Hardcover ( )

Steampunk space pirates! Giant spiders from outer space! Adventure, fights, and the exploration of our solar system full of magnificent alien species. Clearly written by someone who watches Firefly and with Star Trek references, this book has lovely illustrations of horrible creatures and a fun story. ( )

Fun and silly and light-hearted. I really enjoyed this. It's Victorian pulp sci-fi! ( )

To put it simply, this book was just good, solid fun.

The premise is a fantastical and original one...a warped timeline involving the conquering of space by the British empire during the Victorian era. That's right; people have already journeyed to Jupiter and beyond, and there are countless fun and fascinating gadgets, creatures, and concepts that populate this rousing space adventure.

Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle (who he doesn't think too highly of, seeing as she's very concerned with being stuffy and proper) live in a huge, pieces-parts house orbiting off the moon, called Larklight. Which is a fairly normal existance apparently...until a mysterious and terrifying gang of monstrous white spiders show up, overrun Larklight, and force Art and Myrtle to evacuate into deep space, where their adventures begin. And this book really does know the meaning of "adventure."

There's the attack of the terrifying Potter Moth and its hungry offspring. There's the teenage space pirate Jack Havock and his weird and endearing crew of alien denizens. There's the intergalactic plot to take back the galaxy in the name of an ancient race. There's the secrets behind Art's mother's disappearance. There's the potential destruction of London. And that's just the half of it.

Art narrates in spectacular British style, with all the prim and hilarious idiosyncrisies of the culture. Myrtle's inserted diary entries give her unique perspective throughout as well. And mainly, the sheer audacity of the author creating all these eccentric new ideas and characters is wonderful, balancing between being over-the-top and just plain likable. And the old-fashioned sketch illustrations on nearly every page add a lot as well.

Just a fun, light read, but I can't wait to get the next one. ( )

Entirely delightful, with a rambunctious sense of wonder unimpeded by any stodgy reality, but still sensibly anchored in realistic processes. Adventure of the Jules Verne variety, with plenty of swashbuckling for the young (and young at heart). ( )