16 years have passed. Hester and Tom have lived happily at Anchorage raising their daughter Wren. Wren has grown up hearing her parents adventures and is keen to have some of her own, especially since she hasn’t been getting on with Hester lately. But Wren gets more action than she bargained for.

Lost boys have come looking for something called the Tin Book, and Wren thinks she knows where to find it – if they will take her with them when they leave. Her plans go terribly wrong and she is soon a captive, far from her safe, boring life she’d do anything to get back to. She even misses Hester.

Hester and Tom set off to look for her, encountering more adventures (like when they first met), and Wren is trying to work out how to escape. It’s not only the Lost Boys who want the Tin Book. It contains important ‘old tech’ information and could finally end the war between the Green Storm (Anti Traction League) and Municipal Darwinism cities that roam the Earth.

Shrike features again in this story, as does Anna Fang – but in completely different forms than before. Penny Royal is alive and well and still the con-man he ever was, and the action is fierce and bloody. Wren is a different girl by the end of the story, with a mix of respect and disdain for her parents. She is shocked to see Hester’s true self emerge.

Thrilling, full of action and fantastic character development. Can’t wait to learn what happens next in No.4 A Darkling Plain.

Author – Philip Reeve

Age – 12+

(Dystopian, Steampunk, Future, Action, War, Technology, Fear, Courage, Family, Kidnap, Battle)