Mortal Engines

The Hunting Grounds of Mortal Engines are a wasteland, presumably due to predator cities exploiting resources. How could traction cities change their behavior to make their lifestyle sustainable and less destructive to the planet? Compare traction cities to the environmental crisis facing Earth today. What can we learn from the behavior of traction cities?

If the Guild of Historians were given more prominence, do you think Crome would still have used MEDUSA, or might history have taught him that such weapons are too destructive to exist? If Crome learned this lesson, how might Mortal Engines have ended? If not, what factors would have kept him from understanding history’s lessons? Support your answers with evidence from the text.

Reeve jumps back and forth between different points of view, sometimes multiple times in a single chapter. Do you think this writing style adds to or detracts from the novel’s overall suspense? Why?

London has four guilds: the Historians (preservers of history), the Engineers (inventors), the Navigators (who steer the city), and the Merchants (who drive the economy). Rank these from greatest to least importance. Why did you choose that order? How might the London of the story differ if its people’s behavior reflected your view of the guilds? Refer to specific scenes in the text that would differ.

Compare and contrast Tom’s and Katherine’s character arcs and development. How are their journeys similar and different? What do the differences say about universal lessons across societal, cultural, and other divides?

As a Stalker, Grike shouldn’t have emotions or memory, but time after time, it’s clear that he has both. Why might he be the only Stalker to retain the ability to feel and remember? Is it possible that all Stalkers had memory and emotions but that history chose to omit this fact? Do you think Hester somehow allowed Grike to develop the ability to feel, and what does that possibility say about Stalkers’ form of life?

Consider how Mortal Engines might have ended had MEDUSA not malfunctioned. Do you think Crome’s image of London hunting into eternity would come to pass, or would London’s destruction of the planet in turn destroy the city as the earth failed?

Despite all the technology the Guild of Historians uncovers from the past, Crome and the Guild of Engineers put all their focus toward weapons. What does their fixation on violence say about humankind, and do you see similarities between Reeve’s fictional world and the modern world’s focus on technology? If you were in Crome’s place, what technology would you have the Guild of Engineers focus on and why? How would London look different with this focus?