A Darkling Plain

In the fourth and final brilliant installment of Philip Reeve's award-winning quartet, after twenty years, the devastating world war between the predatory Traction Cities and their enemies is ending. Wren and her father Tom Natsworthy travel the Bird Roads in their airship, trying to forget Hester's betrayal. But in the ruined wreckage of the city of London they make a discovery that changes everything. And Hester faces an implacable foe with the means and the will to destroy the entire human race. MORTAL ENGINES launched Philip Reeve's brilliantly-imagined creation, the world of the Traction Era, where mobile cities fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic future. Now, in time for the film debut, the critically acclaimed MORTAL ENGINES quartet is repackaged with a fantastic and eye-catching cover featuring new artwork.

In the fourth and final brilliant installment of Philip Reeve's award-winning quartet, after twenty years, the devastating world war between the predatory Traction Cities and their enemies is ending. Wren and her father Tom Natsworthy travel the Bird Roads in their airship, trying to forget Hester's betrayal. But in the ruined wreckage of the city of London they make a discovery that changes everything. And Hester faces an implacable foe with the means and the will to destroy the entire human race. MORTAL ENGINES launched Philip Reeve's brilliantly-imagined creation, the world of the Traction Era, where mobile cities fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic future. Now, in time for the film debut, the critically acclaimed MORTAL ENGINES quartet is repackaged with a fantastic and eye-catching cover featuring new artwork.

How do people maintain their humanity during wars? Despite its importance, this question receives scant scholarly attention, perhaps because war is overwhelming. The generally accepted belief is that wars bring out the worst in us, pitting one against another. 'War is hell', William Tecumseh Sherman famously noted, and even 'just' wars are massively destructive and inhumane. Since ethics is concerned with discovering what takes us to a morally superior place, one conducive to betterment and happiness - studying what helps people survive wartime trauma thus becomes an extremely valuable enterprise. A Darkling Plain fills an important scholarly void, analyzing wartime stories that reveal much about our capacity to process trauma, heal wounds, reclaim lost spirits, and derive meaning and purpose from the most horrific of personal events.

How do people maintain their humanity during wars? Despite its importance, this question receives scant scholarly attention, perhaps because war is overwhelming. The generally accepted belief is that wars bring out the worst in us, pitting one against another. 'War is hell', William Tecumseh Sherman famously noted, and even 'just' wars are massively destructive and inhumane. Since ethics is concerned with discovering what takes us to a morally superior place, one conducive to betterment and happiness - studying what helps people survive wartime trauma thus becomes an extremely valuable enterprise. A Darkling Plain fills an important scholarly void, analyzing wartime stories that reveal much about our capacity to process trauma, heal wounds, reclaim lost spirits, and derive meaning and purpose from the most horrific of personal events.