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emellis59's review against another edition
4.0
Pure fun...the kind of adventure story that I would have loved as a kid. A little bit of Steampunk, a few aliens, and a whole lot of humor. It doesn't get much better than that!
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
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 [b:Celestial Matters|1233406|Celestial Matters|Richard Garfinkle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316136910s/1233406.jpg|1222010] or [b:Beyond the Moons|716051|Beyond the Moons (Spelljammer The Cloakmaster Cycle, #1)|David Zeb Cook|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1330902120s/716051.jpg|702303]. 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.
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 [b:Celestial Matters|1233406|Celestial Matters|Richard Garfinkle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316136910s/1233406.jpg|1222010] or [b:Beyond the Moons|716051|Beyond the Moons (Spelljammer The Cloakmaster Cycle, #1)|David Zeb Cook|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1330902120s/716051.jpg|702303]. 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.
skullsnbats's review against another edition
5.0
I stayed up all night to read this and then couldn't sleep, it was so fantastic!
snickies's review against another edition
4.0
Very cute; very fun; and a very quick read. Plus, great illustrations.
mrswythe89's review against another edition
4.0
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 [book: 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 Larklight's sequel (or sequels), but I shouldn't think so; I only got that irritated over the Hungry Cities books because they were so intense and so -- I mean, they pulled no punches and that was what was good about them, so it was disappointing when they ended with more of a whimper than a bang.
I was getting quite wary about Philip Reeve's mothers, but that worked out fine. I'm still a little unsure about his women. Quite a lot of them seem to have love as a main motivator, as opposed to, you know, saving the universe or whatever, which is why Art's mother came as such a relief. But that was the main reason why I got mad at the Hungry Cities books. I suppose it made sense that Hester's main motivating force was her love for Tom, but it still pissed me off that everything she was and did revolved around him. She was such a cool character and she could have been so much more.
But back to Larklight: I'll probably get [book: Starcross] even if it's still in hardback, that's how much I liked it. Well done Philip Reeve.
More light-hearted than the [book: 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 Larklight's sequel (or sequels), but I shouldn't think so; I only got that irritated over the Hungry Cities books because they were so intense and so -- I mean, they pulled no punches and that was what was good about them, so it was disappointing when they ended with more of a whimper than a bang.
I was getting quite wary about Philip Reeve's mothers, but that worked out fine. I'm still a little unsure about his women. Quite a lot of them seem to have love as a main motivator, as opposed to, you know, saving the universe or whatever, which is why Art's mother came as such a relief. But that was the main reason why I got mad at the Hungry Cities books. I suppose it made sense that Hester's main motivating force was her love for Tom, but it still pissed me off that everything she was and did revolved around him. She was such a cool character and she could have been so much more.
But back to Larklight: I'll probably get [book: Starcross] even if it's still in hardback, that's how much I liked it. Well done Philip Reeve.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
a very cute tale about 2 kids and their adventures to save the world.
It was a little more of a "kid" book than I expected.I'm also just not a huge fan of scifi other worlds kind of reader. This just isn't my cup of tea.
It was a little more of a "kid" book than I expected.I'm also just not a huge fan of scifi other worlds kind of reader. This just isn't my cup of tea.
minty's review against another edition
1.0
A little too substanceless for my taste. It was lighthearted and easy to read, but I wasn't sure why I was keeping with it other than to finish.
gizmo_42's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book, with amazing characters and story, it is written in a way that draws you and you get to know each character more and more , the detail of writing is amazing, you get to meet interesting creatures as larklight goes on its adventures with the crew, as you read you come across really amazing detailed illustrations that gives you a sense on what's happening,.... Really enjoyed reading larklight
Great for any one who wants to go on an adventure in the world of space pirate's and be greeted to by interesting creatures
Great for any one who wants to go on an adventure in the world of space pirate's and be greeted to by interesting creatures
sandraagee's review against another edition
4.0
A space adventure set in an alternate Victorian England? Yes, I'm all for that.
gothicglasses's review against another edition
3.0
Unless you have a pretty extensive knowledge of old British words I suggest having a Websters dictionary on hand. Not what I was expecting but fun none the less.