Summer Fun, Victorian Style!

Guest blog by Heather -

With the temperatures rising, don't you long for a really fun book? A book that won't make you think too hard, won't make you moan over the sorry state of the world and won't make you feel utterly depressed in the morning?

Have I got a deal for you! Pull up your hammock, grab a tall frosty glass of lemonade and dive into

Larklight
or
The Revenge of the White Spiders!,
or
To Saturn's rings and back! :
A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the farthest reaches of Space.

No kidding. Don't you want to smile already?

"Larklight" is a wonderful addition to the genera of literature known in the United States as "Steampunk" (a sad choice of a name, especially since "punk" carries rather dystopian connotations). In Britain this same genera is also known as "Scientific Romances". That's much more fun, don't you think?

What is Steampunk you ask?
Think of it this way - what if Jules Verne were right?
Or - what if the information age had happened during the industrial age?

Hmm… let me make this easier.

• Take the charm of Victorian manners ("The ship is on fire! Tea anyone?"), the beauty of Victorian costumes (lovely gloves and hats!) and the richness of Victorian furnishings (deeply tufted leather chairs, rich velvets, shining brass and delicate Chinese porcelain).
• Now take all the wonders of our time (computers, jets, the telephone, space travel, etc) and twist our wonders them until they fit in with the Victorian era.

What would you have?

That's exactly the question that Steampunk asks, and the answer is loads of fun. Steam powered dirigibles (or aetherships as they might be called), rayguns made in the most meticulous fashion, robot butlers and lots of brass goggles!


Someone steampunked their computer!Fun, no?


Ah, but back to our story…

Larklight is a lovely house that sits just outside the moon's orbit. Aboard you'll find a host of wonderful servants and devices that keep Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle busy while their father studies Ichthyomorphs (space fish) in his laboratory.

And then, one day, a message arrives…. a Mr. Webster is coming to visit.
*cue suspenseful music*

Come now, you don't want me to ruin it for you, did you??
OK, I'll give you a few hints. It involves space pirates, Martians and… Giant Spiders!!!!

This is a great book to read aloud for the whole family, but will be most enjoyed by teenagers and up. Of course, those who have a familiarity with British Victoriana are going to get all the jokes, but that just makes it more fun. Ah, the benefits of a classical education…

The book is delightfully tongue in cheek and deadly serious at the same time.

After you get done with this book, there are two more in the series! But be sure to read them in order, or you'll ruin the surprises.

StarCross
Or
The Coming of the Moobs!
Or
Our Adventures in the Fourth Dimension!
A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel and Curious Hats

and

MothStorm
or
The Horror from Beyond Uranus Georgium Sidus!
Or
A Tale of Two Shapers
A Rattling Yarn of Danger, Dastardy and Derring-Do upon the Far Frontiers of British Space

(I have "Mothstorm" in my hands right now and the first chapter already has me giggling. Yup. Giggling.)

Login to your local library web site and reserve a copy of "Larklight" right away.
And chill that lemonade. You're going to need it.

Did I mention the wonderful drawings?




OH! One more thing. If you'd like to dive into something Steampunk-ish right away, might I suggest a wonderful web comic called "Girl Genius"?
This version of steampunk doesn’t take place on earth as we know it, has lots of big death rays, over the top heroics, lots of brass cogs and is affectionately known as a "Gaslight Romance". It starts out in black and white and then switches to color. There are several years worth of installments in the story, so start at the beginning and enjoy! (No library card necessary.)



A final word: Seems that a major studio has decided to make a movie out of Larklight. I'm devastated! I know they'll ruin it!
Read the book now, so you can have your own fond memories before Hollywood trashes the thing.