finally we might get to see some Nuevo Mayan ziggurats in action.
*So Viking Jam had a point about Mad Max in the review they posted, though how they posted it months before publication and what the reference to 'soon to be a movie' actually means I don't understand: it still looks a bit suss. As for the Mad Max parallel: when the Mortal Engines movie came out, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian likened it to Star Wars (that's A New Hope, for anyone born after 1995). I'd never made that connection myself before, but it's there in the super weapon which must be stopped. Fair point, but one trope does not define a work, and for critics any novelty eventually becomes chaotic static around the trendlines (super weapons, underdog hero, revenge best served cold, etc. etc.) - which is why it's important to look beyond the obvious. There are Fury Road style antagonists here, but there is more to the book than that.
October 6, 2025
Review: Soon to be a movie hmm? You know they may be right. This novel translates better as pure movement. I like the story line foundation and the idea of airships set against this Mad Maxian landscape. There is even a humongous type character with the ancillary frenetic worshipers that display their crazy as normative. Insert Toecutter, Rictus
Where this fails is character development. Everyone is an event, with no buildup or mystery. The entrenched crew of the Airships are of a patterned mien. Shy but deadly (Tamzin), insecure but vain (Max) and motherly / inquisitive (Hilly). If you are old enough, think back to the Ghost (Captain Oddington) and Mrs. Muir. There is even a revenant made from the remains of a pit fighter brain mixed with robot. Combined, they are a lovable retard that melts your heart as it chases its cherished kitty around. Can you say "Mary Shelly"? Of course anyone that sees Franken......er they are unable to move while pissing their boots.
The residents of Museion are all professorial with a vampiric engineer driving the city. Seems like there was a fair amount of hastely contrived personalities inserted into an equally derivative story line. Tamsin Pook is a supposed badass revenant killer yet gets tossed around like a bag of rice at a Chinese cookout. Even a singular Witch takes her down with little effort. Yet when her skills are needed to drive the story line, boy is she of a sudden, a consumate untouchable killer/fighter.
I liked the movement but never really got into this novel as it surely tugs from the past without shame.
I received this ARC for an honest review.
2.2/5
Where this fails is character development. Everyone is an event, with no buildup or mystery. The entrenched crew of the Airships are of a patterned mien. Shy but deadly (Tamzin), insecure but vain (Max) and motherly / inquisitive (Hilly). If you are old enough, think back to the Ghost (Captain Oddington) and Mrs. Muir. There is even a revenant made from the remains of a pit fighter brain mixed with robot. Combined, they are a lovable retard that melts your heart as it chases its cherished kitty around. Can you say "Mary Shelly"? Of course anyone that sees Franken......er they are unable to move while pissing their boots.
The residents of Museion are all professorial with a vampiric engineer driving the city. Seems like there was a fair amount of hastely contrived personalities inserted into an equally derivative story line. Tamsin Pook is a supposed badass revenant killer yet gets tossed around like a bag of rice at a Chinese cookout. Even a singular Witch takes her down with little effort. Yet when her skills are needed to drive the story line, boy is she of a sudden, a consumate untouchable killer/fighter.
I liked the movement but never really got into this novel as it surely tugs from the past without shame.
I received this ARC for an honest review.
2.2/5
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews