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Gr 6-Up This exciting and visually descriptive novel is set in the distant future, years after the Sixty Minute War resulted in many deaths and the loss of technological knowledge. Most people dwell in Traction Cities, metropolises built in tiers like wedding cakes that move across the ground on huge caterpillar tracks, chasing and absorbing smaller locales in a practice known as Municipal Darwinism. Scavengers roam the Earth's surface searching for ancient artifacts. Tom, a 15-year-old orphan who works at t...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In the distant future, long after the Sixty Minute War that destroyed civi-lization, London has become a "Traction City," a vast wheeled mountain of metal that hunts down and "eats" other cities for raw materials. Down in the city's "gut" after one such kill, Apprentice Historian Tom Natsworthy saves the life of his hero, Head Historian Valentine, when Valentine is attacked by a girl from the captured city—a girl, Hester Shaw, whose face is disfigured by a horrible scar. To Tom's shock, Valentine repays Tom for saving his life by shoving him down a waste chute after the escaped would-be assassin. Thus a gripping opening sequence culminating ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More