Review of the Day: Starcross (Part Two)

(CONTINUED FROM PART ONE)

I was shocked when I came to the undeniable conclusion that my favorite character, despite my best intentions, was the bespectacled Myrtle.  Myrtle is a difficult character to love sometimes.  She insists on deviating as little from the norm as possible, but simply thrives when she’s no longer limited to the standard Victorian ethics she so admires.  You can’t help but be amused when she’s forced to spend most of this book in a remarkably useful set of bathing gear.  And man, when I saw that two-faced Jack Havock drooling over the lovely Miss Beauregard all I wanted was for Myrtle to walk over and remove the French woman’s curls, hair by hair if necessary.  How dare that hussy distract the attention of our glasses-wearing heroine?  And by the way, reading “Starcross” I started wondering why girls are allowed to wear glasses in science fiction more than any other genre.  There’s this series.  There’s “A Wrinkle in Time”.  There’s “The Girl With the Silver Eyes”.  Wherefore this trend, I wonder?

The only real problem that comes with reviewing a book of this sort in its Advanced Readers Copy form is that I haven’t seen all of David Wyatt’s lovely pictures.  I remember that when I reviewed “Larklight” it was with shock and amazement that months later I learned of the multitude of pictures that appeared in the final product.  Wyatt only puts hints of images in the ARCs of this book, so I cannot tell you whether or not they are as lovely as the first.  I am sure that they will be, though.  You can’t help but enjoy pictures where everyone and everything is doffing silk top hats left and right.

If you’re foolish enough to have not yet read “Larklight”, citing such piss poor reasons as “I don’t do sci-fi” or “Space scares me”, overcome your personal weaknesses and give the book a shot.  After that, “Starcross” is bound to please one and all.  Now I feel like there’s something I’ve forgotten to mention in this review… what was it… what was it… AHA!  The opinion of children!  After all, this book is supposedly written for them.  Well, I can attest for a fact that you won’t find any children’s reviews of “Larklight” on Amazon.com.  What are we to take from that?  This is one of those books that’s going to hit a very specific segment of the population.  It’s not for the unwashed masses one and all.  It’s for a kid here and a kid there who will find themselves sucked into Reeve’s world and never want to let go.  Here’s looking forward to the next book in the series!

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On shelves October 16th.

Notes on the Cover: Bloomsbury has taken an all-new tack when it comes to the covers in this series.  The original “Larklight” book jacket was very tasteful and elegant, but not particularly child-friendly.  Truth be told, it was a bit of a shelf sitter.  Now the publisher has decided to ratchet up the look.  They’ve a new paperback cover of “Larklight” coming out in the fall that will feature Jack and his pistols.  Using the same style, “Starcross” shows both heroes and villains front and center as top-hatted fishies swim above.  I question the wisdom of placing Miss Beauregard right smack dab in the middle, but it really is as lovely cover.  A whopper of nice images and pretty colors. 

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