A DARKLING PLAIN (Mortal Engines Quartet #4) by Phillip Reeve ⭐⭐⭐

(Original review written April 30, 2019)

Spoilers ahead

What the heck, where was this quality in the first three?

There’s still a lot of weird here, and the characters maintain their questionable actions and motives, but the plot is substantially better. I wish things could be rearranged to put this one first and grow from it, but maybe it’s enough to end things on a high note.

I realized toward the last third that the whole series would be better without Hester Shaw. Her core attributes are just being a terrible human being, and for some reason Tom has spent his whole life loving that person. If the entire series had followed bumbling but loving dad Tom and his brave daughter Wren in this mechanically intriguing world, I think we would’ve gotten a higher level entry at each turn than we did. Oh well.

The most redeeming factor of the book is the ending. It is the only part through four books that even approached my heart strings, all in about three pages. It gave me a bit of a chill as well, feeling like I had just read some classic sci-fi saga instead of a bumpy YA series. I can see some people having issues with an ending like that, but I’ll count it as a win and move on.

As far as a recommendation, if the first book (or even the first 100 pages) doesn’t do it for you, bail hard. An enjoyable but not fully redeeming last entry just isn’t enough to struggle through them all. I questioned quitting after each book, and a few times in the middle, which I guess shows either the quality of the books or my issue with not finishing things. I’d say use your time to cross off better stuff on your reading list before taking on this uphill battle.