Larklight, or, The revenge of the white spiders!, or, To Saturn's rings and back! : a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space

Reeve, Philip ~ Larklight ~ Bloomsbury, 2006 ~ 400 pages ~ older children, tweens, teens, some adults.

"Later, while I was facing the Potter Moth, or fleeing for my life from the First Ones, or helping man a cannon aboard Jack Havock's brigh Sophronia, I would often think back to the way my life used to be, and to that last afternoon at Larklight, before all our misfortunes began."

Reeve has received considerable praise for the four books in the Mortal Engines series beginning with Mortal Engines and concluding with A Darkling Plain. These were science fictional in a steam punk way as well as being dark, serious, and threatening. The world building was unique and different. Characters were strongly developed and the plot was complex and threatening.

The Larklight series begins with Larklight, then Starcross, and the third volume, Mothstorm, has been issued. The sub-title for Larklight says much about the work's style or presence: "The Revenge of the White Spiders or To Saturn's Rings and Back: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space." The story is lighter in tone than Mortal Engines, great fun, but not darkly serious. The setting is an alternative Victorian British solar empire with some steampunk elements. In some respects, the story reminded me of the Wizard of Oz stories with the many appealing illustrations of David Wyatt and the long list of strange and interesting characters, flora, and fauna encountered with each turn of the page. The story itself is charming, with notable "tongue in cheek humor" and the reader is almost always uncertain of what will happen next, except that the main characters will survive.

World-building is excellent and the descriptive writing is nicely done. The main story is told by Art Mumby so this is largely a first person narrative. His sister Myrtle also tells her story here and there. Myrtle is more stereotypical than Art, but I suspect that this was done on purpose. Still, a stronger an more thoughtful Myrtle would strengthen but perhaps that comes later. Other positive characters are strange and appealing while the villains are certainly booable. The plot has interesting and sometimes surprising turns. Essentially, large spiders attack Larklight, the Mumby family home which floats in space, appear to have killed Art's father, and Art and Myrtle flee in a lifeboat. They land on a planet, are threatened by a giant moth and the adventure begins. The white spiders are the First Ones who long ago dominated space. Now, if they possess a key hidden in Larklight or on one of the Mumby's, they may be dominant once again.  Pirates rescue Art and Myrtle and are much more than they seem.

The story is great fun and the pages turn quickly. Wyatt's illustrations are simply first-rate and add much to the story. I'm uncertain if the British/English culture/historical background will hinder U.S. readers, but suspect not. Attitudes and values expressed by the characters could provoke some good teaching/discussion moments.

Recommendation:

Starlight has received considerable positive review attention so it, and the rest of the series, should be an automatic purchase for YA collections.

The illustrations by David Wyatt are excellent, a perfect match for the story itself. The e cover illustration shows Art, Myrtle, and Jack Havock with London and the space brig in the background. The book is well organized into short, coherent chapters with large, clear print and good white space.