Writing style
Atmospheric · Descriptive · Direct
Apple BooksThe City of Ember
Science fiction
- First published
- 2003
- Print length
- 270 pagesRandom House, 2003
Description
Ember is an underground city where failing infrastructure and corruption threaten the population. At graduation, young citizens Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow receive unwanted jobs through a lottery, then exchange assignments. Lina enters the Pipeworks, while Doon takes the Messenger role. Clues from a long-hidden box lead them to instructions for escaping Ember. The route runs through the Pipeworks to boats intended to carry the city’s people into the outside world. When Lina and Doon expose theft by the mayor and a worker, corrupt guards declare them criminals, placing both their discovery and their effort to help Ember in danger.
Reading profile
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Pace
Brisk
Tone
Atmospheric · Hopeful · Suspenseful · Tense
Structure
Linear
Focus
Mystery · Plot · World
Emotional intensity
3 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 2 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
Themes
Series
Book of Ember · Book 1
The City of Ember · Book 1
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- Random House
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780375822735, 9780375822742, 9780375922749, 9780756933951
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