Starcross

Starcross; or, The Coming of the Moobs; or, Our Adventures in the Fourth Dimension: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel, and Curious Hats
As Narrated by Art Mumby, Esq. (& Miss Myrtle Mumby) to Their Amanuensis, Mr Philip Reeve, & Illuminated Throughout by David Wyatt
MG fantasy. 370 pp.
Bloomsbury. 2007.

flap copy:

There is an old saying: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Take the holiday that Art Mumby, his mostly irritating younger sister, Myrtle, and their mother take to Starcross, a hotel which advertises itself as the finest sea-bathing resort in the entire Asteroid Belt. The fact that there are no seas anywhere in the Asteroid Belt should be the first sign that the place is not what it seems.

Sure enough, Art and family quickly find themselves grappling with French spies, Yankee rebels, and man-eating starfish, not to mention an awful lot of sinister top hats. With stops to the future and back to prehistoric Mars, it's all Art can do to keep his head about him. Which is all the more important, considering everyone else is losing theirs.

Starcross continues the Larklight saga, and it's every bit as enjoyable as the first one. What's especially nice is the quick pacing, especially from the get go. Of course, this is possible because the world has already been set up, and we know how to approach it. Art is still quite enjoyable in all his proper British stiff upper lipness.

I'm looking forward to Mothstorm's release on October 14.

Other reviews:
B. E.
Abby (the) Librarian