Fever Crumb

Publishers Weekly

In this exciting steampunk adventure, Carnegie Medal–winner Reeve takes readers to a far future that looks back at our era with a darkly humorous sensibility (how's “Blog off,” for an expletive?), while laying tantalizing groundwork for his Hungry City Chronicles quartet. Fever Crumb, a 14-year-old orphan, is the only girl ever accepted into the Order of Engineers and has been raised in seclusion by obsessively logical scientists in an enormous head, part of an unfinished statue of London's deposed ruler, the hated mutant “Scriven,” Auric Godshawk. But Fever's thoroughly rational nature is thrown into flux when she's sent into the bustling, violent city on her first job, working for an eccentric archeologist who may have discovered Godshawk's secret cache of scientific inventions. As invaders near the city's outer perimeter, the streets of London erupt in mob violence, and Fever finds herself proclaimed a mutant and pursued by an implacable enemy. Beautifully written, grippingly paced, and filled with eccentric characters and bizarre inventions (such as foldable assassins made of paper), this is a novel guaranteed to please Reeve's fans—and very likely broaden their ranks. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)

Kirkus Reviews

Rejoice! Reeve returns to the vivid, violent, steampunky world of his Hungry Cities Chronicles. In a still-stationary London, signs of the genocide that killed the mutant Scriven overlords are fading. Teenage Fever Crumb, orphaned in the Skinners' Riots and the only female raised by the eminently rational Order of Engineers, is recruited by an archaeologist who has found a hidden Scriven workshop. But nomads are moving in, Fever is beset by unfamiliar memories and civil unrest is once again taking over. Filled with humor ("blog," as in who gives a, is a swearword) and tackling issues of love, family and power, the author balances the occasional cheap laugh (the Hari Potter cult) or violent death with a finely wrought coming-of-age story starring an unlikely and occasionally unlikable heroine who (like Hester Shaw) becomes a figure of pathos and dignity. Bonuses: the start of Municipal Darwinism, Grike's origins and a glimpse of the real Great Quirke. An essential read for fans and a great entry point for newcomers to the world; here's hoping there's more to come. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

Children's Literature - Jennifer Lehmann

In a post-apocalyptic London, technology has all but disappeared. A Guild of Engineers seeks knowledge and reason, frequently trying to unlock the secrets of the past and the seeming magic of the things we take for granted. A single girl has been raised by these Engineers. Fever Crumb knows little of who she was before she was adopted by them and knows less about the world outside their doors. When she is chosen by an archaeologist to assist him in a project, she is thrust into a world that is overwhelmingly dirty and irrational. She also finds herself almost instantly in danger, as her differently colored eyes mark her as a misshape. The common people of London believe her to be related to the Scriven, a non-human race that ruled London harshly until they were overthrown. Their fear puts a hunter on her tail, as Fever unearths answers to her past in the mysteries of the archaeologist's project. While Fever's insistence upon rationality distances her from the reader at first, she grows significantly throughout the story and allows many opportunities to empathize with and understand her. Many of the minor characters are vividly three-dimensional, and a tavern boy named Charley Shallow carries almost as large a role as Fever as he finds his way out of the tavern hole in which he has been suffering and faces decisions of right and wrong, life and death. The setting took a few pages to grasp, as it is set so far into the future that it resembles our past. Discerning readers will enjoy the details of today's popular culture that have evolved almost past recognition. The characters are engaging, the mysteries are intriguing, and the science fiction is wonderfully unique. Reviewer: Jennifer Lehmann

VOYA - Lynne Farrell Stover

In post-apocalyptic London, foundling Fever Crumb lives in a bleak world where archeologists dig up ancient technology and engineers work to interpret their finds. She has lived most of her fourteen years with the group of rational engineers (think Mr. Spock) in a colossal sculpted head (think Statue of Liberty) built years ago to honor the last of the Scriven overlords, Auric Godshawk. The aristocratic Scrivens viewed themselves as Homo-Superiors, an advanced race deserving of privilege and respect. A predictable and destructive rebellion by disenfranchised Londoners has left the city free of Scriven dictatorship. It is into this uneasy environment that the overprotected Fever ventures on a mysterious assignment. Her hairless head and oddly colored eyes quickly draw unwanted attention. Because she is being hunted down as a possible surviving Scriven, Fever has little time to worry about the advancing Northern Nomads. Her quest has become twofold, that of self-discovery and survival. Working both captivating storytelling and social commentary, Reeve creates a future world of depleted resources and civil unrest. Sly humor and witty wordplay are perfectly interwoven into this bleak tale. Place names like Liver Pill Street and Hamsterdam create a chuckle. A conversational aside explaining that it is fashionable to name babies for physical ailments and the description of a room tiled with thousands of keyboard letters are delightful details offsetting occurrences of death and destruction. A prequel to the Hungry City Chronicles, this well-written book stands alone while leaving the reader wanting more. Reviewer: Lynne Farrell Stover

Children's Literature - Michael Jung PhD

Science fiction author Philip Reeve narrates the prequel to his popular "Mortal Engines Quartet" series, taking readers back several centuries before the original saga to a time when mankind had just recovered from devastating riots that reverted London to an almost medieval-Victorian lifestyle. Into this world is born Fever Crumb, an enigmatic girl raised by the Order of Engineers. Her belief in logic and reason is challenged when she learns her mind contains memories linking her to Auric Godshawk, a mutant Scriven overlord who once ruled the humans. But Fever has more immediate problems to deal with when she learns that the city folk, convinced she is also a mutant, have organized a witch hunt intent on her execution. Worse, the invading Nomads of the Frozen North are also closing in on London, with their own plans for the city—and Fever. As these diverse threats converge on each other, Fever must uncover the secrets of her past and learn exactly who she is—and where her true loyalties lie. Reeve proves a capable narrator for this audio book, which fills in some of the blanks to the plot of his "Mortal Engines Quartet" while also beginning a new saga that can stand on its own. Like many first installments, the book starts off slowly as Reeve introduces his new characters, but it takes off in Disc Three as the reader begins to learn the hidden histories of Fever's mentor, Auric Godshawk, and Fever herself. The audiobook ends with an unpublished excerpt from the book (also read by Reeve) as well as a brief afterward by Reeve in which he relates his writing habits, his reasons for writing the "Fever Crumb" books, and the development of Fever's name and character. Overall, it's a fascinating entry in the post-apocalyptic genre that science fiction fans will enjoy. Reviewer: Michael Jung, PhD

School Library Journal

Gr 5–7—Reeve's "Hungry City Quartet" (HarperCollins) remains a landmark of visionary steampunk imagination, with a future where traction cities roll about chasing down smaller cities, which they devour for parts in an exercise called Municipal Darwinism. Returning to this future, Reeve gives readers a story that takes place decades before the rise of the traction cities and examines the social and political milieu that led to that major societal change. Fever Crumb is the adopted daughter of Dr. Crumb, and the only female member of the Order of Engineers. Taken from the safety of the Order into the streets of London, Fever discovers a world where bands of Skinners have virtually exterminated a mutant race of people with speckled skin known as the Scriven. Suspected of being a Scriven herself, Fever must elude capture while she searches to find out who she really is. The answers she finds have far-reaching implications for the future of the world. Reeve is not just an excellent writer, but a creator with a wildly imaginative mind. The future London setting of this story is well imagined and feels like a place Charles Dickens might have described had he been a science-fiction writer. Plot details such as the origin story of the resurrected cyborg Stalker Shrike will resonate with fans of the earlier titles, but this book can also be read independently by those who are new to Reeve's work. A must for any fantasy collection.—Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO