Railhead: Watching the Trains

I recently finished the book Railhead, which reignited my fascination with trains. The trains in Railhead are magnificent beings, intelligent as any person. They travel from planet to planet through “K-gates,” connecting the myriad worlds of the Railway Empire in a vast web of track. The trains that pass by my home are not nearly as magnificent. However, standing on the platform as the engine goes by, I would argue that my trains are equally impressive.

It’s a good thing Philip Reeve put the trains there, because otherwise Railhead would be a dark and depressing read. Like Mortal Engines, his first novel, in Railhead characters die left and right. This was a strength in Mortal Engines: the other characters reacted believably to the deaths around them, and it made the world feel more realistic. The level of death matched the level of danger, and neither was ever trivial. In Railhead, on the other hand, the deaths seem callous, even frivolous. This was especially true at the end of the book, when the villain, Raven, killed a sentient hive of insects for no apparent reason. While I was crying out at the injustice of it, the other characters simply moved on with the plot. Maybe the jarring impact of the book’s callousness is the point, and Reeve was being more subtle than I give him credit for. It still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

There is beauty amongst all the death, however, and it makes the book worth reading. The trains, of course, are at the heart of the story, and reading about them and the rich, unique worlds they travel between is thrilling. The Hive Monks, swarms of beetles that walk around like humans, are a unique take on an old theme. Apartment buildings apparently grow from seeds; if they are not carefully trimmed, they will grow extra rooms in random parts of the building. There are numerous characters who also bring light into Railhead‘s world, showering love and compassion on the people around them.

One of the themes that runs across Philip Reeve’s books is that rich or poor, friend or foe, there are kind people and jerks in every pocket of humanity. In Railhead, this extends to the trains. Some are empathetic, and will turn a blind eye to hitchhikers. Others are sterner, and there is at least one psychopathic war train that lives to cause pain.

As far as I can tell, the trains that run by my house do not have minds, nor do they jump from planet to planet. Watching them pass by is still a thrilling experience: to feeling the wind as the cars run by, and the roar of the engine approaching the platform. God has done many marvelous things, and one of the wonders of creation is that He allowed for the existence of trains.