LARKLIGHT

Philip Reeve has written a rollicking space adventure as an alternative Victorian reality. The British Empire spans the universe, gravity is measured in British Standard Gravity (BSG), and the moon is a convict colony for petty criminals. Greg Steinbruner deftly narrates the tale of Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle making an emergency escape from Larklight, their rambling home in space, and signing up with space pirates in order to save the Empire from an army of enormous spiders. Steinbruner portrays Art as a kind of " Boy's Own" chap with old-fashioned attitudes but daring and gung-ho. When the two siblings are separated, we get Myrtle's prim and proper diary with both swoon and spunk. Marvelous fun for child and adult alike. A.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]