Book Review: City of Ember
Jun 27th, 2008 by jeremy
This is book twenty-six in 52 books in 52 weeks
Another book set in a post-apocalyptic future, I can’t get enough of them. Jeanne DuPrau sets the scene in a brief prologue. Something major is about to happen on Earth, thought we aren’t told what that is. A city is created deep underground, along with enough supplies for people to live safely for two hundred years. After the two hundred years is up, the current mayor of the city will recieve instructions on how to return to the surface, and hopefully begin civilization again.
I saw the trailer for an upcoming movie based on this book, that’s what got me interested. It’s a short novel, easily read in a day or two. I didn’t realize it’s part of an ongoing series, which really bothers me. I should have checked it out a bit more before I started reading. The book stands well on it’s own, though it does leave the reader hanging a bit at the end. Everthing is resolved, but it happens so quickly it’s almost as if the author was anxious to move on to the next group fo characters and stories she had created.
In the early parts of the book, something goes wrong. The instructions on how the city is to begin their exodus are lost, and the city is falling apart. It was only meant to stay underground for a set amount of time, and they are running out of food, their electrical equipment is failing, and because there isn’t a path out the people have no where to go.
The two main characters Lina and Doon, are curious enough to try and unravel the mystery and figure out a way to save their city. One is assigned to work near an underground river, the other is to become a messenger. Through their jobs, and by putting clues together, they start to figure out how Ember was created and how they can save it.
The book is interesting, if not a little bit simple. The author makes some decisions that are almost unbelievable. In two hundred years people hadn’t figured out some of these things that the children figure out in a few weeks? Of course they have a major clue nobody else had, but it stil seemed strange that nobody succeded in going further with it. It’s not a huge issue though, and the plot and setting are interesting enough that I’ll read the next book.
Grade B
Other people doing 52 books in 52 weeks
- Jamie reviews Einstein by Walter Isaacson
- Heliologue reviews Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
- Kevin reviews The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Other reviews of City of Ember
Marianne thought it was a bit implausible
Rebecca thought it was a fun adventure
My other 52 books in 52 weeks book reviews are here
I have to agree with you. Improbable plot, but not bad for a book specifically written for younger people. I haven’t read the second book, but I hear it’s pretty good.
Have you tried the Shadow Children series by Margaret Haddix or Elantris by Sanderson? They are both in the fantasy/science fiction/end of the world genre.
I haven’t tried either one. I’m on the waiting list for the second and third book in this series, maybe I’ll give those a shot as well.
Haven’t heard of this one - are you planning to continue with the series? I just started doing 52-in-52 myself, albeit at the mid-year mark.
Ah, I just saw the comment immediately above my last one as soon as I hit “submit”. I guess the answer to my question is Yes. Wikipedia tells me there’s also a fourth one coming, though that means little to me at this point given that I haven’t read any of them.
I’ve now finished the second, and into the third. Like the first, they’re a bit simplistic, but still fun stories. The third is a prequel though, and not as interesting(at least so far).
[...] DuPrau continues the series started with City of Ember with the second book in the series, People of Sparks. it includes many of the characters from the [...]