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Summary
Summary
Somebody's got to save the known Universe. Again.
Art Mumby, his mostly irritating younger sister, Myrtle, and their mother have been invited to take a vacation at Starcoss, the finest sea-bathing resort in the entire Asteriod Belt. Just one problem . . . there are no seas anywhere in the Asteroid Belt, and that's just the first sign that the hotel is not what it seems.
Sure enough, Art and family quickly find themselves face to face with French spies, Yankee rebels and man-eating starfish, not to mention an awful lot of sinister top hats. As they travel to the future and back to prehistoric Mars, it's all Art can do to keep his head about him. Which is all the more important considering everyone else is losing theirs.
Author Notes
Philip Reeve worked in a bookshop before embarking on a career as an illustrator and writer. His first novel, Mortal Engines, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book Award and won the Gold Nestle Smarties Book Prize. He lives in Devon, England with his wife and their son.
David Wyatt has illustrated books and covers for authors including Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Diana Wynne Jones, Alan Garner and J.R.R. Tolkien. He lives in Devon, England.
www.larklight.com
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this dashing and outrageous sequel to Larklight, plucky Art Mumby, his annoying and lovelorn sister Myrtle and their highly competent mother (who is simultaneously a traditional Victorian gentlewoman and a "four-and-a-half-thousand-million-year-old entity from another star") travel through space to Starcross, "the Asteroid Belt's Premier Resort Hotel." They have been promised a relaxing respite from ongoing repairs to their orbital home-the resort purports to offer "the most tactful auto-servants... healthful air & the best opportunities for sea bathing in the Solar System." Instead, however, they encounter murderous Punch and Judy shows, giant carnivorous sand crabs, time-traveling pieces of the planet Mars, and a nefarious plot by alien top hats to wrest control of space from the British Empire. ("Britons never, never, never shall be slaves, or the victims of man-eating hats," Art tells himself when he is attacked in his hotel room.) While hilariously spoofing 19th-century imperial and colonial attitudes, various excesses of Victorian propriety, and such literary forms as the spy thriller and the space opera, this rambunctious, fast-moving tale also manages to provide plenty of thrills and excitement. This installment should easily win new readers for Reeve. Ages 10-up. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Middle School) Enterprising young Briton-in-space Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle make their triumphant return in this sequel to Larklight (rev. 11/06). While vacationing at Starcross, a supposed "premiere resort hotel" that just happens to be situated amidst a temporal disturbance, they discover that Britain is being quietly invaded by top hat-disguised shapeshifters from the future whose diet (brain waves) affords them hypnotic powers. Art and Myrtle, felicitously reunited with pirate-turned-British-agent Jack Havock, are off to save the galaxy once again, and it's no tea party: there are mad scientists, prehistoric carnivores, even (mon dieu!) the French. Though less pointed than its predecessor, Starcross continues to lampoon Victorian-era ideals by faithfully transposing them to outer space. Myrtle expands her definition of proper ladylike pursuits while Art takes a stab at leadership; as narrators, both are delightfully bombastic and vehemently British. Where words fail, Wyatt's meticulously detailed spot and facing-page illustrations fill in the gaps, contributing to (and often interacting with) the playfully period text. The depths of dramatic tension work as counterpoint to the outlandish comedy, heightening both humor and peril in a well-crafted sequel that once again defies classification. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Art and Myrtle Mumby return after their adventures in Larklight (2006). This time, the siblings and their mother head to an asteroid resort and are soon propelled on an adventure of staggering complexity as they end up traveling through time, meeting revolutionary Americans, French legionnaires, and strange creatures, Moobs, that take several forms, including top hats. It's all very tongue-in-cheek with plenty of jokes and puns in the best traditions of British humor. Eventually, the Moobs are revealed as nonsinister beings with a lot to teach, but lessons don't get in the way of the wild flights of imagination that characterize this sequel.--Morning, Todd Copyright 2007 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-10-In this eagerly awaited sequel to the acclaimed Larklight (Bloomsbury, 2006), Art and Myrtle once again save the universe. When their home that floats through space is being redecorated, the Mumsbys receive an invitation for a fantastic free holiday at a new resort in the Asteroid Belt near Mars. Their mother, who happens to be 4 thousand million years old, accompanies the children, expecting rest and relaxation. But nothing is as it seems at Starcross: the hotel slips back and forth through time; demonic puppets need dodging; guests are turned into trees; and top hats alter minds. Jack Havock, the notorious space pirate and object of Myrtle's affections, is there, in the employ of Her Majesty's Secret Service. With the help of Jack, his motley crew, and the Mumsbys, several attempts to invade the British Empire and attain universal domination are scuttled. Art narrates most of the story, turning things over to prim Myrtle, the absolute blight in his life, briefly. Tongue-in-cheek, hilarious, and wildly imaginative, this intergalactic adventure that knows no boundaries of time or space contains a message of acceptance of those who are different as well as social commentary on imperialism and on advertising. Wyatt's expressive and witty pen-and-ink drawings add to the whimsy and humor. As imaginative as Reeve's writing, they clarify the characters, settings, and situations. Starcross is every bit as amazing as its predecessor. Fans will be delighted to know that a third book is on the way, and that the series has been optioned for a movie. Imagine the special effects.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
"[T]he British Empire," declares Mrs. Emily Mumby, ancient superhuman creator of the Solar System and Art and Myrtle's mum, "stands on the brink of an invasion by highly intelligent hats from the future!" When the Mumbys travel to Starcross, a time-traveling seaside resort in the asteroid belt, they find themselves caught in a web of schemes most sinister: The proprietor of the resort, a hatter, has lured them there to take control of their minds with his evil Top-Notch Toppers in order to seize Mrs. Mumby's technology. But the hats have hegemonic designs of their own. Meanwhile, Jack Havock, space-pirate-turned-British-spy (and the object of Myrtle's affections), is on Starcross investigating a suspected French agent, who is determined to find and resurrect the wreckage of the fabled American privateer Liberty and use it to topple the British Empire. Toss in a handful of knitting goblins, a super-intelligent plant, "the Cockney Nightingale" and a healthy helping of quintessentially Victorian pomposity and pride in Empire, and the result is a romp that lives up to the standard set by Larklight (2006), its wildly imaginative predecessor. Huzzah! (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
