''Mothstorm'' is a middle grade novel by

Philip Reeve Philip Reeve (born 28 February 1966) is an English author and illustrator of children's books, primarily known for the 2001 book '' Mortal Engines'' and its sequels (the 2001 to 2006 '' Mortal Engines Quartet''). His 2007 novel, '' Here Lies Ar ...

and released in October 2008. Illustrated by David Wyatt, it is the third book in the Larklight Trilogy, sequel to the 2007 novel ''

Starcross Starcross is a village with a 2021 census recorded population of 1,694 situated on the west shore of the Exe Estuary in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon. The village is popular in summer with leisure craft, and is home to one of t ...

''.

Plot

The novel begins with scientists noticing a mysterious cloud apparently nearing Earth through the Solar System. Eventually the issue comes to Mrs Mumby's ears and she manages to convince the British government to send a ship to Georgium Sidus (

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...

) to investigate. Mrs Mumby also takes her children upon the expedition, Art and Myrtle. Upon arriving to the edge of the cloud the explorers realise that the cloud consists of a great flock of giant moths, and within the cloud lies a miniature solar system inhabited by the blue lizards, called the Snilth, created and controlled by the Mothmaker, who is later revealed to be a Rogue Maker. As the ship nears, Mothstorm is attacked by Moth riders, During the ambush Art, Ulla and Sir Richard manage to evacuate and float down onto the surface of Georgium Sidus where they later come in contact with mer-people who live in the gas oceans. Jack and his crew are able to spot Art's signal flare and arrive to take them off the gas planet. In the meantime, Myrtle and Mrs Mumby are taken along with the crew of the ship to the Mothmaker, at which point Mrs Mumby recognises the Mothmaker as a fellow maker and the Mothmaker kills her. Mrs Mumby later retakes the form of one of her old bodies when she meets up with Art and the crew of the Sophronia on the tin moon. She takes with her a small vial of essence which is able to kill a Maker. By this time Mothstorm reaches Earth and the Snilth launch an invasion on England. In a turn of events Art, Mrs Mumby and Myrtle are able to kill the Mothmaker, and the Snilth all turn to Myrtle of all people to teach them all how to become gentle ladies, and make Sillisa their queen after they discover that she is a descendant of a long lost line of queens, the last of which had attempted to rebel against the Mothmaker. The book ends with the Snilth leaving Earth to put their mini sun to orbit Hades (

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

) and inhabit the planet under the rule of Sillisa. Meanwhile, as a reward for Jack's services, enough

antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...

is produced to turn back all the Venusian colonists.

Characters

*Mrs Mumby - Art and Myrtle's mother, a Shaper who had at first created the Solar System. *Art - Most of the book is written from his view. Art is keen on learning and exploring, and is friends with the reformed pirate Jack. *Myrtle - Spoilt young lady, Art's sister. Extracts from her diary are used in the book. *Jack - Previously pirate, now agent in the service of the Queen, Myrtle's lover. *Mothmaker - Rogue Shaper, controller of Mothstorm.

Reception

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' called it "'Remarkable . . . Out of this world.'" ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' said "this tale will satisfy fans in inimitably jolly fashion."

References

{{Philip Reeve 2008 British novels 2008 science fiction novels 2008 children's books British science fiction novels British alternative history novels British children's novels British young adult novels Children's science fiction novels Young adult science fiction novels Novels set on Venus Children's books set on Venus Novels set on Jupiter Novels set on Uranus Novels set on Neptune Novels set on Pluto Larklight trilogy Novels by Philip Reeve Bloomsbury Publishing books