City Of Ember
When an unspecified global catastrophe looms, an underground city known as Ember is constructed to shelter a large group of survivors. In addition, a small metal box intended for a future generation of Emberites is timed to open after 200 years. This box is entrusted to the Mayor of the City of Ember, and each Mayor passes it on to their successor. When the seventh Mayor dies suddenly, the succession is broken, and over time, the box's significance is forgotten. The box opens by itself at the allotted time, but it goes unnoticed. Several decades later, Ember's generator begins to fail, and food, medicine and other necessities are in dangerously short supply.
City of Ember
At a rite of passage event for all graduating students of Ember City School, Mayor Cole stands before the students as their adult occupations are assigned by lottery. Doon Harrow, the son of inventor and repairman Loris Harrow, is assigned "Messenger" while his classmate Lina Mayfleet is assigned "Pipeworks". Shortly afterwards, the two secretly exchange assignments and Doon is apprenticed to the elderly technician Sul. At home, Lina (a descendant of the seventh Mayor) finds the opened box and enlists Doon's help to decipher its contents. Gradually, they learn that it contains a set of instructions and directions for an exit from the city in the pipeworks.
Later, after evading a gigantic star-nosed mole, they also discover that Mayor Cole has been hoarding canned food in a secret vault for his own benefit while the people go hungry. When Lina attempts to report this, the Mayor captures her and tries to steal the box, but she escapes during a blackout. Now fugitives from the Mayor's police, Lina and Doon, accompanied by Lina's little sister Poppy, use the instructions and assistance from Sul to flee the city via a subterranean river. When the repercussions of their actions trigger a panic in Ember, the Mayor locks himself in his vault, only to be devoured by the giant mole.
In October 2004, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman paid in the mid six figures[3] to purchase the film rights to Jeanne DuPrau's 2003 novel The City of Ember. They entered negotiations with Caroline Thompson to adapt the novel and Gil Kenan to direct the film. The deal included an option on the sequel novel The People of Sparks.[4] Filming was scheduled to begin in early summer of 2007 and to wrap up in October of the same year,[5] a 16-week shooting process. A former paint hall in the shipyard of Harland and Wolff in Belfast's Titanic Quarter was converted into the post-apocalyptic city.[6]
Cinema Blend's editor-in-chief, Katey Rich gave the film 2.5 of 5 stars and said, "The City of Ember belongs to one of the best and most enduring genres of children's films, in which smart kids stand up against the ignorant and aloof adult world and have a big adventure in the process. It also throws in a fantastical city, replete with whiz-bang inventions and secret societies. It's a mystery, then, that all the happy elements only add up to a big mush, a dull adventure, and a contrived fantasy. Saoirse Ronan is a fantastic heroine, but the story and the rest of the cast can't keep up with her lively pace." She added that "director Gil Kenan seems hellbent on just driving the narrative forward. The movie clocks in at an acceptably short time for a kid's movie, but so much gets lost or glossed over along the way. Ember itself is fascinating, an intricately detailed set that, like Diagon Alley or the Star Wars cantina, you'd like to take a few hours to wander around in. But so many questions about the city are left unanswered... You get the feeling that Jeanne Duprau's book got into this stuff, while the movie never seems to have the time."[15]
The City of Ember is a post-apocalyptic novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. The story is about Ember, a post-apocalyptic underground city threatened by aging infrastructure and corruption. The young protagonist, Lina Mayfleet, and her friend, Doon Harrow (the second protagonist), follow clues left behind by the original builders of the City of Ember, to safety in the outside world.
As Earth is being ravaged by a series of apocalyptic events known as the Disaster, a coalition of architects, scientists, and doctors (called the Builders) create an underground city named Ember, with an initial population of 200 citizens (100 elderly adults, 100 babies), to ensure humanity survives, with the intention that future generations of the city will not know about the outside world or that they live underground. They build the city to last for two centuries, after which the citizens of Ember will evacuate and return to the surface world. The Builders give the first mayor of the city a box with a timed lock set to open after 200 years, containing instructions explaining how to leave Ember; the box is passed successfully from mayor to mayor, until the seventh mayor, who, thinking the box might contain a cure for the deadly cough disease plaguing the city, takes the box home and tries multiple times to break it open, but fails. He then dies before he can return the box to its rightful place or inform the next mayor of its importance.
Lina's grandmother dies shortly after their discovery, and Lina and Poppy move in with a neighbor, Mrs. Murdo. At work, Doon discovers that the mayor of Ember and a storeroom worker named Looper have been stealing supplies, and he and Lina report the crime to the guards, who unknown to them are also corrupt. Upon following the instructions given in the note, they find the room with boats and candles meant for use in the exodus. On their return to Ember, they learn that the mayor has declared them criminals and there are notices everywhere with their names. Doon and Lina plan to escape Ember in the boats and agree to meet at the Pipeworks at a certain time, but just before, Lina is arrested and taken to the mayor, who plans to throw her in jail. Suddenly, a blackout occurs and allows her to escape without being seen; she meets Doon at the Pipeworks with her sister Poppy in tow. Lina, Doon, and Poppy escape in a boat through the river, its current carrying them forward. When the boat stops, they learn the origin of Ember from a diary left by one of its original colonists. Shortly after they are faced with a very steep climb and emerge onto the surface where they see their city from above and realize for the first time that Ember is underground. They throw a rock with instructions tied to it down to the city in hope that the people of Ember will escape. Ultimately, Mrs. Murdo finds the message on the street next to Harken Square barely missing her.
Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow live in the underground city of Ember. Generations earlier, people known as the Builders created the city. They feared their world was headed for catastrophe and wanted to start a new world in Ember. They secretly left Instructions so that the citizens of Ember would eventually know how to return to the upper world. The Instructions were locked in a special box, set to open on a specific date about 220 years in the future. The box was passed down from mayor to mayor, until one mayor lost the box. He died shortly thereafter. The box opened on its intended date, but no one knew.
A group called the Believers thinks the Builders are coming back to save everyone someday. Meanwhile, Ember is in shambles. Supplies of every kind are scarce, and everything is in disrepair. Sometimes, the city lights go out and leave everyone in darkness. The residents never know if the next blackout will mean the end of their civilization.
The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau, 2004. ISBN 0-375-92824-3.Intended for young readers (c. 10-15 years old), it is the sequel toThe City of Ember, a post-apocalyptic novel about an escape from anunderground refuge city. In The People of Sparks, the Ember escapeescome upon, are taken in by, and come into conflict with, the people of thetown of Sparks (quite possibly a reference to Sparks,Nevada, since in the book The People of Sparks one characterjourneys over mountains to the ruins of a great city on a bay,clearly San Francisco).Ben Carnehl, 2 November 2009
In the 2008 film City of Ember, the city has[a different flag,] a kind of banner or banners, seen inthe mayor's office and hanging from its balcony; dark-red or silver velvet,with the seal of Ember in gold. The seal is an Art-Deco-ish design centered ona light bulb, surrounded by a hydroelectric generator and lightning bolts; itcan be seen here,as well as on the mayor'schain of office.Eugene Ipavec, 30 December 2009
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. Full description
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! This stunning debut novel offers refreshingly clear writing and fascinating, original characters.
The first book, The City of Ember, introduces us to Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, who live in Ember. The city is surrounded by darkness in all directions and so relies on a hydroelectric generator to keep the town alight and running. However, the generator is beginning to fail, causing blackouts that are increasing in both frequency and length. At the same time, the food left in the city is beginning to grow scarce, without any way to replenish its stores. It won't be long until the entire city fails and becomes cloaked in eternal darkness. In the midst of this chaos, Lina discovers an old note that appears to tell of a way out of Ember. Unfortunately, it was badly damaged by Lina's little sister Poppy chewing on it, making the note difficult to decipher. Meanwhile, Lina and Doon have to confront a conspiracy that wishes to keep the truth under wraps... 041b061a72