Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Synopsis
An edge-of-your seat adventure set in the iconic world of Mortal Engines! Tamzin Pook is a fighter in the Amusement Arcade. And what she does best is killing Revenants. All she knows is survival, having arrived in the Arcade as a small child. She pushes away her memories, her hopes, and her fears, and she emerges into the arena to battle the Revenants--dead brains nestled in armored engine bodies. She doesn't dare to hope or wish for anything more than to survive another day. Meanwhile, the wheeled city of Motoropolis has been taken over by a rebel faction who killed its leaders and commandeered the city. Its only hope is a teacher named Miss Torpenhow who's determined to find the Mayor's good-for-nothing son and force him to take back what's rightfully his. But to get to him, she'll need to find someone who's skilled at fighting Revenants. With a daring abduction, Miss Torpenhow and Tamzin Pook's destinies are entwined, and so begin their adventures together... This stand-alone Mortal Engines novel follows an unlikely crew of fighters-turned friends: Tamzin Pook, Hilly Torpenhow, mayor-to-be Max Angmering, and washed-up mercenary Oddington Doom. Together, they must find a way to outwit the assassins that are determined to drag Tamzin back to the arcade, and try to take back Motoropolis. Readers, hold onto your seats--it's going to be a wild ride.
Tags
Is Thunder City (A Mortal Engines Novel) appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
Parents should know this book features intense arena combat against reanimated dead enemies (Revenants), violence with consequences, and themes of survival and captivity. The protagonist is a child fighter forced into brutal combat, which may be disturbing for sensitive readers.
What to know going in
This book has strong violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include child harm, captivity, and death (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will be drawn to the high-stakes arena battles, the ragtag crew of misfits fighting against impossible odds, and the steampunk world of mobile cities.