Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Traction City (novella)

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Country
  
United Kingdom

Publication date
  
2011

ISBN
  
978-1-4071-2427-8

Series
  
Predator Cities

Genre
  
Science Fiction


Language
  
English

Pages
  
293

Originally published
  
2011

Page count
  
293

Publisher
  
Scholastic Corporation

Traction City (novella) img10deviantartnet1d1fi201231580traction

Media type
  
Print (hardback and paperback)

Authors
  
Philip Reeve, Chris Priestley

Similar
  
Philip Reeve books, Other books

Traction City is a novella by Philip Reeve and is a prequel to the Mortal Engines Quartet it was released as a flip book alongside Chris Priestlys' teachers tales of terror for World Book Day. Set on London and introducing street urchin Smiff, policeman Anders and a young Anna Fang.

Contents

Plot Summary

Smiff is an orphan who lives on the lowest tier of London and scavenges for items fallen from higher tiers. Whilst searching, he witnesses a murder where the attacker has removed the right hand from the victim. Sniff later goes to the police station, where a teenage Anna Fang has been arrested by corporal Nutter as an Anti-Tractionist saboteur. Smiff explains the murder to Sergeant Anders, who, alongside Nutter, leaves to investigate the murder. Constable Pym searches the records for similar incidents and find several reports thereof. Anders and Nutter return to the police station, where Anna Fang explains that she has been following the stalker called the Collector, whom she wants to recruit to the Anti-Tractionist cause. Anders uses Anna as bait for the Stalker. They are surrounded by a group of Engineers (a powerful guild in London), who explain that they brought the Collector to London, but lost control over it. Afterwards the head of the engineers orders the death of the two police officers and Anna; but Smiff assists their escape. The engineers are killed by the Collector, who severs the right hands as a replacement for its own missing hand. Anders distracts the Collector, and uses Anna's explosive to destroy it. Afterwards, he allows Anna Fang to escape, and Smiff to stay at the station.

Reception

The book has an aggregated rating of 4 stars on Goodreads

References

Traction City (novella) Wikipedia