Philip Reeve’s new book Rail Head is about a petty thief, Zen Starling, who gets hired by a master criminal, Raven. Zen is on a mission to steal the pyxis, which is a mysterious box containing a shining black orb, decorated with an intricate design.
Not only this, he has to disguise his identity as a multibillionaire’s son, Tallis Noon. On the way, he makes friends with Nova (a motorik), Threnody (a distant cousin of Tallis) and the hive monks (a curious species of insects which form together to make a human shaped figure).
The opening scene drew me in straight away. It is fast paced, the thrilling use of fictional planets is totally unique and you can tell that it is set so far into the future that humans have discovered other universes.
My favourite part is the introduction to Uncle Bugs at the start. He is a dealer of goods that Zen steals for him to sell. I thought the fact that it was written in four parts was better than just being in chapters because there was a dramatic cliffhanger at the end of each one.
The content of the book makes it suitable for an audience of nine and over, although the language is quite complex at times. Both older and younger readers will appreciate Reeve’s humour.
I thought it was funny that The Emperor was called the Fat Controller. Readers will instantly recognise the character from the Thomas books of their childhood. I think that Philip Reeve has used trains because space rockets are over used in sci–fi stories. The setting is a cyber–punk sci–fi world of trains and robots.
-
Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
