Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An old fashioned science fiction, 14 Nov 2006
Set in a fantastical past which is so different from ours and using intensely stuffy last language I really didn't think this book would be for me. Then I read it...and read it...and read it! Hard to put down, hard not to like! It takes you on a roller coaster through amazing worlds with fantastic imagery and creatures. The drawings are excellent and a must for any imaginative child. The language is a little off-putting but you get used to it as the story grips you!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Splendiferous Pastiche, 16 Mar 2007
Reeves' latest is an hilarious pastiche of the "Boys' Own Adventure" school of writing. Young Art Mumby and his frightful sister Myrtle live in a strange house in space called "Larklight" in a wittily-observed steampunk world where Her Majesty's Glorious Empire rules the Aether. When their home is attacked by space-spiders, they begin an adventure that takes them across the solar system.
Every aspect of the book is spot on: the tale is told both by Art and (via her diaries) Myrtle, and they both "sound" like Victorian children; the line illustrations are evocative; even the "advertisements" decorating the inside covers look authentic, but have a sly humour.
As someone who is considerably older (to say the least!) than what would seem to be the target audience, I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the book's humour and in-jokes (including a laugh-out-loud steal from HG Wells) will go over the heads of many youngsters, but the book would still work as a rip-roaring read. I'd also suspect that children who are prepared to try somethin a bit different would be best suited to reading the novel, as the linguistic flourishes may deter less able readers.
My recommendation: buy a copy for your young 'un and then read it yourself!
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, 30 Nov 2006
When eleven-year-old Art Mumby finds out that a visitor is arriving at his run-down home, Larklight, which floats in space beyond the moon, he hardly expects to be thrust into a frightening adventure of pirates, plates, and a millenium-long conflict upon which the fate of the solar system rests. He tells the story of this adventure in LARKLIGHT (occasionally giving his older sister, Myrtle, a chance to narrate via her diary), and the story is nothing if not fantastic.
Philip Reeve (author of the HUNGRY CITY CHRONICLES) has created another fascinating world in LARKLIGHT. Art lives in the Victorian society of the 1800's--or rather, what Victorian society would have looked like if they'd developed space travel, and astronomy worked according to early speculations about aether (an air-like substance in space that people can move and breathe in), and interplanetary beings (Venus, Mars, and the moons of Jupiter are all home to a variety of life forms). Reeve cuts no corners, painting the cities and citizens of the solar system in dazzling detail. The setting is a gorgeous mix of fantasy and science fiction, and fans of both genres will find much to enjoy.
If the world wasn't exciting enough on its own, the adventure is of the edge-of-your-seat variety. Art and Myrtle tumble from one tense situation to another with alarming frequency. Most chapters end on cliffhangers, so be prepared to have trouble finding a place to pause. Reeve throws in enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing right until the end, and both Art and Myrtle get the chance to play hero.
Art, as the main character, is not yet a teen himself, so teens may find his narration a little immature for their liking. If they're willing to give him a chance, though, they will discover that LARKLIGHT is a fast-paced, imaginative journey well worth taking.
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
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