Starcross: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel and Curious Hats (Larklight Series #2)

by Philip Reeve

Overview

There is an old saying: if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Take the holiday that Art Mumby, his irritating younger sister Myrtle, and their mother take to Starcross, the finest sea-bathing resort in the entire Asteroid Belt. The fact that there are no seas anywhere should give you a clue. Sure enough, Art and family quickly find themselves grappling with French spies, Yankee rebels, and man-eating starfish. With stops to the future and prehistoric Mars, it's all Art can do to keep his head about him - which is essential, since everyone else is losing theirs!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599908755
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/01/2011
Series:	Larklight Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	776,002
Lexile:	1150L (what's this?)
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Philip Reeve worked in a bookshop and produced and directed several theatre projects before embarking on a career as an illustrator and a 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, with his wife and their son.
David Wyatt has illustrated books and covers for authors including Terry Pratchette, Philip Pullman, Diana Wynne-Jones, Alan Garner, and JRR Tolkien. He lives in Devon.
www.larklight.com
Philip Reeve was born and grew up in Brighton. He worked in a bookshop there and on various other projects before starting a career as an illustrator. Although he has been writing stories since he was very young, Mortal Engines was the first to be published - and to incredible critical acclaim. Philip lives in Devon.

Editorial Reviews

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 ½ 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 BurnsCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

"[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)

Kirkus Reviews

The sequel to LARKLIGHT finds adventurer Arthur Mumby, his heart-broken sister, Myrtle, and their "four-and-a-half-thousand-million-year-old" mother vacationing at an asteroid resort while their house is being redecorated. It doesn't take long before the trio meets eccentric characters, such as a brilliant professor who happens to be a plant; witnesses curious happenings, such as guests turning into trees while others are eaten by hats; and comes to understand that the hotel is filled with shape-shifters and time disturbances. The book becomes an uproarious mix of bizarre characters and circumstances, Victorian mores and British imperialism, and romps across time and space. Greg Steinbruner narrates for both Arthur and Myrtle, rockets through moods, orbits around themes, and gives stellar cameos of a French spy and a pirate turned British agent. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

JULY 2008 - AudioFile