LONDON IS ON THE MOVE AGAIN...
~LAND ENGINES~
'IT WAS A DARK, BLUSTERY AFTERNOON IN SPRING, AND THE CITY OF LONDON WAS CHASING
A SMALL MINING TOWN ACROSS THE DRIED-OUT BED OF THE OLD NORTH SEA.'
~FENG HUA~
'OUT OF THE SHADOWS STEPPED THE WOMAN FROM THE BAR, HER RED COAT SWIRLING
AROUND HER ANKLES AS SHE WALKED TOWARDS THEM.
"I THINK WE SHOULD GET ABOARD MY SHIP BEFORE THE REST OF HIS PEOPLE COME LOOKING FOR YOU."'
~HESTER AND SHRIKE~
'WHY HE BOTHERED TO RESCUE HER HESTER NEVER DID DISCOVER. IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN OUT OF PITY, FOR HE HAD NONE. THE ONLY SIGN OF TENDERNESS SHE EVER SAW IN HIM WAS WHEN HE BUSIED HIMSELF WITH HIS COLLECTION...
SOMETIMES IT SEEMED TO HESTER THAT SHE TOO WAS PART OF HIS COLLECTION. DID SHE REMIND HIM OF THE WOUNDS THAT HE HAD SUFFERED ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF FORGOTTEN WARS, WHEN HE HAD STILL BEEN HUMAN?'
~MEDUSA WAKES/ ST ELMO'S FIRE~
'AND ABOVE THE BLACK, SILHOUETTED ROOFTOPS OF THE GUILDHALL, BEYOND THE SMOKE AND THE DANCING SPARKS, THE DOME OF ST PAUL'S WAS STARTING TO OPEN...
A HALO OF ST ELMO'S FIRE FLARES AROUND KATHERINE'S FACE
AND HER HAIR SPARKS AND CRACKS AS HE STROKES IT...
AND THE STORM-LIGHT BREAKS OVER THEM AND THEY ARE A KNOT OF FIRE,
A RUSH OF BLAZING GAS, AND GONE: THE SHADOWS OF THEIR BONES SCATTERING INTO THE BRILLIANT SKY.'
The Mortal Engines Quartet was one of my favourite book series growing up, and remains to this day one
I will happily read again and again. The rich world of imagination created by Philip Reeve was where I first turned my thoughts when I started composing, and, in the aftermath of lockdown 2020,
I decided to revisit my earliest works so that I could expand and rework them.
These first four tracks are inspired by different events and characters
in the first entry in the series, Mortal Engines.
A film based on the book was released in 2018 by Universal Pictures, with music by Tom Holkenborg.
This is an independent, non-profit, artistic expression created purely for fun and self-improvement and is in no way connected to, or endorsed by Universal Pictures, Philip Reeve or Scholastic. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. No copyright infringement intended.