School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10-In this sequel to Railhead, trains are sentient beings with different personalities who communicate with one another through "trainsong" and with their passengers via artificial intelligence. They run on rails and travel through K-gates, portals to different worlds throughout the Network Empire. Zen Starling and Motorik (female android) Nova have escaped the Network Empire aboard the Damask Rose, hurtling through a new K-gate to the previously unknown Web of Worlds. They were pawns in a plot to steal a valuable artifact from the powerful Noon family, unintentionally destroying the Noons' train and killing their empress. Threnody Noon, the new empress, sets out to find and punish Zen. The hunt is complicated by an attempt to overthrow Threnody, which sends her on the run as well. As the narrative unfurls, the tangle of truth about the origin and control of the rails and K-gates is just as exciting as the hunt itself. The worlds and their inhabitants-track-building worms, delightfully aggressive retired war trains, unapologetic evildoers, and insects and multiple other nonhuman creatures-are distinct and crystal clear. No specific ethnicities are mentioned, but the human characters are described as brown-skinned, black, or white. VERDICT For fans of fantasy adventure, especially those who are new to the genre.-Carla Riemer, Claremont Middle School, Oakland, CA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Reeve's planet-hopping Railhead (2016) ended dramatically with the opening of a new, interstellar train gateway, and this gripping sequel picks up as Nova (an androidlike Motorik) and thief Zen Starling emerge from it onto a new, previously disconnected world. Posing as human ambassadors, the pair explores this unknown network of planets (the Web of Worlds) and revels in their freedom to be a Motorik-human couple. Meanwhile, back in the Network Empire, Threnody Noon has barely been crowned empress when the power-hungry Prell family launches an attack on her palace and usurps control of the galaxy. Threnody escapes thanks to her streetwise attendant Chandni, and the two young women take the plunge into the Web of Worlds, joining Zen and Nova's risky mission into the inscrutable Black Light Zone. Action, imagination, and political intrigue pervade this book, but its most fascinating aspect is the gradually revealed mythology surrounding the Railmakers and Guardians both godlike machine intelligences. A breathless, thought-provoking read in a series that shows no signs of losing steam.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2018 Booklist
