Railhead is an epic fantasy that had me clinging on to its every word. The book is set away from earth and instead in The Great Network; lots of planets that inhabitants can travel between in fractions of a second on the trains through the k gates that the Guardians built.
Zen Starling is a petty thief and a railhead. He makes his living by selling all that he steals to Uncle Bugs – a Hive Monk, a colony of beetles that are in a human-shaped form. One day, Zen steals a necklace, and is chased by a Motorik (cyborg) and suddenly Uncle Bugs is no longer Uncle Bugs, only a few brown beetles that are still alive, and that Zen is now a wanted criminal.
Zen goes to his only option – to now ride the (non existent) Dog Star line with the mysterious Raven that has been believed dead for years; but someone is still out there, still hunting for Raven...
This book is amazing, even though I don’t really enjoy fantasies! I find that it is very well written and is a must read. I love the way how all the trains talk, and yet Philip Reeve hasn’t made it sound remotely cheesy.
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