REEVE, Philip. Predator's gold. (The Hungry City Chronicles, Part 2.) HarperCollins. 405p. c2003. 0-06-072196-0. $7.99. JSA *

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 2004: In this sequel to the wonderful British fantasy Mortal Engines (an ALA Best Book for YAs: reviewed in KLIATT in November 2003), set in a post-apocalyptic future in which cities travel on great tractor treads and hunt down other towns, our heroes Tom and Hester find themselves passengers on the city of Anchorage, heading across the ice to the rumored green wilderness of America. But when Hester sees Tom kissing Freya, the attractive young ruler of Anchorage, she takes off on their airship and sells Anchorage's location to the hungry city of Arkangel for "predator's gold," a tattler's reward--though in her case her price is the return of Tom, her true love. Arkangel is not the only danger the lovers face. A "limpet" has attached itself to the underbelly of Anchorage, and the Lost Boys who man it in order to spy on the city above and steal things from it are instructed to steal Tom, too. In addition, the Anti-Traction League, which wants to wage war on the mobile cities, has helped to resurrect the dead aviatrix Anna Fang and created a murderous cyborg from her corpse--and they want Tom and Hester as well.

Reeve's marvelous imagination and emotional depth, the sympathetic young protagonists, and the thrilling adventures evoke Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and everyone who read Mortal Engines will be eager to read this exciting sequel. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT