Fancy a pint down the Gasbag and Gondola?

Friday, July 28, 2017
We found a great drawing by Peter Yea of the scene in Mortal Engines when Hester and Tom are finally found by the Shrike! He attacks them at the Gasbag and Gondola Inn.

shrike attacks tom and hester in mortal engines

Check out Peter's Facebook page for a great look at his designs - they are fantastic.

What age are Tom and Hester in Mortal Engines?

Wednesday, July 26, 2017
tom and hester drawing
In the original Mortal Engines book, we first meet young Tom Natsworthy when he is 15 years of age.

He was made an orphan in the events of The Big Tilt where a tier of London broke and crushed his parents. Tom could be described as a scrawny thin boy but handsome none-the-less.

Spoilers follow!

Spoilers follow!

Hester is about the same age as Tom. In the flash back parts of the novel where Thaddeus Valentine is revealed to have murdered her parents, she is seven years old.

Bevis Pod and Katherine Valentine are also teenagers but as far as we can tell, their exact ages are not mentioned in the novel.

By the time of the Predator's Gold sequel begins, Tom and Hester have aged two years.

At the beginning of Infernal Devices Tom and Hester have been married 16 years and have a daughter, Wren of about the same age. This means that Tom and Hester are about 33 years old. We don't know how soon they were married after the events of Predator's Gold but presume it was as soon as Tom was recovered enough from his gun shot wound and discovery he was about to be a dad.

By the time Tom and Hester each both die at the end of A Darkling Plain, they are close to 34, if not already that age.

How old are Hester and Tom in the Mortal Engines movie?

The characters are being played by Hera Hilmar and Rob Sheehan born who each were born in 1988 (making them each 29 ish) so the characters have been aged up for the movie.

Wonderful Mortal Engines concept art design of The Professor, Anna Fang and Ms H Shaw

Monday, July 24, 2017


This is some fabulous concept design / fan art inspired by Mortal Engines. The artist is simply known as 'Brooke'.

They said of their work:

"My final submission for my concept art class, character assignment. 3 characters -each representing a different body type- from The Mortal Engines novel by Philip Reeve. My favourite by far to design was Anna Fang, though I did love attempting to recreate Hester’s scar. "

Here's a more regal design of Anna Fang by the same artist.

anna fang concept design

Hester Shaw cosplay photo collection

Those who've read the books know that Hester Shaw has a sense of mystique and mystery about the character. Sometimes her actions speak louder than words and wreak havoc but deep down, Hester is a good person. So many readers find her irresistible as an inspiration for cosplay.

OK, maybe it's just the bad ass scar across her eye that the cosplayers love...

hester shaw cosplay scar tissue


Here's some good steam punk goggles:

hester shaw steam punk cosplay


Full scarf treatment:

hester shaw scarf costume



hester costume with scarf

hester's scar from mortal engines

hesters facial scar costume

Check out this awesome Shrike pencil sketch

Sunday, July 23, 2017
We found this incredible pencil sketch of Shrike from Mortal Engines.

There's been many an attempt to draw Shrike (or Grike if you're an American reader) over the years, some good, some bad but this is the first one that I feel actually captures some humanity about the character.

pencil sketch of the Shrike from mortal engines


As a reader of Mortal Engines, you'll know of course that Shrike was indeed once a man who was turned into an un-dead killing machine and has spent years being the murderous tool of horrible people. Underneath all that, was a heart looking for a home and I think this drawing did a great job.

In the movie, Shrike is played by Stephen Lang.

We found this picture on a Facebook page and have no idea who drew this. If you do, please let us know in the comments.

Nice words from Aaron 'Gench' Jackson about the ME set

Thursday, July 20, 2017
Aaron Jackson Mortal Engines set chair name title

Here's what Kiwi actor had to say in his Facebook page about his time on the Mortal Engines set:

"Wrapping on set today. Such a sweet experience. Took a lot away with me this shoot. All involved where world class. Everyone brought their A game. 'Gench' is my characters name on the movie, #mortalengines (release date Dec 2K18) it was the back rest on my set chair for the shoot. PJ (Peter Jackson) likes to give it to the cast on their last day on set. 🙌🏼. An experience I'll hold onto for quite some time. My love and thanks to all involved "

The character of Gench is a ruthless pilot on Thaddeus Valentine's ship, the 13th Floor Elevator

We love that Jackson played current All Blacks captain Keiran Reed in the NZ movie "The Kick"!

Caren Pistorius is playing Pandora Shaw in Mortal Engines


caren pistorius mortal engines pandora

IMDB suggests that Kiwi actress Caren Pistorius is playing Pandora Shaw.
A body double, Danielle Parsons, has been listed for the character as played by Caren:


In the Mortal Engines novel, Pandora is an archeologist who discovers the Medusa weapon which opens the metaphorical Pandora's Box which leads to the events of the book. 

Caren has quietly been making a name for herself as an actress having landed some key roles in Slow West and The Light Between Oceans with Magneto himself, Michael Fassbender.  

Here's a comprehensive interview with Caren about her role in Slow West.

Jihae releases small short of her training as Anna Fang

Wednesday, July 19, 2017
jihae training for anna fang

Jihae probably has the coolest part in Mortal Engines as the Anti Traction League Aviatrix known as Anna Fang. 

This is a role that's knee deep in the action and requires some sword play skills so here's Jihae training with Mark Trotter.

Jihae posted this on her Instagram Account where you can watch the short filming.

"I had the privilege to work w Mark Trotter 8x #worldchampion of #taekwondo for #mortalengines The twin butterfly knives didn't make it into the film but was fun choreography. #marktrotter #jihae"


mark trotter training with jihae mortal engines

Regé-Jean Page is playing Captain Khora in Mortal Engines

Captain Khora Mortal Engines Rege Page

Mortal Engines author Philip Reeve has confirmed that actor Regé-Jean Page is playing the character of Captain Khora.  Khora is master and commander of the gunship Mokele Mbembe.

In the novel, Khora is a minor Anti-Tractionist character that encounters Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw.

Reeves has suggested that he may have a bigger role to play in the movie, and indeed so will Jihae's Anna Fang. 

Reeve confirmed this news in an article he wrote on his blog.

Pages' IMDB bio describes himself as thus:

Regé-Jean Page is a British-Zimbabwean actor whose upbringing saw him travel across Africa, Europe, the US, and the UK before he finally settled in London.

An alum of the National Youth Theatre and trained at the infamous Drama Centre London, Regé is best known for Roots (2016), Survivor (2015), and Waterloo Rd (2006).

Regé-Jean Page's Mortal Engines wrap up gift is awesome

Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Regé-Jean Page is playing a wee part in the Mortal Engines movie and as a gift from the production for the wrap up of the movie, Regé-Jeanwas given a fantastic gift - a signed copy of Mortal Engines by author Philip Reeve.

rege jean mortal engines signed book

Reeve's was clearly impressed with Page's work! Page is actually playing Captain Khora.

And follow up question - did they really make Philip Reeve sign 3000 copies of his book?

'Salvage Man 2' Richard Mills shares his thoughts on filming the Mortal Engines movie

Monday, July 17, 2017

Richard Mills has crept under our Radar a bit with the filming of Mortal Engines.

His character name at this stage on IMDB is "Salvage Man 2" which suggests a small part but none-the-less it is awesome a Kiwi (by way of Wales) gets to have some on screen time in the Christian Rivers directed film. Edit: IMDB has changed to Airhaven Citizen / Gondola Barman.

Here's what Mills had to say with the announcement that the film has wrapped principal photography.

"That's a wrap. Principal photography on the film I've been lucky enough to be working on has wrapped, so unless I'm needed for pick-up scenes, that's my journey completed with Mortal Engines.

I've been so lucky to enjoy 29 full days on set (plus wardrobe fitting days), meet some great new friends, learn so much about the process of making a big budget feature film, meet some of the world's top actors and be part of a Sir Peter Jackson movie project. AWESOME!"

Mills most recently seen in the remake of the Kiwi film, Goodbye Pork Pie as a Police Officer.

↠ Mortal Engines is a wrap - check out the crew pictures that reveal some details

Reports are in that the Mortal Engines filming has wrapped up.


Robert Sheehan and Hera Hilmar have filmed their parts and the rest is up to Christian Rivers and Peter Jackson's production skills to make this movie as good as possible.

Here's a sweet pix which some cheeky party crashers managed to get with The Sheeb (as the internet calls him) at the wrap party.


Only some 500 odd days until the release of the movie in two Decembers. Which means plenty of time to get all that CGI locked in. I just can't wait to see what those giant cities and Hester looks like!

No word yet on whether re-shoots will be required, we imagine so!

Actor Richard Mills said on his Facebook page:

"That's a wrap. Principal photography on the film I've been lucky enough to be working on has wrapped, so unless I'm needed for pick-up scenes, that's my journey completed with Mortal Engines.

I've been so lucky to enjoy 29 full days on set (plus wardrobe fitting days), meet some great new friends, learn so much about the process of making a big budget feature film, meet some of the world's top actors and be part of a Sir Peter Jackson movie project. AWESOME!"

Some of the crew's swag is pretty cool - note the Mortal Engines symbols:




Here's some more pix we found of crew celebrating the end of the filming:


Nice to see New Zealand beers Moa and Tuatara  beer representing! Good hoppy beers. Did you know check ph Level with a ph meter is really important for a good tasting beer? Also, a good brewing yeast is a must! Heck, a pH test for Kombucha is important too!


And finally this snap from Katie Jackon (Peter's daughter) with Ronan Rafferty.

Rona Rafferty Katie Jackson Mortal Engines

Here's stunt performer Sarah Munn with cinematographer  Simon Raby

simon raby mortal engines

Our 'A Darkling Plain' book review

Sunday, July 9, 2017
a darkling plain cover by ian mcque

This is a SPOILERY REVIEW.

A Darkling Plain is Reeve's triumphant end to the Mortal Engines realm.

You'd think a guy running a Mortal Engines movie website would have read all the books before he began down such a path but we didn't so we're playing catch up.

After the great story that was Infernal Devices I began to wonder how the damn tale was going to end.

How was everything going to come together? I had high hopes as it seemed so well set up for a final climatic finish.

And then I accidentally read something online about the ending and I was a bit sad as it was one of the great book endings of all time.

But it's all about journey to the end right?

And what a journey right?!

review of a darkling plain by philip reeveThis was the first Mortal Engines book to really amp the story to block buster / global levels and in doing so it lost a fair bit of the teenage angst (yes it's till there..) and got into the real deal of the piece:

Killing things.

You thought there was a lot of death in the prior books?

By Quirke does Philip Reeve have some news for you!

Wait.

What I think I'm trying to convey is that the weight of the whole world the Reeve has created rests on the shoulders of this book and it is extremely well carried by Tom, Wren, Theo and even bad old Pennyroyal.

But I'll tell you about my first favourite moment.

The books starts with the tale of Theo who proved his worth in Infernal Devices. It's nice and all but it was a great distraction for the arrival of of a key character. A dark shadow of a figure comes out of the desert on some kind of sand boat with sails. It's a dark and menacing threat. As I reader I felt a sense of dread.

And then it turned out to be Hester who proved to be quite the murderous soul.

And I was like, yep, she's back. Like the original Terminator but meaner.

Get out the way Sarah Connor!

And now we discuss even more spoilers & things.

Got that?

My second favourite moment was when Anna Fang went off the reservation (as if she wasn't already) and turned the ODIN weapon on the good people of Earth.

It was gripping writing by Peter Reeve and page turn after page turn of excitement. This moment was an excellent pay off for all the ground work that had gone into setting up Stalker Fang and everyone chasing the McGuffin of the 'Tin Book'.

Reeve's line of "There was nothing there but fire, the million mournful voices of the wind" was a chilling reflection of the destruction Fang had just caused.

It also reminded me of Arthur C Clarke's wonderful short story, 'The Nine Billion Names of God' - only in name as the story is completely different except for the fact we're dealing with the end of the world for so many people in each case...

And that just serves to highlight how far an author Reeve's had come by the time he did this fourth book in the Mortal Engines series. While you can argue it's 'same same but different', I felt Reeve's was writing with a deliberate purpose.

I suspect that's because he had thought of an AMAZING ending and couldn't wait to get there himself but he just had to set things up just right for it to be of any long lasting effect on the story that he was concluding.

A question that is a total spoiler.

Ready player one?
Hester's suicide.

Did she really hate herself that much?

While Tom and herself in many ways were star crossed lovers, she was no Juliet.

Why couldn't she live on for Wren? We know she kinda resented her a bit from her experiences in Infernal Devices but jeez Louise!

Game over man, game over. 

Professor Nimrod Penny Royal was a cliched pastiche of a fellow from the moment he met Tom and Hester in Predator's Gold.

In the end he played a heroic part - which was kinda clever as everything was set up nicely for a Shrike / Fang rematch so his intervention at the right moment was an enjoyable surprise.

I mean that in terms of the reading of the book, not for the character. No, he was a pain in everyone's ass and probably deserved to get a knife in the eye from Hester but he didn't. I suspect Reeve's is too a nice a guy to let that happen.

The book has the usual trials and tribulations that we would come to expect. The many twists and turns are well signaled and it was great to see choices made in Infernal Devices play out so well in this novel.

If you're a Mortal Engines fan, you've probably already read this book so I'm sure you'll agree that it's fine end to the series and I really, really hope that Reeves never even thinks of drafting a sequel as there are not many book endings that I will remember like that of this novel.

I've mentioned the last paragraph ending three times now. It's that good. A literary twist up there with the Fight Clubs and Life of Pi (s) of this world.

If you've read the first three in the series, this novel is the book that finishes what was started in Infernal Devices and we recommend you grab it from Amazon today.

Else, you really should start with the first novel, Mortal Engines. You'll fall in love with it from the first line...

Order A Darkling Plain from Book Despository

Oh, the feels in this Tom and Hester artwork

Sunday, July 2, 2017
This is an amazing piece of Mortal Engines fan art work by Katya Bozukova who can be found at Over_the_cauldron_art.

It captures emotions you can ascribe to Tom and Hester so easily in terms of their relationship.


tom and hester art from Mortal Engines

Powered by Blogger.
Back to Top