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A review by monicakessler
Larklight by Philip Reeve
4.0
An excellent children's sci-fi fantasy book. Larklight took a while to hook me but it's undoubtedly a well-written and well-structured piece of work. Eventful, and adventurous, not only is the plotline exciting but the book is written with a great deal of humour.
Unlike the Infernal Devices books by Cassandra Clare (not to be confused with Philip Reeve's own book, Infernal Devices ((eyeroll @CC)*) ), the spirit of Victorian London is captured much better in this steampunk-ish SFF tale similarly set in the 1800s. The mannerisms, language and jokes adhere much better to the expectations of the time, and there are some delightful moments from that, such as Art's horrified "don't overexert yourself!" at one point in the drama.
Although the characters are fun and enjoyable, they still have plenty of room for development, which I'm sure will take place in the sequels. The band of pirates are great but some of them seem to be a little flat. A star has been knocked off not only for this but also because I didn't enjoy the book at first - not really sure why, since the writing was good and the action started almost immediately. Also, a lot of the humour will be lost on what I'm guessing is the intended target audience - children - because they won't get all the references. This is fine in passing moments but there are a few significant scenes that will lose their charm. For instance, a character sings the hymn, "To be a pilgrim" to scare off aliens; this will not make much of an impression on modern children who probably have never heard that hymn.
4.25* for being a fun adventure with good wit. Enjoyed the tiny Mortal Engines reference too!
*Can I just say the more I read of Cassandra Clare and Philip Reeve, the more I find that CC has used items from PR's books? From naming to antagonists, there is a lot of similarity now between this series and her Infernal devices series, which was published 5 years later... Anyway...
Unlike the Infernal Devices books by Cassandra Clare (not to be confused with Philip Reeve's own book, Infernal Devices ((eyeroll @CC)*) ), the spirit of Victorian London is captured much better in this steampunk-ish SFF tale similarly set in the 1800s. The mannerisms, language and jokes adhere much better to the expectations of the time, and there are some delightful moments from that, such as Art's horrified "don't overexert yourself!" at one point in the drama.
Although the characters are fun and enjoyable, they still have plenty of room for development, which I'm sure will take place in the sequels. The band of pirates are great but some of them seem to be a little flat. A star has been knocked off not only for this but also because I didn't enjoy the book at first - not really sure why, since the writing was good and the action started almost immediately. Also, a lot of the humour will be lost on what I'm guessing is the intended target audience - children - because they won't get all the references. This is fine in passing moments but there are a few significant scenes that will lose their charm. For instance, a character sings the hymn, "To be a pilgrim" to scare off aliens; this will not make much of an impression on modern children who probably have never heard that hymn.
4.25* for being a fun adventure with good wit. Enjoyed the tiny Mortal Engines reference too!
*Can I just say the more I read of Cassandra Clare and Philip Reeve, the more I find that CC has used items from PR's books? From naming to antagonists, there is a lot of similarity now between this series and her Infernal devices series, which was published 5 years later... Anyway...