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polly__flintandherbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
sparksofember's review against another edition
4.0
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 & his sister & father live in a ramshackle space-traveling house called Larklight. One day their home is attacked by large alien spiders. Art & his sister barely escape & are rescued by a young pirate & his crew. Thus they set out on their adventures to discover what has happened to their home, their captured (& likely eaten) father & who these strange spiders are & what exactly they are looking for. Their adventures take them to about every planet ranging from the moon to Jupiter & others (some unheard of) - they encounter space pirates, robots, various aliens, intelligent storms, conspiracies & a plot to take over the universe. There's also a strong message against prejudice throughout.
Isaac Newton somehow discovered the secret of spacetravel & the British empire covers half the galaxy. The story is told by Art Mumby, he & his sister & father live in a ramshackle space-traveling house called Larklight. One day their home is attacked by large alien spiders. Art & his sister barely escape & are rescued by a young pirate & his crew. Thus they set out on their adventures to discover what has happened to their home, their captured (& likely eaten) father & who these strange spiders are & what exactly they are looking for. Their adventures take them to about every planet ranging from the moon to Jupiter & others (some unheard of) - they encounter space pirates, robots, various aliens, intelligent storms, conspiracies & a plot to take over the universe. There's also a strong message against prejudice throughout.
neonmuted's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
kraley's review against another edition
3.0
I can’t decide between 3 and 4 stars for this one. It was a cool steampunk/Sci fi book. It wasn’t as gritty as a lot of steampunk, but 18th century England was definitely more progressed than in actuality. The book reminded me of a Doctor Who episode. I liked the clever polite banter and interesting creatures.
michellehenriereads's review against another edition
4.0
Larklight is full of fun and rollicking humor paired with stuffy personalities of Victorian England. I found the novel to be engaging and incredibly creative.
It is fun to imagine what would have happened if space travel had been discovered at an earlier date. Would Britain have tried to conquer all of space instead of just establishing holdings over the four corners of the earth?
Reeve has used a rather cheeky writing style that works well for the intended audience and will perhaps give the adults more laughs than the kids in this strange, but wonderful, steampunk space adventure.
For my full review go to http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
It is fun to imagine what would have happened if space travel had been discovered at an earlier date. Would Britain have tried to conquer all of space instead of just establishing holdings over the four corners of the earth?
Reeve has used a rather cheeky writing style that works well for the intended audience and will perhaps give the adults more laughs than the kids in this strange, but wonderful, steampunk space adventure.
For my full review go to http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun book of Victorian Space Drama and spiders and hoover pigs and pirates and travelling around the solar system. Larklight is a hose in space that Art and Myrtle live in until the adventures start, and there are a lot of adventures to get through in this fast paced book. But it's all great fun and some famous people make unexpected appearances...
booksong's review against another edition
4.0
To put it simply, this book was just good, solid fun.
The premise is a fantastical and original one...a warped timeline involving the conquering of space by the British empire during the Victorian era. That's right; people have already journeyed to Jupiter and beyond, and there are countless fun and fascinating gadgets, creatures, and concepts that populate this rousing space adventure.
Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle (who he doesn't think too highly of, seeing as she's very concerned with being stuffy and proper) live in a huge, pieces-parts house orbiting off the moon, called Larklight. Which is a fairly normal existance apparently...until a mysterious and terrifying gang of monstrous white spiders show up, overrun Larklight, and force Art and Myrtle to evacuate into deep space, where their adventures begin. And this book really does know the meaning of "adventure."
There's the attack of the terrifying Potter Moth and its hungry offspring. There's the teenage space pirate Jack Havock and his weird and endearing crew of alien denizens. There's the intergalactic plot to take back the galaxy in the name of an ancient race. There's the secrets behind Art's mother's disappearance. There's the potential destruction of London. And that's just the half of it.
Art narrates in spectacular British style, with all the prim and hilarious idiosyncrisies of the culture. Myrtle's inserted diary entries give her unique perspective throughout as well. And mainly, the sheer audacity of the author creating all these eccentric new ideas and characters is wonderful, balancing between being over-the-top and just plain likable. And the old-fashioned sketch illustrations on nearly every page add a lot as well.
Just a fun, light read, but I can't wait to get the next one.
The premise is a fantastical and original one...a warped timeline involving the conquering of space by the British empire during the Victorian era. That's right; people have already journeyed to Jupiter and beyond, and there are countless fun and fascinating gadgets, creatures, and concepts that populate this rousing space adventure.
Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle (who he doesn't think too highly of, seeing as she's very concerned with being stuffy and proper) live in a huge, pieces-parts house orbiting off the moon, called Larklight. Which is a fairly normal existance apparently...until a mysterious and terrifying gang of monstrous white spiders show up, overrun Larklight, and force Art and Myrtle to evacuate into deep space, where their adventures begin. And this book really does know the meaning of "adventure."
There's the attack of the terrifying Potter Moth and its hungry offspring. There's the teenage space pirate Jack Havock and his weird and endearing crew of alien denizens. There's the intergalactic plot to take back the galaxy in the name of an ancient race. There's the secrets behind Art's mother's disappearance. There's the potential destruction of London. And that's just the half of it.
Art narrates in spectacular British style, with all the prim and hilarious idiosyncrisies of the culture. Myrtle's inserted diary entries give her unique perspective throughout as well. And mainly, the sheer audacity of the author creating all these eccentric new ideas and characters is wonderful, balancing between being over-the-top and just plain likable. And the old-fashioned sketch illustrations on nearly every page add a lot as well.
Just a fun, light read, but I can't wait to get the next one.
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.