Infernal Devices
Encyclopedia
Infernal Devices is the third of four novels in Philip Reeve
's children's series, the Mortal Engines Quartet.
. The peaceful city of Anchorage is now a static settlement called "Anchorage-in-Vineland
" on an island in the Dead Continent. During those peaceful years, Tom and Hester
have raised a teenage daughter named Wren Natsworthy
.
.
heroine Anna Fang
, the Green Storm
has been waging war against the Traction Cities for fourteen years. At first, the Storm seemed to be winning the war against the moving cities. However, the cities began to fight back, and alliances were formed between several cities, including the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft
, an alliance of German
speaking cities.
The Green Storm has legions of soldiers and Stalkers, fighter airship
s called "Murasaki Fox Spirits" and "Zhang Chen Hawkmoths", which are vast air destroyers and carriers. Apparently, the Stalker Fang regards her military forces expendable, which makes her unpopular among many other leaders of the Storm. This is evident by the use of "Tumblers" - one-manned craft used to ram Traction Cities in kamikaze
missions. The Green Storm also has an elite branch of its military called the "Resurrection Corps", who are responsible for resurrecting dead bodies into Stalkers for the war effort.
, found by the original founders of the New Anchorage on an old American Empire nuclear submarine. The Tin Book, bearing the insignia of the President of the United States of America, contains the activation codes for the final remaining orbital weapons platform left over from the Sixty Minute War, potentially with firepower far greater than that of MEDUSA, the energy weapon that destroyed the traction city of London
in Mortal Engines
. The Lost Boys persuade Wren to give them the Tin Book, and to join them on their journeys around the world.
Wren decided to find out what the Tin Book is. She starts by asking Freya knowing that it is in the palace's library. Freya tells Wren that the Tin Book was found on an old American Nuclear Submarine; everyone on board was dead, except for one person who, before he died, wrote the Tin Book. No one knows what it is about or what it is for; all it has in it are random letters and numbers. Then Wren asks Gargle, who is in charge of the mission to get the Tin Book. He tells Wren that Nimrod Pennyroyal
wrote a book about the time he was on Anchorage, called PREDATOR'S GOLD. It is selling well, but most of it is a lie, and because it talks about 'Parasite Pirates' towns and cities now have their hulls checked every day, meaning that it is harder to attach limpets (vehicles used by the Lost Boys) to them. So the Lost Boys have had to stop going to the Atlantic Sailors and the Ice Runners; they have had to send their limpets further away, to other oceans, and the central Hunting Ground. Worse yet, they are losing limpets; some of them have never returned, no distress call, nothing. Now raft cities are searching for Grimsby
. The Lost Boys need the Tin Book, because the ancients made submarines that can last for years underwater, so, if they can get Grimsby
moving, they won't be found!
Wren steals the book from the library and gives it to the Lost Boys. However, the townspeople of Anchorage find Wren, and believing she is in danger Hester Shaw opens fire on the limpet which is taking her away. She kills two Lost Boys in the process, and Fishcake, the only surviving crew member of the limpet, kidnaps Wren in anger. Fishcake plans to take her to Grimsby but is diverted en route to the raft resort of Brighton
by a trap intended to lure limpets to the city, so that their Lost Boy crews can be sold as slaves. The slaves are supposed to be sold to Nuevo Maya, but Wren convinces the owner of the slave trade company to sell her to Nimrod Pennyroyal
, now Mayor
of Brighton
.
Tom and Hester set sail with Caul in the Screw Worm to Grimsby to save Wren, unaware that she is in Brighton. Caul, upon returning to Grimsby, just bombed by Brighton's depth charges, defects once more to the Lost Boys. However, Uncle is killed when Caul tries to let Hester and Tom escape, and so Caul and Freya take the remaining Lost Boys not killed by the depth charges back to Anchorage on a spare cargo submarine, while Tom and Hester go to Brighton.
Meanwhile, Shrike
is 're-resurrected' to mark Stalker Anna Fang
's birthday. The Anti-Traction League
is extending its borders and the Green Storm
has started to bomb and destroy cities, starting a war. This is when the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft
is mentioned for the first time.
Shrike
(Grike in the American
editions), who has been programmed by his re-resurrector to tear her apart. He succeeds.
Cloud 9, Pennyroyal's floating palace, has been severed in the Green Storm attack. It crash lands in the Sahara Desert, with Wren and newfound friend Theo. It is found by Tom and Hester, who have escaped Brighton, but accidentally left Fishcake behind. However, after having spoken with Pennyroyal, Wren discovers that Hester was the one who sold Anchorage to Arkangel in Predator's Gold
. After Wren tells this to Tom, Hester flees into the burning wreckage of Cloud 9 in despair, believing her life with him is over. Once within the complex, she encounters Shrike, who carries her out into the Sahara Desert.
In the desert, the Stalker Fang's still functioning severed head and body are found by the betrayed and miserable Fishcake, who agrees to help rebuild her.
Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve is a British author and illustrator. He presently lives on Dartmoor with his wife Sarah and their son Samuel.-Biography:...
's children's series, the Mortal Engines Quartet.
Anchorage
The story continues sixteen years after the events of Predator's GoldPredator's Gold
Predator's Gold is the second of four novels in Philip Reeve's series for young adults, the Mortal Engines Quartet.-Setting:Predator's Gold is set two years after Mortal Engines...
. The peaceful city of Anchorage is now a static settlement called "Anchorage-in-Vineland
Anchorage-in-Vineland
Anchorage-in-Vineland is a fictional city based on the city of Anchorage, Alaska in the Mortal Engines Quartet by Philip Reeve.It is the static and stable version of the Traction City of Anchorage that had decided to stop wandering the Arctic wastes and settle in the green and unspoilt land of...
" on an island in the Dead Continent. During those peaceful years, Tom and Hester
Hester Shaw
Hester Shaw is a fictional character from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet who has terrible facial scarring, due to an attack from Thaddeus Valentine when Hester was a child.-Personality:...
have raised a teenage daughter named Wren Natsworthy
Wren Natsworthy
Wren Natsworthy is a character from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet, appearing in the last two books.-Family and friends:Her father is Tom Natsworthy and her mother is Hester Shaw and by the end of A Darkling Plain, she has become engaged to Theo Ngoni. Her best friend is Tildy Smew, a girl...
.
Brighton
Brighton is a raft resort city , which is currently sailing in the Atlantic. It is running its own slave trade, influenced by its mayor, Nimrod PennyroyalNimrod Pennyroyal
Nimrod Pennyroyal is a recurring character in the Mortal Engines Quartet, written by Philip Reeve. He is first introduced in Predator's Gold and remains a major character for the rest of the series....
.
Green Storm
Under the Stalker Fang, formerly the famous Anti-TractionistAnti-Traction League
In Philip Reeve's book-series Mortal Engines Quartet, the Anti-Traction League is an organization opposed to the prevalence of Traction Cities and Municipal Darwinism. Its symbol is that of a broken wheel.-Geography:...
heroine Anna Fang
Anna Fang
Anna Fang is a character in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet. Her name may be derived from the German "anfang" meaning beginning.-Mortal Engines:Anna is introduced as a friendly Asian aviator who helps Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw escape slavery...
, the Green Storm
Green Storm
In Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet, the Green Storm is a fanatical splinter group of the Anti-Traction League, which ends up in control of the League...
has been waging war against the Traction Cities for fourteen years. At first, the Storm seemed to be winning the war against the moving cities. However, the cities began to fight back, and alliances were formed between several cities, including the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft
Traktionstadtsgesellschaft
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft is an organization of German cities in the novel A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve....
, an alliance of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
speaking cities.
The Green Storm has legions of soldiers and Stalkers, fighter airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s called "Murasaki Fox Spirits" and "Zhang Chen Hawkmoths", which are vast air destroyers and carriers. Apparently, the Stalker Fang regards her military forces expendable, which makes her unpopular among many other leaders of the Storm. This is evident by the use of "Tumblers" - one-manned craft used to ram Traction Cities in kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
missions. The Green Storm also has an elite branch of its military called the "Resurrection Corps", who are responsible for resurrecting dead bodies into Stalkers for the war effort.
Title Explanation
The title is probably a reference to the words of the Stalker Fang in Predator's Gold: "...and then we shall release a storm which will rid this world of [the Tractionists'] infernal devices forever."Part one
The story begins sixteen years after the events of Predator's Gold, in the grounded Ice City of Anchorage, now "Anchorage-In-Vineland". Wren Natsworthy, the child of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw, is bored with her life in the sleepy static of Anchorage-in-Vineland, and jumps at the chance to join the Lost Boys, who have turned up on the island in search of a mysterious Rasmussen family artifact named the "Tin Book", which is a copy of a document from the Sixty Minute WarSixty Minute War
The Sixty Minute War is a fictional event in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet. It is a cataclysmic conflict which is deliberately left vague, but was evidently fought between the American Empire and Greater China. It is likely that the Middle East was involved, as this region has been reduced...
, found by the original founders of the New Anchorage on an old American Empire nuclear submarine. The Tin Book, bearing the insignia of the President of the United States of America, contains the activation codes for the final remaining orbital weapons platform left over from the Sixty Minute War, potentially with firepower far greater than that of MEDUSA, the energy weapon that destroyed the traction city of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines is the first of four novels in Philip Reeve's quartet of the same name, which is also known as the Hungry City Chronicles in the United States...
. The Lost Boys persuade Wren to give them the Tin Book, and to join them on their journeys around the world.
Wren decided to find out what the Tin Book is. She starts by asking Freya knowing that it is in the palace's library. Freya tells Wren that the Tin Book was found on an old American Nuclear Submarine; everyone on board was dead, except for one person who, before he died, wrote the Tin Book. No one knows what it is about or what it is for; all it has in it are random letters and numbers. Then Wren asks Gargle, who is in charge of the mission to get the Tin Book. He tells Wren that Nimrod Pennyroyal
Nimrod Pennyroyal
Nimrod Pennyroyal is a recurring character in the Mortal Engines Quartet, written by Philip Reeve. He is first introduced in Predator's Gold and remains a major character for the rest of the series....
wrote a book about the time he was on Anchorage, called PREDATOR'S GOLD. It is selling well, but most of it is a lie, and because it talks about 'Parasite Pirates' towns and cities now have their hulls checked every day, meaning that it is harder to attach limpets (vehicles used by the Lost Boys) to them. So the Lost Boys have had to stop going to the Atlantic Sailors and the Ice Runners; they have had to send their limpets further away, to other oceans, and the central Hunting Ground. Worse yet, they are losing limpets; some of them have never returned, no distress call, nothing. Now raft cities are searching for Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
. The Lost Boys need the Tin Book, because the ancients made submarines that can last for years underwater, so, if they can get Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
moving, they won't be found!
Wren steals the book from the library and gives it to the Lost Boys. However, the townspeople of Anchorage find Wren, and believing she is in danger Hester Shaw opens fire on the limpet which is taking her away. She kills two Lost Boys in the process, and Fishcake, the only surviving crew member of the limpet, kidnaps Wren in anger. Fishcake plans to take her to Grimsby but is diverted en route to the raft resort of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
by a trap intended to lure limpets to the city, so that their Lost Boy crews can be sold as slaves. The slaves are supposed to be sold to Nuevo Maya, but Wren convinces the owner of the slave trade company to sell her to Nimrod Pennyroyal
Nimrod Pennyroyal
Nimrod Pennyroyal is a recurring character in the Mortal Engines Quartet, written by Philip Reeve. He is first introduced in Predator's Gold and remains a major character for the rest of the series....
, now Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Tom and Hester set sail with Caul in the Screw Worm to Grimsby to save Wren, unaware that she is in Brighton. Caul, upon returning to Grimsby, just bombed by Brighton's depth charges, defects once more to the Lost Boys. However, Uncle is killed when Caul tries to let Hester and Tom escape, and so Caul and Freya take the remaining Lost Boys not killed by the depth charges back to Anchorage on a spare cargo submarine, while Tom and Hester go to Brighton.
Meanwhile, Shrike
Shrike (Philip Reeve)
Shrike is a recurring character in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet and Fever Crumb Series. He appears in all the books except Predator's Gold and A Web of Air....
is 're-resurrected' to mark Stalker Anna Fang
Anna Fang
Anna Fang is a character in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet. Her name may be derived from the German "anfang" meaning beginning.-Mortal Engines:Anna is introduced as a friendly Asian aviator who helps Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw escape slavery...
's birthday. The Anti-Traction League
Anti-Traction League
In Philip Reeve's book-series Mortal Engines Quartet, the Anti-Traction League is an organization opposed to the prevalence of Traction Cities and Municipal Darwinism. Its symbol is that of a broken wheel.-Geography:...
is extending its borders and the Green Storm
Green Storm
In Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet, the Green Storm is a fanatical splinter group of the Anti-Traction League, which ends up in control of the League...
has started to bomb and destroy cities, starting a war. This is when the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft
Traktionstadtsgesellschaft
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft is an organization of German cities in the novel A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve....
is mentioned for the first time.
Part two
At Brighton, Tom is captured as a slave. After discovering this, Hester sets the slaves in the city free to create a distraction so she can free him, resulting in pandemonium. During the confusion, Tom meets Fishcake, and promises to take Fishcake with him and Hester. Meanwhile, the Green Storm attacks the city, in search of the Tin Book. The Stalker Fang succeeds in obtaining it, and memorises the codes. However, shortly afterwards she is attacked by the once again resurrected StalkerStalker (Philip Reeve)
The Stalkers are a type of combatants mentioned in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain. They are also known as the Resurrected Men. The Stalkers were built by the Nomadic Empires that battled each other across the volcano maze of what was once...
Shrike
Shrike (Philip Reeve)
Shrike is a recurring character in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet and Fever Crumb Series. He appears in all the books except Predator's Gold and A Web of Air....
(Grike in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
editions), who has been programmed by his re-resurrector to tear her apart. He succeeds.
Cloud 9, Pennyroyal's floating palace, has been severed in the Green Storm attack. It crash lands in the Sahara Desert, with Wren and newfound friend Theo. It is found by Tom and Hester, who have escaped Brighton, but accidentally left Fishcake behind. However, after having spoken with Pennyroyal, Wren discovers that Hester was the one who sold Anchorage to Arkangel in Predator's Gold
Predator's Gold
Predator's Gold is the second of four novels in Philip Reeve's series for young adults, the Mortal Engines Quartet.-Setting:Predator's Gold is set two years after Mortal Engines...
. After Wren tells this to Tom, Hester flees into the burning wreckage of Cloud 9 in despair, believing her life with him is over. Once within the complex, she encounters Shrike, who carries her out into the Sahara Desert.
In the desert, the Stalker Fang's still functioning severed head and body are found by the betrayed and miserable Fishcake, who agrees to help rebuild her.