Reeve announces ME Quartet to be released in Spanish

Just in time for the increased interest in Mortal Engines due to the December 2018 release of the movie, Phillip Reeve has let it be known that all 4 books of the Quartet will be released in the Spanish language.

The first and second novels ME and Predators Gold have already been translated and Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain are to get the treatment as well.

Here's the official word from Phillip Reeve:

"I sometimes get asked by Spanish readers about translations of the Mortal Engines books - the first two have been out of print in Spanish for years, and Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain never made it *into* print. Well, Maquinas Mortales is out this month, and El Oro del Depredador coming soon.

They're published by Alfaguara, who will be doing the third and fourth volumes in due course too. Covers by David Buisan."

It's a good move by Reeve's publisher as there's 500 million of Spanish speakers around the globe who might be interested in reading on of the greatest adventures ever put to paper ! 

Artist David Buisan has designed the new covers (above and below) and will presumably do the other two novels as well.

Book One is available now on Amazon  and El Oro del Depredador is released in November.

Leave a Comment a darkling plain, el oro del depredado, infernal devices, maquinas mortales

Gideon Crumb: What's in a name?

For Mortal Engines fans the name 'Gideon Crumb' refers to the good Doctor Gideon Crumb, Crumb being the father of Fever Crumb, the titular character of the first prequel novel to the Mortal Engines quartet written by Philip Reeve.

However, for Harry Potter fans, Gideon Crumb will always be the rock'n'rolling wizard who was front man / bag pipe player for the The Weird Sisters. You can check out their groove in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Update: The next two paragraphs are wrong. Pls check the correction below.

It would appear then Phillip Reeves borrowed the name for his novel as a nod to the Harry Potter series. Reeve fills his novels with many references to popular culture so it makes sense he would do such a thing.

Given The Goblet of Fire was published in 2005 and Fever Crumb in 2009, the timing certainly fits in that Reeve would have had enough time to read Rowling's work and then be inspired to include the name in his drafting of Fever Crumb.

Update: Philip Reeve kindly stepped by on twitter to shoot down this theory! (Not for the first time either!)

Nope, never read the later Potters, didn't know about that!

— Philip Reeve (@philipreeve1) September 13, 2017

To which I perhaps impolitely replied with a DAMMIT!
And then we learned Reeve's real inspiration:

It's a bit annoying. He was Gideon after Gideon Mantell, I think, but I'd have used a different name if I'd known JKR had bagged it. OH WELL

— Philip Reeve (@philipreeve1) September 13, 2017

So Gideon was not named for a minor Harry Potter character but rather one of the fathers of paleontology!

Thanks for the insight Philip!

And that's all I have to say other than, 'you're a wizard, Harry!'.

Leave a Comment fever crumb, gideon crumb, gideon mantell, harry potter

Airhaven art design

Concept design of Airhaven from Mortal Engines book series by Eleth89. We can only wait until we see how this looks in the movie. The Gasbag and Gondola awaits us!

Leave a Comment airhaven., concept art, fan art

Calum Gittens is playing the Chief Navigator of London

Kiwi actor Calum Gittens has a role in Mortal Engines as the 'Chief Navigator'.

We presume Chief Navigator refers to a job piloting London Traction City.

Gittens is the son of popular New Zealand actor Paul Gittens and a fairlywell-knownn scriptwriter called Phillipa Boyens.

That name should ring a bell....

Gittens made a name for himself on the Kiwi soap opera Shortland Street and a few parts in LOTR (He features as the young lad on The Wall in The Two Towers) and The Hobbit.

Another notable screen credit was a turn in The King's Speech.

Leave a Comment calum gittens, phillipa boyens

Doctor Twix is being played by Sarah Peirse

Kiwi actress, Sarah Peirse is playing Dr Twik in the Mortal Engines film.

Peirse has had a very long association with Peter Jackson productions, going back to Heavenly Creatures in which she played the ill fated mother. She's had a few parts in the Hobbit trilogy.

She's actually had a pretty decent go of a career as an actress having made a name for herself in Vincent Ward's The Navigator and having played many roles on stage and on NZ and Australian TV shows.

In Mortal Engines Dr Twix is a scientist in the Guild of Engineers that is responsible for the reanimation of stalkers / turning humans into stalkers and keeping an eye of Shrike.

She's faithful to the Mayor of London, Magnus Chrome.

We imagine this is the first time Sarah has been cast after a character named for a chocolate bar!

Leave a Comment cast, doctor twix, sarah peirse