Larklight Books in Order

The Larklight trilogy is a space fantasy with the manners, clothes, and adventurous tone of a Victorian-era tale. Its version of the British Empire has expanded beyond Earth, with homes orbiting the Moon, expeditions to Mars, and all sorts of alarming creatures living in the dark between worlds.

Art Mumby tells the story, usually with help from his much more forceful sister, Myrtle.

The first book, Larklight, begins at the Mumby family's rambling house in space. Art and Myrtle expect a visitor, but instead their home is invaded by strange spider-like creatures. Their escape carries them through a solar system full of danger, odd allies, and secrets involving their family.

In Starcross, the siblings visit a hotel on a small asteroid and find themselves caught up in a mystery involving time, missing people, and an unsettling disturbance connected to Mars. Mothstorm sends them into an even bigger struggle as the solar system faces a threat that reaches far beyond their own household.

The books are illustrated by David Wyatt, whose dark, detailed art helps sell the mix of elegant drawing rooms, airships, monsters, and distant planets. Reeve writes the narrator in an old-fashioned style, but the pace is lively and the jokes often come from Art's attempts to be polite while everything around him becomes impossible.

Art is cautious and bookish. Myrtle is bold, impatient, and usually already halfway into the next disaster. Their sibling bickering gives the adventures warmth, while their parents and an unusual cast of allies keep opening the world beyond the front door.

Start with Larklight. The trilogy is one continuing family adventure, and the first book introduces the Mumby household, its strange solar system, and the threat that grows across the later volumes.