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Larklight (Larklight #1)

by Philip Reeve, David Wyatt (Illustrator)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 2,322 ratings · 350 reviews

Arthur (Art) Mumsby and his irritating sister Myrtle live with their father in a huge and rambling house called Larklight…that just happens to be traveling through outer space. When a visitor called Mr. Webster arrives for a visit, it is far from an innocent social call. Before long Art and Myrtle are off on an adventure to the furthest reaches of space, where they will do...more

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published September 19th 2006 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

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Community Reviews

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Jul 16, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, young-adultery, 2012

Art and Myrtle Mumby live in Larklight, a house that orbits Earth beyond the moon, with their father, their mother having disappeared years earlier and thought dead in an aethership wreck, until one day, monstrous white spiders attack Larklight and send them scurrying. Can Art and Myrtle save their father, Larklight, and the entire British Empire?

First off, if I was thirteen, this would be my favorite book of all time. Larklight takes place in the 1850s, only it's an 1850's with Jules Verne-esqu...more Art and Myrtle Mumby live in Larklight, a house that orbits Earth beyond the moon, with their father, their mother having disappeared years earlier and thought dead in an aethership wreck, until one day, monstrous white spiders attack Larklight and send them scurrying. Can Art and Myrtle save their father, Larklight, and the entire British Empire?

First off, if I was thirteen, this would be my favorite book of all time. Larklight takes place in the 1850s, only it's an 1850's with Jules Verne-esque space travel and space is as it was thought in the Victorian era. The moon is covered with desert and giant mushrooms, Venus is a lush plant-world, and monstrous white spiders from Saturn's rings threaten to topple the British Empire of space. Interested yet?

Philip Reeve crafted one hell of an adventure tale here, fit for kids of all ages. The dry British wit kept the story going, even in the slower parts. I LOVE the world Reeve created for this book, from the pseudo-science of the aether ships to the hover hogs, pigs that thrive in zero gravity and get around by farting.

The characters are very much in the mold of those in Victorian literature: modest, prudish, and very dry. Except for Jack Havock and the space pirates, I mean. Also, Richard Burton, Warlord of Mars, is hardly prudish with his hot Martian wife.

Reeve draws from a lot of sources dear to my heart in Larklight, like Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.G. Wells, and many others. I'm anxious to see what he draws from the well in the next two books. It also reminded me of other books, like Celestial Matters or Beyond the Moons. Steampunk fans also won't want to pass this up.

So what didn't I like? Not a lot, really. I found some of the twists to be predictable but that's owing to the fact I'm about double (or possibly triple) the target age for this. Like I said, if I was thirteen, I'd think it was the greatest book ever written. I'm giving it a four mostly out of sheer inventiveness and enjoyment level.(less)

36 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2008 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kathryn by: Quasar (thank you SO much!)

Shelves: very-favorites, fantasy-sci-fi, annie-and-katie-bookclub

2 March 2008

Huzzah! What a glorious tale. I loved it! Certainly one of my new-favorite books; besides being oodles of fun to read, it was thoughtful, imaginative, charming, adventurous, surprisingly well written with delightful illustrations. I would never have believed that a Victorian outer-space adventure with aether-ship pirates, giant talking spiders, plots against the Empire (oh no! God Save the Queen!) and hoverhogs could fit together so perfectly, conveyed by the pen of a brave British...more

13 likes · like · see review

May 20, 2013 Chandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Chandra by: Ann

Shelves: kids-young-adult, 2013, sci-fi-fantasy, anglophilia

This book has been languishing on my to-read pile for over FOUR years! The description is just TOO wild and, although I was intrigued, I wasn't entirely convinced. Since I have unofficially dubbed this the 'year of languishing books' I knew it was time to give this one a go. And how glad I am! The plot is as wild as it sounds, but so so so fun - made completely delightful by the hysterical narrator Art Mumby. The characters are fantastic. The plot is wildly unique. And, of course, I loved the li...more

9 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2008 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Practically anyone!

Shelves: actionadventure, comedy, fantasy, sci-fi, absolute-favorites, katie-and-annie-bookclub, young-adult, favorites, middle-grade, steam-punk

I honestly think this is one of my new favorite books! Absolutely wonderful! Funny, creative, cute, charming, endearing, fast-paced, and sweet!
Delightful characters fill the book from cover to cover. The plot is both intriguing and pretty complex without being too confusing or obvious. The illustrations add to story and seem very fitting to the style of writing.
The book is filled with wit and heart. I adored it!
***
So, I already love it! Just about 100 pages into it, and it's delightful! The char...more

12 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2007 Zen Cho rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kidslit, victorian, sff

So much fun! There isn't any other word for the book: just, fun. I'd pretty much recommend this without any qualifications.

More light-hearted than the Hungry Cities Chronicles. I'm not sure if it's better. I think I like it better, though I don't love any of the characters as much as I loved Hester, because I was really quite annoyed by the way the books ended -- I couldn't have told you what should have happened, but what did happen felt like a cop-out. I suppose I might get as annoyed over La...more

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Oct 04, 2008 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mary, Elizabeth, Adam, Marsha. Steampunk fans, anyone wanting an easy (but not dumb) YA title

Shelves: steampunk, own, juvenile

It's the steampunkiest!
This book was so much fun. Literally my only complaint is a few things at the end seemed wrapped up a little improbably. But wait... this is a Victorian Space Drama! Who am I to question what's probable? Hah. Anyway, the narrator is a delightful little opinionated boy, and the plot moves along at a quite a clip, propelled by the chemical wedding in the aether engines, no doubt. I would totally recommend this to anybody, it's quick and fun. Definitely giggled outloud a bunc...more

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Oct 05, 2007 Qt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

This book was a really neat one, a sort of Victorian-era sci-fi. That is, it was set in the 1800s, but in this version of the 1800s, Earth had space travel capabilities, Mars is populated by Martians, and it is far from uncommon to meet alien races.
There were lots of neat characters, space pirates, exciting adventures, and exotic, otherworldly locales, and I loved the semi-Victorian writing style! All in all, I thought it was a very imaginative, clever book. The inside back cover says the autho...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Suna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some books are a lot of fun in spite of themselves and this book is one such.

What made me adore the Mortal Engines series were the well-fleshed out characters, especially the females: In fact, if that series had been less character driven it wouldn't have been nearly as good.

Reeve shoots himself in the writing arm by making his characters too two-dimensional.
All of them, unfortunately, are made of cheese and cardboard and if it is intentional, it doesn't make it a better book.
The tone is younger...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, middle-grade-and-ya

Aptly subtitled "A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space," this is an enjoyable read for ages nine (or thereabouts) and up.
It is an adventure set in a Victorian space age, written as Jules Verne or H.G. Wells might have imagined it. The plot is exciting, the writing deft and witty, so that adults are likely to enjoy the reading experience just as much as kids. There's some fun and interesting playing with gender conventions, too, as the narrator's older sister yearns...more Aptly subtitled "A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space," this is an enjoyable read for ages nine (or thereabouts) and up.
It is an adventure set in a Victorian space age, written as Jules Verne or H.G. Wells might have imagined it. The plot is exciting, the writing deft and witty, so that adults are likely to enjoy the reading experience just as much as kids. There's some fun and interesting playing with gender conventions, too, as the narrator's older sister yearns and strives to become a perfect young lady and finds her efforts in that direction consistently thwarted, to the ultimate benefit of all.

Larklight is handsomely designed and illustrated, too, with endpapers that feature a range of pseudo-Victorian advertisements for such products, events, and firms as Coalbrookdale's Phlogiston Ranges, Rossetti's Goblin Fair, and Jaggers Law Firm("THE Specialists in AETHER-CRIME, also Wills and Dowries Administered with the Utmost Discretion"). Throughout the book the attention to detail is thorough and delightful, including even the copyright page, which asserts, "The pages of this volume are impregnated with Snagsby's Patent Folio-dubbin to preserve them against the depradations of space moth and paper bats."

Here's a brief excerpt, which will convey some of Larklight's flavor without giving away much plot:

"Among my mother's books I had once discovered a volume of stories by a gentleman named Mr Poe, who lives in Her Majesty's American colonies. There was one, The Premature Burial, which gave me nightmares for weeks after I read it, and I remember thinking that there could be no fate more horrible than to be buried alive, and wondering what type of deranged and sickly mind could have invented such a tale. But as I lay there immobilised in a jar on the wrong side of the Moon with only a ravening caterpillar for company I realised that Mr Poe was actually quite a cheery, light-hearted sort of chap, and that his story had been touchingly optimistic."(less)

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Aug 16, 2008 Sean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, sci-fi, ya-books, adventure, non-us

This rollicking steampunk (spacepunk?) adventure began fairly strongly, with a fascinating premise: Back in the seventeenth century, Sir Isaac Newton discovered an alchemical reaction that could power spaceflight, an event which has pushed humanity out into the stars centuries earlier than would have been predicted. The British Empire now stretches across several parts of the solar system instead of just a large portion of the globe. And a small family lives in a strange, draughty house called L...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 03, 2009 Stefan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-history, steampunk

Book was read in english, but review is in german. Sorry to those who cannot comprehend it... ;o)

Wir schreiben das Jahr des Herrn 1851. Im britischen Imperium herrscht Königin Victoria über England, die amerikanischen Kolonien und die Besitztümer der Krone auf Mond, Mars und anderen Planeten des Sonnensystems. Das Universum von Larklight ist definitiv nicht das, welches wir kennen – 1703 entwickelte Isaac Newton den Ätherantrieb, seitdem eifersüchtig gehütet von den Alchimisten der Royal Alchem...more

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May 17, 2013 The Airship Librarian rated it 3 of 5 stars

As part of my "go back in time and read happy nostalgic books" project, I picked up this wonderful Juvenile fiction novel. As with

(you can read my review here,) I found myself captured by the simplicity, craziness,and childish charm of this book. Simply put, if I'd read it a few years ago, I would have loved it.

As far as it goes now... I liked it quite a bit, but I was missing depth and more intricate characters. Even though it wasn't amazing, this book was very good. Some reasons why:

1Airships! As you can tell from my name, I have a thing for airships and steampunk. A big thing. So the fact that this was set in space and aboard airships? Super cool.
2The fact that it's in space.
3ALIENS! Wonderful, crazy, fantastical aliens. Ssilssa, Nipper, Munks, and the lot. Loved them. And the whales. And the crazy flying fish things that I can't remember the official name of.
4Art. What a chump. What a nine year old boy. His narration was hilarious. I adored the way he wrote about his adventures. His voice was so frank, so clear, and so him.
5The illustrations. Illustrations add so much to a book.

Like I said, I had a hard time getting into it and wished for more depth. The main complaint that I have is that the characters could have been a great deal rounder. The other annoying things were the infodumps. There were quite a few pages that I skipped over or skimmed because I wanted to get back to the action and away from some boring explanation of the planet or moon. The other main issue was this question: "How the heck do they breathe?" Air was just never a problem. Gravity was, but breathing and oxygen wasn't. They could breathe normally on the moon, Mars, or in space, and that just doesn't make sense. I would have liked it if Philip Reeve had at least tried to come up with an explanation.

Even with my being miffed about the aforementioned problems, I found this book charming. I rather look forward to the day that my nieces/nephews are nearing the nine year old mark and we can read this together. (less)

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Mar 18, 2013 Cecelia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Philip Reeve is a major influence in steampunk, though his books are not as well known in the US as in his native Britain. I read and reviewed the first of his young adult steampunk trilogy, Fever Crumb, and enjoyed its unusual heroine and impressively detailed world. I always meant to go back and read more of Reeve’s work – I’d read glimmerings here and there on the interwebs of middle grade sci-fi and steampunk books. When Larklight turned up as an ebook deal a few months ago, I clicked ‘buy’...more Philip Reeve is a major influence in steampunk, though his books are not as well known in the US as in his native Britain. I read and reviewed the first of his young adult steampunk trilogy, Fever Crumb, and enjoyed its unusual heroine and impressively detailed world. I always meant to go back and read more of Reeve’s work – I’d read glimmerings here and there on the interwebs of middle grade sci-fi and steampunk books. When Larklight turned up as an ebook deal a few months ago, I clicked ‘buy’ without a second thought. Then Middle Grade March came along and gave me a good reason to finish what I’d started.

Larklight is a space adventure starring the many narrow escapes of the two Mumby children, Art and Myrtle. Myrtle is the eldest, and is a bit obsessed with Earth fashion. Art, the typical younger brother, is fascinated by pirates and feats of courage. They live with their father in a unique home, Larklight, which orbits the moon. Early in the narrative the Mumbys are forced to flee their house, and the resulting journey follows them to the moon, Mars, and even to the rings of Saturn. Whether they come home safely or not will be up to themselves and to the merry band of companions that they collect along the way.

Reeve’s Larklight is written in the style of a Victorian-era first-hand account, and it is a triumphant tale of a boy’s travels to the far reaches of space. Art is the main narrator, though his exploits are interspersed with snatches from his sister’s private diary. The narrative is also punctuated regularly with lovely illustrations by David Byatt, which often provide a much-needed visual for some flight of imagination or curious bit of alien science. There’s not much contemplation – this is an all-action yarn filled with dramatic venture after voyage after quest. That said, the story doesn’t really hit its stride until a few chapters in, when the Mumby children encounter Jack Havock, known pirate and scallywag.

This sort of rollicking sci-fi journey is long on plot and short on character development, but the adventure is too much fun for that to seriously detract from the tale. The best bits are the descriptions of space, the hinting at a mysterious chemical alchemy that allows advanced space travel, and the ever-present danger and humor with which the characters face that danger. Art is a boy’s boy, and he does have a way with description, as this excerpt from Chapter 12 will prove:

“I wonder if you have ever been fired out of a giant howitzer in a hollowed-out rock? The feeling is somewhat akin to being sat upon by an elephant, while traveling downhill at speed in a tin dustbin.”

Recommended for: intrepid boys (and girls!) who are on the younger side of the middle grade spectrum, along with their parents – it would make a splendid read-aloud. Will also appeal to those who long for space adventure with a touch of nostalgia, though the tech is mostly modern marvel.(less)

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Oct 03, 2012 Ladysaotome rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: j-fantasy, j-specfic

The most enjoyable J/YA book I've read since Castle in the Air. It's got much the same style with it's tongue-in-cheek humor although it's definitely more steampunk/science fiction than fantasy. A turned-on-it's-head, alternate victorian era, scifi that is loads of fun so long as you disregard the science (walking on the moon, pirate ships in space, etc.)

Isaac Newton somehow discovered the secret of spacetravel & the British empire covers half the galaxy. The story is told by Art Mumby, he &...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Newport Librarians rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ms-kathy, ya-fiction

First book in the delightful Larklight series (Starcross is the next), this romp through space (actually "the farthest reaches of space," according to the book's subtitle), and a bit of time, introduces us to the Mumbys (Art, Myrtle, Father, and four-and-a-half-billion-year-old somewhat deceased Mother), as well as Jack Havock, Sirs Waverley Rain and Richard Burton, Nipper, Mr. Grindle, Mr. Munkulus, and ship's alchemist Ssillissa, among others. When mysterious Mr. Webster sends Mumby père a not...more

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May 17, 2012 Lora rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, childrens-lit, graphic-novel, the-title-alone-sold-me

This isn't as graphic novel as they would lead you to believe, but the illustrations were amusing. I enjoy pen and pencil sketch styles of art. The story was fun- kids on their steampunk adventure- and while they appear to fall into the category of orphan lit, not all is at it seems. I loved the little details, like the swear words represented by a letter and dashes, like the old lit this book was giving head nods to. The old house with its many oddities and secrets was quite pleasant. I loved t...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Helsic 伊明海 rated it 5 of 5 stars

this is by far one of the best books I have ever read.
First I have to say I really love science fiction and fantasy literature for young readers. This kind of book was like an delicious mint-chocolate candy for me. I find the victorian-futuristic universe just wonderful. I had never read a book like this one before but I know this style is not new. Even thought there is another literature and movies in this style I find this book pretty much enjoyable and interesting. The sense of humor of the...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Charlyn Trussell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, fiction, series, space, steampunk, strong-female-character

Somehow I missed getting to this book in the school library collection until I saw the title mentioned in a list of steampunk fiction and remembered that it was there. And I'm glad I found it because I thoroughly enjoyed this "rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space" set in the Victorian era. Art, his sister Myrtle, and their father live in an airship named Larklight floating somewhere in the solar system. Their scientist father receives word of a visitor soon to arrive...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Raj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, sci-fi, young-adult

This is a fairly slight young adult steampunk novel, set sometime in the mid 19th century, about two youngsters who live in a ramshackle old house called Larklight, and what happens when a Mr Webster comes to visit. The thing is, Larklight is in orbit somewhere beyond the moon and this is a world where Isaac Newton's theories led to engines that could sail the solar system.

This is a living solar system where every planet and most moons are inhabited by aliens and are inhabitable by humans with n...more

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Feb 02, 2010 Angelsouth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-book-list, fantasy, adventure, sf, steampunk

I must have read this series a dozen or more times. Utterly captivating and imaginative. Admittedly, Reeve's casual use of the imperial adventure tropes made popular by H. Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling is troubling. For an adult reader, it is easy to attribute a layer of irony to Art's blind patriotism but I suspect that those lines are more easily blurred for the target audience. However, it is true that foregrounding such tropes does make them easy to discuss and easier to debunk, unlike t...more

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Oct 05, 2009 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Larklight, to putit simpily, was awsome. It lives up to full expectations. It is a far more light-hearted than the Mortal Engines series, but that doesn't make it better or worse. Told through the eyes of Arthur and his sister Myrtle occasionally, this is a very spell binding tales. The pictures also give us an image into Philip Reeve/David Wyatts imagination.

There is a visitor expected to arrive at the Larklight asteroid. Mass preperations are taking place (lead by Myrtle of course) to make sur...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Charlotte Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books

I have to admit, that this took me longer to read than most books because the first half was quite slow paced. It took me a while to get into the world of the story and to connect with any of the characters. My favourite thing about this book was definitely the characters and creatures created by Philip Reeve. I particularly liked Jack Havock, the young pirate, as I found that the reader got given the most back story on him and his past, and this really fleshed him out as a character and made th...more I have to admit, that this took me longer to read than most books because the first half was quite slow paced. It took me a while to get into the world of the story and to connect with any of the characters. My favourite thing about this book was definitely the characters and creatures created by Philip Reeve. I particularly liked Jack Havock, the young pirate, as I found that the reader got given the most back story on him and his past, and this really fleshed him out as a character and made the reader sympathise with him a lot more than with any of the others. On the other hand, Myrtle was really irritating throughout most of the book and was a bit contradictory in parts as she claimed to want to be a proper lady but then was very impolite and insensitive at some points. However, I felt that she really grew as the story progressed and I really liked that some of the chapters were from her point of view.

I have never read anything else by Philip Reeve, and although, like with a lot of children’s fiction, he seemed to use too many exclamation marks, I found the descriptive writing style really suited the book.

This novel was mostly told from Art’s point of view, but in the second half, his chapters are intertwined with chapters containing passages from Myrtle’s diary. This allowed the reader to get to know each of the characters and the way that they were feeling and reacting to their situation from their own perspectives and I really enjoyed that.

I really enjoyed this book towards the end and although parts of it were a bit slow-paced, I found the action-packed ending really finished the story off well and all of the plot points were tied off perfectly. Knowing that this is the first book in a series, I was a bit dubious going into it whether or not it would finish in a way that meant you would have to read the sequels to get all of the relevant information to finish the story, but I feel that this would be great as a standalone novel.

I have to say that the illustrations in this book really make this a more fantastical read as they completely fit in with the text and enhance the story beyond just the words.

Overall, I would give Larklight by Philip Reeve 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to younger children and YA readers that enjoy adventure, steampunk and science-fiction.(less)

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Aug 06, 2009 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: juv, sci-fi, adventure

This is one of those books that begs to be read aloud for the sheer pleasure of sharing Reeve's combination of science fiction and Victorian values. Imagine if the British Empire, at its height, had reached as far as Mars. Imagine convicts sent to the moon instead of Australia. Imagine fantastical creatures like giant spiders, space whales, and hover hogs (they help clean up the crumbs in zero gravity). Imagine space ships that look like part of the Royal Navy. Imagine a house just past the moon...more

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May 15, 2012 Cheryl in CC NV marked it as skimmed-reference-dnf

I suspected I wouldn't like this, but several different friends recommended, so I tried it. I don't think it's bad - and maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but I did give up pretty quickly anyway. I'm not into contraptions, I'm not into iconographic characters, and I don't like so many pictures that a complete thought can't fit on the page (full-page illustrations would work better than marginalia integrated with large font and long sentences).

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Oct 11, 2011 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, young-adult, read-in-2011

Although it took me a bit to get into this book (which I blame more on me trying to read during a foot ball game than any lack in the writing department), I thoroughly enjoyed it once I managed to sit down and concentrate on the spiderriffic adventures. For the record, I loathe spiders. I can't even kill the vile things. Because killing them would require me to get close to them. No. Just, no. Not happening.

Anyway. This is one of those books were the action is non-stop (and when it does stop, ou...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Catherine Siemann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: neovictorians

This delightful children's book gets steampunk right; it's clever and funny and adventurous, and filled with illustrations. Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle live with their widowed father at Larklight, a sort of country house in space, in a world where Isaac Newton's experiments with alchemy paid off, and the British empire has expanded throughout the solar system. It's a real "boy's adventure tale" with space pirates and giant spiders and all the trimmings, as well as some delightful surprises,...more

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May 29, 2010 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-fiction, tween-fiction

Larklight features a brother/sister duo traveling around the solar system with space pirates, fighting off Space Spiders from Saturn, and trying to unravel a mystery about their family's home, a floating space station of sorts named Larklight. The story is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates, Enola Holmes, and Chasing Vermeer, but it seems to fall a little short on all those fronts. The storyline for the most part is predictable, exc...more

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Oct 17, 2009 oliviasbooks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, other-creatures, swapped-or-given-away, steampunk, read-2009, historical-fantasy, sequel-no-thank-you

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for kids - and set into the Victorian Age. Sounds completely bogus? It is - but in a rather pleasant way. The space-piracy-adventure takes place in a British commonwealth that truly has a claim to be called "Empire". It includes several colonies on the moon and planets like Venus and Jupiter - where Queen Victoria stashes her convicts instead of Australia, or Mars, which has been conquered by means of harmony-inducing spores released into the air. To get an...more "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for kids - and set into the Victorian Age. Sounds completely bogus? It is - but in a rather pleasant way. The space-piracy-adventure takes place in a British commonwealth that truly has a claim to be called "Empire". It includes several colonies on the moon and planets like Venus and Jupiter - where Queen Victoria stashes her convicts instead of Australia, or Mars, which has been conquered by means of harmony-inducing spores released into the air. To get an idea of the setting: Queen Consort Albert's Great Exhibition is in progress (so far so good) and people living in houses that float in space rid their dwellings of free flying crumbs and dust by letting their herds of hoverhogs roam. Hoverhogs are little winged piglets propelling themselves forwards by farting with their behinds and sucking up dirt particles with their snouts. The moon is inhabited by walking and talking fungi and giant moths. And space is not empty but filled to the brim with fauna like an ocean. The set of characters is very stereotypical. I am a little annoyed by the science-crazy Dad, who is oblivious to his sons frantic warnings until he is being swallowed by a monster (Reminds me of stupid Silas Heap) and the ignorant, racist and insensitive sister, who is forever complicating matters either by fainting, by blurting out uncalled for prejudices or by simply insisting on this or that. In addition to those two the quite mature eleven year old narrator is sometimes a little bit too passive. The combination of the outrageous ideas bursting forth throughout the story and the detailed, old-fashioned, comical illustrations is fun. If you strip the plot of the unusual creatures and mechanisms, the story is somewhat predictable though. I enjoy reading the book, but I still have to decide if I would like to read the follow-up "Starcross" or not. Note after reading the added interview with author and illustrator: The characters are stereotypical because the novel is a parody of the "victorian adventure writing". Oh well. Silly me!(less)

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Oct 10, 2007 Ramona rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenilefiction

This book was so much fun! I loved the mix of Victorian sensibilities with space colonization, especially the use of Industrial Revolution-era technology (with a little alchemy thrown in) to create spaceships and stations. I liked the unique qualities attributed to each planet and their inhabitants. The story is a very familiar adventure/fantasy formula, but the setting and characters make the book.

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Apr 01, 2009 Fuzzy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've said it before and I'll likely say it again, I love going into a book (or movie or video game, etc) with no foreknowledge other than that someone whose taste I respect has recommended it. Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space is my latest success in that regard. So if you think we have similar tastes, you can stop reading right here and know that you'll likely like it as well.

If you require a bit more information, then know that Larklight is set in a...more

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Science Fiction > Steampunk

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Fantasy

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Science Fiction

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Young Adult

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Adventure

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Childrens

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Childrens > Juvenile

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About Philip Reeve

Philip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for a number of years while also co-writing, producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects.

Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.

Philip has been writing stories...more

More about Philip Reeve...

Books by Philip Reeve

Mortal Engines (The Hungry City Chronicles, #1)

Predator's Gold (The Hungry City Chronicles, #2)

Infernal Devices (The Hungry City Chronicles, #3)

A Darkling Plain (The Hungry City Chronicles, #4)

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Trivia About Larklight

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Quotes from Larklight

“I felt a little like saying 'Eeeeeeeeek!' myself, but seeing Myrtle so afraid reminded me that I was British, and must be brave.” — 5 people liked it

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title link	preview: Larklight
avg rating	preview: Larklight Goodreads rating: 3.80 (2322 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287892.Larklight?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316728599l/287892.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287892.Larklight?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Larklight by Philip Reeve[/url]

Larklight (Larklight #1)

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