When the festive season arrives at Larklight, so does some unsettling news. A sinister-looking cloud is fast approaching the outskirts of the Known Universe. The closest planet, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary Rev. Cruet and his daughter Charity. Their most recent communication read: 'Great danger - imperative that'. And so, aboard a Naval gunship, Art, Myrtle and family bravely go where only one man and his daughter have gone before, to determine the nature of the menacing cloud and rescue the Cruets. But the evil which awaits them is far beyond their imagining, and it looks as though Mother may have finally Met Her Match. Lucky, then, that Jack Havock is hot on their heels to help in the battle to save the Universe (again) from an evil demigod and army of blue lizards, intent on deposing none other than Queen Victoria, to this gain control of the Universe.
Review
"As the Mumby family gathers to celebrate Christmas at Larklight, their Earth-orbiting home, a dire message arrives alerting them of a "Great Danger" threatening the universe. The family sets off across the solar system to Georgium Sidus (aka Uranus) to find out what is wrong. So begins Art and Myrtle Mumby's latest space adventure. The danger turns out to be the Mothmaker, a malevolent Shaper or creator of planetary systems. It is determined to conquer the worlds, including Earth, created by another Shaper, Mrs. Mumby, and enslave the creatures, including humans, created by her. A series of exciting and entertaining episodes involving various characters and imaginative creatures leads up to a final confrontation between the Mothmaker and Art, Myrtle, and their companions at Balmoral Castle. While the story is told primarily from the point of view of Art, who is prone to use inflated language, Myrtle's diary entries are inserted throughout and include amusing commentary. The unlikely, somewhat awkward romance between the prim and proper Myrtle and Jack Havock is back on, much to Art's chagrin. Mothmaker is a clever blending of genres including science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure with a liberal dash of British humor and style. One might describe it as a cross between science fiction, action movie, soap opera, and situation comedy. In sum, it's simply a jolly good read."-School Library Journal
Author Biography
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 with this wife and son. David Wyatt has worked on many beautiful covers for authors including Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman and JRR Tolkien. He lives in Devon, and is a keen Lutist, cyclist, and wanderer of the moors.
