Larklight by Philip Reeve Review

Title – Larklight

Author – Philip Reeve

Illustrator – David Wyatt

Published/Publisher – December 2018 / Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Genre – science fiction, steampunk, fantasy, young adult, Fiction, Adventure

Pages – 416

Summary from Goodreads
Arthur (Art) Mumby and his irritating sister Myrtle live with their father in the huge and rambling house, Larklight, travelling through space on a remote orbit far beyond the Moon. One ordinary sort of morning they receive a correspondence informing them that a gentleman is on his way to visit, a Mr Webster. Visitors to Larklight are rare if not unique, and a frenzy of preparation ensues. But it is entirely the wrong sort of preparation, as they discover when their guest arrives, and a Dreadful and Terrifying (and Marvellous) adventure begins. It takes them to the furthest reaches of Known Space, where they must battle the evil First Ones in a desperate attempt to save each other – and the Universe. Recounted through the eyes of Art himself, Larklight is sumptuously designed and illustrated throughout.

My Thoughts

4 out of 5 Stars

Well this was such a great read. I had so much fun reading this book. This was such a well written book with such a great premise. The story was set in the 1800’s in the Victorian era but the twist was that it is in space. I loved the plot, it was such an interesting idea and the author wrote it so well. I enjoyed the characters and watching them develop. The authors writing was on point and I really fell in love with this book. I won’t go into details of the plot so I don’t ruin it but I do highly reccomend this to everyone.

Another thing that made this story amazing was the illustrations. They were so stunning and added a whole extra dimension to the book.

I cannot wait to read the other books in this series and I urge you all to give this one a go.

Disclaimer – I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. This does not affect my opinions which are my own.

The Killing Joke by Christa Faust and Gary Phillips Review

Title – The Killing Joke

Author – Christa Faust and Gary Phillips

Published/Publisher – September 2018 / Titan Books

Genre – Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction , DC Comics

Pages – 336

Summary from Goodreads
A tragic, unnamed engineer-turned-criminal is immersed in chemicals that disfigure him bizarrely, driving him mad and thus giving birth to the Joker. While the insane criminal is imprisoned, Batman and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) patrol Gotham City together, taking down perps such as the crime boss Maxie Zeus. Simultaneously Detective Harvey Bullock works with Commissioner James Gordon to take down a drug factory. Back in Arkham Asylum, Joker learns of a new technology he wants to acquire and escapes, setting out on a mission designed to break the Commissioner, forcing him to abandon his ideals as a police officer. In a violent home invasion he shoots and cripples Barbara, then takes Gordon hostage. Batman races to rescue Gordon, ultimately confronting his arch-foe in an amusement park fun house. This edgy adaptation by Hard Case Crime novelist Christa Faust expands upon the cast and adds intricate layers to the events of the graphic novel, further examining the nature of morality.

My Thoughts

3 out of 5 Stars

I am going to start by saying that I haven’t read the killing joke graphic novel in which this story is the novelization.

I have mixed feelings about how I feel about this book. On one hand I loves getting to find out why the Joker became who he was and I enjoyed the events that happened in the last third of the book. But on the other hand I felt like parts dragged and I found myself getting bored in parts and I kept hoping the Joker would be in it a bit more.

The Joker is one of my favourite villains and I was so excited to read this and learn his back story, however most of this book fell flat for me and I was left a bit dissappointed. The last third did make up for it though and I really enjoyed that part the best.