A Web of Air
Praise
Philip Reeve has WON the CILIP Carnegie Medal
Blue Peter Book of the Year
Nestlé Book Prize – Gold Award
Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize
SHORTLISTED for the
Whitbread Children’s Book of the
Year WHSmith People’s Choice Awards
Praise for A WEB OF AIR:
“A good introduction to one of the most impressive series in children’s literature”
Daily Telegraph
“[One] of the most talented and inventive of contemporary writers. [Reeve has] a remarkable ability to combine a strong, engaging and beautifully paced storyline with a passion for argument and ideas: makes much of what passes for young adult fiction seem very thin indeed”
Robert Dunbar, Irish Times
“A brilliantly imagined world, told with Reeve’s distinctive verve”
Top Pick – Children’s Bookseller
“I love this series, with its unforgettable characters and rich descriptions that make you see everyday objects through completely different eyes.
A Web of Air
will remind you why Philip Reeve has won so many awards and proves that he has produced a series worthy of sitting alongside Philip Pullman’s
Dark Materials
in the annals of teen fantasy”
Waterstone’s Books Quarterly
“Atmospheric, well-tuned and gripping, this is a fine tale for adventure-loving ten-year-olds”
Philip Womack, Literary Review
“Philip Reeve’s epic
Mortal Engines
series has set the imagination of many a child completely wild since it first began. Every one of his
Mortal Engines
titles stands out as a truly special read. With
A Web of Air
you will be taken on an emotional journey as well as an enthralling one that’s full of surprises”
Lovereading4kids.co.uk
“Another outstanding achievement… This is children’s writing at its most sophisticated and intelligent”
Lancashire Evening Post
Praise for the MORTAL ENGINES series:
“Philip Pullman fans will love
Mortal Engines…
I didn’t want it to end”
Daily Telegraph
“Big, brave, brilliant”
Guardian
“A staggering feat of engineering, a brilliant construction that offers new wonders at every turn … Reeve’s prose is sweeping and cinematic, his ideas bold and effortless”
Publishers Weekly
“Superbly imagined”
The Times
“The idea behind
Mortal Engines
has other authors crying ‘I wish I’d thought of that!’”
Geraldine McCaughrean
“Witty and thrilling, serious and sensitive,
Mortal Engines
is one of the most daring and imaginative science fiction adventures ever written for young readers”
Books for Keeps
“An absolutely must-read author”
School Librarian
“His imagination is electrifying”
Frank Cottrell Boyce
“A ground-breaking futurama”
TES
“Philip Reeve’s intricate imagination makes J. K. Rowling feel like Enid Blyton”
Independent
“I stayed up till three in the morning to finish it. Philip Reeve is a genius”
Sonia Benster writing in The Bookseller
“Reeve is a terrific writer”
The Times
“Philip Reeve is a hugely talented and versatile author… the emotional journeys of his characters are enthralling, never sentimental and always believable”
Daily Telegraph
“There’s a fabulous streak of frivolity running through everything that Reeve writes… Like many of the great writers who can be read happily by both adults and children, Reeve uses the frivolity to hide his own seriousness”
Guardian
“Reeve writes with confidence and power. He is not only a master of visceral excitement, but at every turn, surprises, entertains and makes his readers think”
Books for Keeps
“Intelligent, funny and wise”
Literary Review
“Reeve is a master of young adult fiction”
Scotsman
About the Author
PHILIP REEVE was born in Brighton in 1966. After school he went to art college, then returned to Brighton to work in a small, independent bookshop. Some years later he became an illustrator – providing cartoons for various books, including several of the
Horrible Histories
series. He has been writing since he was five, but
Mortal Engines
was his first published book. He lives with his wife and son on Dartmoor.
Horrible Histories
series. He has been writing since he was five, but
Mortal Engines
was his first published book. He lives with his wife and son on Dartmoor.
www.philip-reeve.com
www.philipreeve.blogspot.com
www.mortalengines.co.uk
By Philip Reeve
Fever Crumb
A Web of Air
Mortal Engines
Predator’s Gold
Infernal Devices
A Darkling Plain
No Such Thing As Dragons
Here Lies Arthur
In the BUSTER BAYLISS series:
Night of the Living Veg
The Big Freeze
Day of the Hamster
Custardfinger
Larklight
Starcross
Mothstorm
PHILIP REEVE
To John Lambert,
and his Eigenbrain.
CONTENTS
Cover
Praise
A map of MAYDA at the World’s End
About the Author
By Philip Reeve
Title Page
Dedication
1 THURSDAY’S CHILD
2 IN MAYDA-AT-THE-WORLD’S-END
3 STRANGE ANGELS
4 AN ENGINEER CALLS
5 THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION
6 THE SHIPWRIGHT’S CURSE
7 THE MYSTERIES OF FLIGHT
8 THE SECRET POOL
9 A LEAVE OF ABSENCE
10 THE BLESSING OF THE SUMMER TIDES
11 AËROPLANE
12 THE FOUNTAIN
13 THE RED HERRING
14 BUILDINGS IN MOTION
15 AT THE THURSDAY HOUSE
16 MOBILE HOME
17 THE RAGGED ISLES
18 THE WATCHTOWER
19 LITTLE BIRD
20 WINGS OF THE FUTURE
21 LOST MAPS OF THE SKY
22 JONATHAN HAZELL INVESTIGATES
23 TEST FLIGHT
24 DROWNED OFFERING
25 THE LANDING PARTY
26 NIGHT VISITORS
27 FEVER IN THE AIR
28 MOTHERSHIP
29 WORD FROM THE GREAT DEEP
30 WESTERING
Copyright
1
THURSDAY’S CHILD
But that morning the beach was silent and deserted. The tide had gone a long way out, and even the sea was quiet. Despite the heat the sky was grey, and had a strange look; as if the clouds had somehow curdled. Glancing up as he climbed his secret path on to the island’s high, rocky spine, Arlo thought that this was what a fish might see if it looked up from inside the sea at the underbelly of the waves. His grandfather had grumbled that a storm was on the way.
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