Fever Crumb Series
| Author | Philip Reeve |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | David Frankland, David Wyatt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre |
Science fiction Steampunk Postapocalyptic |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
|
Publication date
|
2009 – unknown (continuing work) |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Followed by | 'Mortal Engines Quartet' |
The Fever Crumb Series is the title of a series of novels written by British author, Philip Reeve, and is the prequel series to his critically acclaimed Mortal Engines Quartet. As of 2015 the series consists of three books: Fever Crumb (2009), A Web of Air (2010), and Scrivener's Moon (2011). The books follow a young woman known as Fever Crumb, and her adventures set around the time of the creation of the first traction cities that become so prevalent in the Mortal Engines series. Reeve stated in 2011 that he had always envisaged a quartet for the series, assuring readers of a fourth installment.
The series is set in the distant future, thousands of years after the Earth was ravaged by a nuclear conflict called the Sixty Minute War, which almost destroyed civilization, leaving only bare remnants. Unlike in Mortal Quartet the effects of this war can still be felt, as several mutant species were created by the fallout, including a quasi-sentient race of seagulls, known as "Angels", and a new race of Woolly Mammoth creatures that are seemingly explained by a throwback caused by excessive radiation. The humanoid "Scriven" race, practically extinct in the later work, are at first thought to also be mutants. It is later discovered that their creation was deliberate, with the longer lifespans and more resilient systems included in the Scriven design intended for the preservation of the human race in the harsh postwar conditions. The world has become geographically unstable, with vast natural disasters.
Large land barges feature prominently as smaller predecessors to the subsequent vehicles. A war has been raging between the Nomads; this conflict is partially created by Land Admiral Nikola Quercus (later Nicholas Quirke), employing the theories of Auric Godshawk (a deceased Scriven scientist) to build a moving city.
Before the events of series, the post-apocalyptic city of London is ruled by an evolved species of human called the scriven. In the final years of the scriven rule, Dr. Gideon Crumb, a human engineer, falls in love with Wavy Godshawk, a scriven and the daughter of the London's ruler, Auric Godshawk. In a violent uprising known as the 'Skinner's riots', Auric and many other scriven are killed in an act of genocide by the human citizens of London . Wavey escapes with her newborn half-human baby, but then leaves her child with a friend who passes her onto Gideon along with a note saying 'Her name is Fever'. Wavey then flees across the country where she runs into a carnival run by a dwarf named Borglum. For several years she lives in peace with the carnival's staff, working on engines and building machines.
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