Mothstorm

Today’s post is on “Mothstorm” by Philip Reeve, it is decorated throughout by David Wyatt and is the third in the Larklight series. It is 387 pages long and is published by Bloomsbury Publishing. The cover has Art Mumby, his sister Myrtle, the sky pirate Jack, and Charity Cruet looking ready for fun and adventure with a sky ship behind them and the planet Uranus… I mean Georgium Sidus. The intended reader is older children and tweens but anyone with a love of the classic pulp novel will love this series. There is nothing in this book or series to make it unsuitable to read, there is no sex, no language, and all the action is fun. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Say it isn’t so! A sinister cloud has appeared on the edge of the Known Universe, and it seems to be moving closer. The nearest planet, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary reverend Cruet and his daughter, Charity. Their last communication? ‘Great danger- imperative that-‘ And then nothing. To determine the nature of the threat and rescue that Cruets, Art, Myrtle and family decide to bravely to bravely go where only one man and his daughter have gone before.
But the mothy evils they discover within the monstrous cloud are far beyond anything their imaginations could concoct (and that’s saying quite a lot). Lucky, then, that Jack Havock is hot on their heels to help in the battle to save the Universe… again.

Review- The Larklight series is so much fun. Reeve is writing in the style of the adventure pulps from the 1800’s. Everything is dramatic, fun, and just full of adventures in the unknown. The characters are not the central point of the story, just like in the pulp novels, but they are interesting and important. The main thing to remember when reading this series is to have fun with it. Reeve is clearly having fun writing it, so do not take anything too serious about the story because he is not. The illustrations are fun and help the reader get a better idea about the strange and wondrous things that Art and company come into contact with. Some of the old plot points like what Ssilissa is and where she came from and how to save Jack’s parents from being trees on Venus are answered. All in all I found this one a very satisfying read and I am still looking forward to the next book. With this series I am always looking forward to the next book. Reeve is an excellent writer and if you are looking for something with Steampunk or humorous over the top adventures then he is the guy to go to.

I give this book Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.