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    Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space
    Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space
    Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space
    Audiobook8 hours

    Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space

    Written by Philip Reeve

    Narrated by Greg Steinbruner

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Author Philip Reeve was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize Children's Book Award. In 1851 a mysterious visitor to Art Mumby's space home has plans for a calamity that will destroy not only the entire British Empire, but also the known universe. Can disaster be prevented with help from Art's irritating sister Myrtle, a few exotic space creatures, and an extraterrestrial pirate? "Both the story line and the language demonstrate Reeve's respect for his readership."-Booklist
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 4, 2008
    ISBN9781449801731
    Author

    Philip Reeve

    Philip Reeve wrote his first story when he was just five years old, about a spaceman named Spike and his dog, Spook. Philip has continued writing and dreaming up adventures and is now the acclaimed author of the Mortal Engines series, the Fever Crumb series, Here Lies Author (2008 Carnegie Medal Winner), and many other exciting tales. Born and raised in Brighton, England, Philip first worked as a cartoonist and illustrator before pursuing a career as an author. He lives in Dartmoor with his wife, Sarah, and their son, Sam.

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    Reviews for Larklight

    4/5

    241 ratings23 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Fun and silly and light-hearted. I really enjoyed this. It's Victorian pulp sci-fi!
    • 3/5
      Lots of interesting ideas and world building, but I didn't care for the voice or the two main characters. Trying to be humorous and wasn't. Shame, because I was really impressed by "Mortal Engines". But I did LOVE the illustrations!
    • 3/5
      One of the stars is for the illustrations. They're the best part of the book. This tale of "dauntless pluck" is a one-note joke in the form of a young adult steampunk space opera. The problem with the premise is that once you establish that the main characters are spoofs of the classic penny dreadful kid heroes, there's really not much reason to keep reading. Nothing more is done with the joke. It doesn't go off the rails, except for one passing Star Trek reference, but there are no surprises. The major plot revelations are obvious chapters before. I assume this is intentional but it is also off-putting. It's hard to get engaged with what happens to caricatures. But the illustrations are great.
    • 3/5
      This book is for children, not young adults. On the other hand, it leans heavily on scientific theories, like the aether and phlogiston, which were more or less accepted at one time, but which would be unlikely to be understood by someone without some knowledge of the history of science now. It had a bunch of funny bits and a rather nice presentation.
    • 3/5
      I found this a mixture of the wonderful and the very off-putting. Phillip Reeve has a terrific imagination and spins a rousing story (except for the point noted below.) I find it difficult to express how wonderful David Wyatt's illustrations were. The book is lavish with them on almost every page: they are wonderful as illustrations, extremely expressive, detailed, and worked beautifully into the layout of the page. The best part of the book, in my opinion, and easily worth five stars. I definitely want to see more of his work.The problem with the book is that the first third was so misogynistic that I almost stopped reading it. I persisted only because some of the reviews on Amazon promised me that it got better. I understand that siblings are often antagonistic; Art doesn't like his older sister, Myrtle. The problem is, neither do we. Myrtle is annoying, untalented, thick-headed, snobbish, and narrow-minded. Art cannot imagine why one of the others describes Myrtle as sweet, and obviously attractive. Neither can I. Not all of the less than admirable Victorian traits (God is an Englishman) were limited to women. There is a token female lizard in Jack Havoc's crew, who is a very capable alchemist, but this is just some mystical ability, no brains involved, and all her work is done off-page.The book does improve, and ends up with strong female characters indeed; even Myrtle has her moment of glory. Even then, she passes it off as dumb luck, unsuitable for a young lady. Even so, I had such a bad taste in my mouth that I don't plan to read any more of the series, or indeed, anything by Phillip Reeve.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      We float in space with Art Mymby in his home, Larklight, but before you know it we're attacked by spiders, his dad is feared dead, and the Potter Moth puts Art and his older sister, Myrtle, in big bottles. They are saved by pirates and taken into battle.Action and adventure are the words to describe our allegiance with the young pirate Jack Havock in order to save Myrtle. Art finds his sister is much stronger than he'd ever thought and unovers many other surpirses about his family.Be advised, you may have to hide under the covers with a flashlight so you can read late into the night. This is a hard book to put down.
    • 4/5
      Charles Dickens meets science fiction. Art and his older sister Myrtle are the children of a British scientist in Victorian England, but rather than make their home in England, they live on Larklight, a house that floats in space. When their father is captured by some spider-like creatures who are up to no good, the children make their escape and after some hair-raising adventures, meet up with space pirate Jack Havock and his motley crew of creatures from across the solar systems. As they make their way through space, they realize that the spider creatures are actually trying to find the key to Larklight... and that key is the necklace that Myrtle has worn around her neck since their mother died. The chase is on, and the action never stops. If dry British humor a la Douglas Adams appeals to you, this is a great ride.
    • 4/5
      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 bunch.

      ETA: As the series continues I'm really appreciating the strong characters of both genders. Reeve doesn't hesistate to play with stereotypical gender roles, but both the guys and the girls here get to be heroes.
    • 5/5
      If this is a young adult version of 'steampunk,' maybe I should give that genre a closer look. I really enjoyed this quick-moving book -- the author balanced details of the setting (and explanations for all the science) with the story and characters. Although the relationships between a couple of the main characters were very predictable, I didn't mind, as some things that happened were very unpredictable.
      It reminded me at times of a good serial with lots of cliffhangers.... I would definitely read this aloud to a class of 4-6 graders (if I had an english class to read to...).
    • 4/5
      In a universe where aetheric icthyomorphs flit through space and Sir Isaac Newton discovered the key to accessible space travel, the British Empire is far reaching, and the Mumby family live contentedly in their quirky orbital home. Until they are attacked by giant pseudo spiders. What follows is “A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space,” told with charmingly naїve and over-the-top British patriotism. There is something about the alternative natural science that didn’t quite win me over, but on the whole Reeve’s universe is interesting to explore. The adventure is tightly plotted, ripping good fun, and finishes as all adventures should, with a nice cup of tea.
    • 4/5
      This book is, among other things, a parody of Victorian adventure stories, and it shows in the best possible ways. I spent the entire time I was reading this book grinning or chuckling- there's something inherently hilarious about the overuse of exclamation points. The characters are well done- they're cliches, like they're meant to be, but Reeve never lets us forget that there's a person under the exterior.
    • 4/5
      This is the book that introduced me to Philip Reeve and to the steampunk genre. What a great read! I thoroughly enjoyed Reeve's space vunderlund, ie. the space "home", Larklight. The book was clean and well written, the characters well-developed, and the plot steady and enjoyable. Read this!
    • 5/5
      Martians (half naked ones!), man-eating moths, spiky blue aliens, slavering space spiders bent on universe domination, Queen Victoria, a secret key, crumb-eating flying pigs, and interplanetary travel aboard a pirate ship - who could ask for anything more? Certainly not poor Art Mumby, who was fairly content with life as it was. But when a mysterious letter announces the impending arrival of a scientist from the Royal Xeniological Institute, the spate of cleaning his sister ropes him into is about to be the very least of his worries.Quite a romp from beginning to end.
    • 4/5
      Philip Reeve has such amazing world building skills. I adored the reveal of how and why his universe was different from ours, especially that it took until three-quarters of the way through a junior fiction book to explain. The books made me want to be a 9 year old boy because they were exactly what I would want to read - although as a 38-year-old woman I enjoyed the glee and escapism. The plots are very comic book reality and sometimes they felt a bit too shallow (possibly a result of being written for younger readers than I'm used to). Although the relationship between the brother and sister is fabulous - and Art's revealing of his sister's feelings is masterful - the rest of the characters feel a bit sketched.
    • 5/5
      If I had to choose one word to describe Larklight, it would be AWESOME.This is one of those novels that you can read for a million times and won’t get bored of. Reeve has succeeded in creating a world that is brilliant and beautiful, yet somehow believable, that could possibly rival even that of Harry Potter’s. Wyatt’s illustrations are absolutely stunning (though they would’ve been more gorgeous if they were in colour) and help readers realise the appearance of the cities and creatures should Reeve’s descriptions of them become a little difficult to comprehend.I would comment on the flaws of the novel, except I couldn’t seem to find any. As far as the story goes, it is an engaging tale full of action and adventure, with the right plot twists thrown into the mix . The characters are well-developed and likeable, except maybe Myrtle, who’s been getting on my nerves from the start of the novel. Reeve’s use of Victorian-style English also deserves praise, as this (along with Myrtle’s proper-lady manner of speech) often leads to much of the wit and humour in the novel. Fans of Star Trek will understand one of the many in-jokes.Readers looking for a stellar fantasy adventure will be thrilled with Larklight.
    • 4/5
      A truly fun read. This story has a little bit of everything. Readers of all ages will enjoy this book. Larklight is a wonderful adventure story with great characters and interesting twists and turns in their lives. I enjoyed that the story is told from Art's perspective with bits of diary entries from Myrtle.
    • 4/5
      Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle live with their father in Larklight, a house that travels on an orbit outside the moon. The house is quite large and in some ways falling apart. Things are peaceful (if you don't mind Myrtle's piano playing), until a ship full of spiders invades their house and set them on course to encounter space pirates and many other exciting adventures. The setting is an alternate history of Victorian England (and far beyond), and Phillip Reeve uses the charm and stylings of that age to infuse the story with humor. I really enjoyed this one. This is just the kind of Steampunk that I like to look for. I like rousing, jaunty adventure a la Jules Verne, and this story fits the bill. This is a well plotted young adult novel with interesting characters and well wrought art work throughout. A good fun read.
    • 4/5
      Great illustrations. Loved the footnotes. Fun and entertaining.
    • 4/5
      This book is an all out adventure/scifi book. I liked it for it's made up creatures. Theres fur, tails, tentacles, paws, squishy feet, big wings, and the sort. I didn't really get it a first because its written to sound like they live a long time ago but they also live in space sooooo, yeah.
    • 3/5
      Larklight is a huge rambling house that floats in orbit beyond the moon. Art and Myrtle Mumby escape in a lifeboat when Larklight is invaded by a ship fulled with giant spiders lead by Mr Webster. They encounter space potter moths, space pirates and other terrifying events before their adventure ends.
    • 3/5
      Continuing a recent trend in children’s literature, Philip Reeve’s Larklight boasts fantastical adventures with Victorian sensibilities, charming illustrations, and a compact format that will please the eye when shelved with the many sequels surely to follow. Indeed, between the gorgeous packaging and lots of malevolent spiders, it’s tempting to think of this book as Spiderwick in Space (even if The Spiderwick Chronicles are not actually about spiders).Space and Victorian sensibilities? It sounds odd but works nicely, and helps distinguish Larklight from other recent series. Art Mumby and his exceedingly proper sister Myrtle live with their eccentric father in Larklight, a ramshackle Victorian house orbiting the earth in the mid-1800s. When the house is attacked by mysterious spiders, Art and Myrtle escape only to be marooned on the moon, captured by flesh-eating moths, rescued by boy-pirate Jack Havock, and chased yet again by the spiders, who want something they believe the children to possess. Art and Myrtle take turns relating their adventures, in Myrtle’s case via a journal she keeps while separated from her brother.Larklight is clever and well-written, so it is perhaps harsh to point out that its fluff and nonsense is a wee bit forgettable.
    • 3/5
      An enjoyable story in an attractive package. The 'Victorians in space' idea is nicely executed but, as with 'Mortal engines', I think Reeve doesn't quite achieve his potential. He crams a lot of events into the story, which may amuse younger readers but can leave you feeling a bit 'so what'.