Review: Black Light Express (Philip Reeve)

Title: Black Light Express
Series: Railhead, Book 2
Author: Philip Reeve
Publisher: OUP Oxford (UK Edition)
Release Date: August 3, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Epic Science Fiction
Told: Third Person Omniscient, Past Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (violence, killing)
Format Read: Paperback
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Azon | B&N | BookDepo | Indiebound
Summary:

There was nothing, and then there was a train. A train with two passengers: a petty thief from a dead-end town, and an android girl who could be more human than the rest of us. Join Zen and Nova as they find out what really lies beyond the end of the universe . . .

Take a ride in Philip Reeve's incredible imagination as he returns with this stellar follow-up to Railhead. Full of extraordinary beings and utterly real, complex characters, of thrills and thoughtful moments, this is a stunning step beyond the universe which will appeal to both sci-fi fans and foes alike.

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Series: This is the second book in the Railhead series and continues the story and characters of the first book. You can read my review of Book 1: Railhead here.

First book Railhead blew me away with its imaginative universe and sentient trains, so I was thrilled when I heard there would be a sequel. But while the effortlessly diverse setting continued to delight, Black Light's vast omniscient viewpoint and convoluted plot had me struggling to remain engaged and took a month to read.

Heavily story-driven, the book followed the plot instead of specific characters, opting for minds of convenience to keep up with the multi-layered adventure the book meanders through. Most of the characters were original and appealing, but after a while the plot became too political and complicated to maintain my interest despite a lot of action and twists. I almost left it unfinished within 100 pages, but since I was so close I pushed on for two more weeks to the last page - for an unfortunate melancholy end. While I will continue to praise this series as an imaginative epic sci-fi with breathtaking universe, I presently have no interest in continuing the series with the third and currently final book, Station Zero.

Scribble Rating: 

3 of 5 Scribbles