Starcross

I finally got around to reading Philip Reeve's Starcross: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel and Curious Hats (Bloomsbury USA, 2007; illustrated by David Wyatt), the sequel to YA steampunk novel Larklight (discussed here a few weeks ago; see that post for general background on the series' Victorians-in-space setting and characters).  The bad news: it's not as good as Larklight.  The concept is not as fresh, the adventure not as zany, and there's a real deus ex machina problem in the series now.  I also wasn't seeing the same SFnal homages thrown in; either they got a lot more obscure or Reeve got tired of planting in-jokes.

On the other hand, there are still brilliantly silly moments to enjoy, starting with the premise:

...the truth is that the British Empire stands on the brink of an invasion by highly intelligent hats from the future!

The opening is actually reasonably scary (much more so than the invading spideroids in Larklight).  There are delicious little worldbuilding moments, like the goblinoid Threls, who are industriously knitting a World Cosy for their chilly planet.  There is an unauthorized picture of Myrtle Mumby in her night attire, and numerous ones of her in the ultimate in Victorian-space-opera bathing costume, the patented Nereid.  Myrtle discovers some unexpected talents in this book, though that doesn't help much in her relationship with her younger brother and co-narrator Art.  I still feel that Myrtle is underdeveloped as a character and way too prissy, beyond the point of amusing and into annoying.  International politics are addressed,  and we meet Legion D'Outre Espace.  There are cheerful music hall ditties like "My Flat Cat."  And who could ever forget the mysterious drums-in-the-deep message:

They are aboard the ship!
They are at the door!
THE MOOBS!  THE MOOBS ARE COMING!

I can forgive Reeve much for the Moobs and the visuals with the hats.  And for the railroad that winds merrily through the asteroid belt.  And for the names of the asteroids, starting with the twins Modesty and Decorum and not ending with Abnegation, which was woven out of brown string by Presbyterians.  The colorful background-universe is still delightfully weird, but we don't see as many different pieces of it.  The plot (too good to be true holiday by the sea turns out to be, well, too good to be true) is slow to get going.  And, frankly, I could've done without the mother's presence; the adventures were more fun when it was just kids and assorted aliens.

There's enough to please me in Starcross that I'll probably stick with the series, but if you didn't love Larklight, this is not the book for you.  If you did like Larklight, or if you just want to be entertained by the worldbuilding without reading the books, visit Reeve's series website for amusing background goodies such as the Froward Hogweed (an impertinent Venusian bedding plant) and the Dreaded Twook, which gives off a smell perplexingly like that of wet corduroy.  Reeve really shines with these throwaway bits, much like J.K Rowling, and is clearly having way too much fun making them up.  Make sure you dig around enough to find A British Boy's Guide to the Planets and the list of asteroids!

Read Starcross for yourself:

 

Comments

[Serge]

I still feel that Myrtle is underdeveloped as a character and way too prissy, beyond the point of amusing and into annoying.

You may have brought this up before, but what the heck. Is Myrtle part of some literary tradition of the 19th Century where adventures stories aimed at boys had girls necessarily be pests that intrude into the wonderful world of boys?

Of course, my reference to adventures aimed at boys is kind of silly. Or were there adventures aimed at girls? Maybe there was a tradition of stories where girls had adventures, but only if they disguised themselves as boys.

[Paul A.]

an invasion by highly intelligent hats from the future!

It's been done.

[Susan de Guardiola]

Paul:
The collective wisdom of the Slightly Mauve Room at Philcon says, "huh, where?"

[Paul A.]

I am perhaps wrong: I'm going on fuzzy memories of something someone told me. But I'm confident that involved the future and intelligent hats bent on world domination in some combination. It was a movie, not a book, if that helps.

[Susan de Guardiola]

Serge? Movies about intelligent hats from the future bent on world domination?

I could easily believe that it's yet another homage in Starcross, but I haven't the faintest idea to what.

[Serge]

I can't think of any movie about world-conquering hats from the Future. Could it be a vaguely remembered early episode of Doctor Who? I don't think Quatermass ever fought bad hats.

[Neil Willcox]

Having failed to find Larklight, I am adding it to my Christmas Present list. I did find both Starcross and Mothstorm in the shops but resisted starting the series in the middle.

...the truth is that the British Empire stands on the brink of an invasion by highly intelligent hats from the future!

This sounds like a great dilemma for my friend who loves both hats and the British Empire.

[Susan de Guardiola]

Night of the Moobs!

[Susan de Guardiola]

Serge:
I've certainly read 20thc fiction in which boys considered their sisters pests (and vice-versa, for that matter). I don't know if it's a common enough idea to be considered a tradition.

[Serge]

Susan... Girls as pests... Let's not Susie, whose only friend is Calvin even though he treats her terribly bcause she's a girl. As for the other part of my question, was it uncommon in 19thC fiction to have girls disguise themselves as boys so that they can have adventures? (Yes, that does have to do with my own writing project, about which I did nothing after Sue's recovery, due my my being on holiday to take care of her while also handling the Big Project's deployment.)

[Paul A.]

A vaguely remembered early episode of Doctor Who, Serge? Perish the thought! I have clear memories of all Doctor Who episodes, even the ones I haven't seen. (I have read several episode guides cover-to-cover. For fun.)

Anyway, it was a recent movie.

[Paul A.]

Susan, is a Slightly Mauve Room like a Green Room, only painted by somebody with creative ideas about what qualifies as "green"?

[Serge]

Paul A... it was a recent movie

Hmmm. It still doesn't ring a bell, and I have seen (or read about) many SF movies in my life, crappy ones and good ones. By the way, ever seen First Spaceship to Venus? It's from the early 1960s, with effects that are primitive by modern standards, but it was quite representative of some SF movies of the era, which, despite their meager means, conveyed the feeling that these were people going deep into the Unknown. You don't see many movies like that these days.

[Susan de Guardiola]

Serge:
I don't read 19thc children's fiction, so I really have no idea! But I doubt there would have been much, if any, cross-dressing in it.

Paul:
I read a Who episode guide cover to cover once, but it was so long ago (around the time The Five Doctors came out) that a) it wasn't up to date with all the current stuff and b) I've forgotten most of it. But it was rather fun to read all the adventures as capsule descriptions. I suspect that some of the earlier ones are better that way. Having been spoiled by the recent series, I now find many of the early ones (third Doctor) very hard to watch.

I think the collective here for purposes of collective wisdom is too small to figure out what this movie with the hats is, but if you remember, let us know.

A Slightly Mauve Room is what happens at Philcon early Saturday mornings and may be attributed to a combination of disorganization and lack of sleep. More on this in a bit.

[Serge]

Susan... I doubt there would have been much, if any, cross-dressing in it

So did I, but I thought I'd ask anyway. It's long been my assumption that, when I make assumptions, I often make the wrong assumption. Well, it's no big deal, for the sake of my tale - it'd have been a throwaway reference.

[Paul A.]

Found it!

The film I was thinking of is Meet the Robinsons, a 2007 animated film in which (among other things) a highly intelligent robot hat from the future travels to the present in an attempt to create a world ruled by itself and its kind.

Doesn't quite count as "invasion by highly intelligent hats from the future", I guess, since there's only one highly intelligent hat (except in the brief glimpse of what the future will be like if it succeeds), and it's more infiltration-and-sabotage than all-out invasion.

Also, for most of the film we're led to believe that the real villain is the human who the hat is wearing as camouflage, and that carried over into the advertising, so if the collective wisdom hasn't actually seen the film that would explain why it didn't come to mind.

[Serge]

Paul A... Would you recommend the movie, or recommend staying away from it?

[Susan de Guardiola]

The Starcross thread revives itself!

I just went and watched the trailer and was duly impressed with the hat, though there appears to be only one. But it is in fact very similar to the hats in the book. Since both are dated 2007 I don't think there's either homage or plagiarism going on, but I really have to wonder what was in the water back in 2006!

(The movie doesn't look half bad, as animated movies go, either. I nominate Serge to watch it and tell the rest of us whether or not we should bother.)

[Serge]

Susan... I'll have to arrange for my wife not to be around, because this most likely isn't her cup of tea. I'll have to make sure it's ok to bump some things down the NetFlix queue, but I'll say it's for a good cause.

[Serge]

I put Meet the Robinsons on our NetFlix queue. I may get to watch it before the DVD arrives in our mailbox. How can that be? It appears to be one of the titles that I can watch directly on their site. The Future is here! And my movie review will be here in the Near Future.

[Marilee J. Layman]

Yeah, but you have to watch it on Explorer. Ick. Besides, I spend enough time online. (I may skip LJ & ML today, I hurt a lot and expect to take codeine soon.)

[Susan de Guardiola]

Careful, gentle, non-pain-inducing virtual hugs, Marilee. Codeine is a great thing; I hope it makes you sleep well and wake up pain-free.

[Serge]

Marilee... What Susan said. As for watching movies off the internet, I don't mind. In fact, I've been following the episode of Galactica that's available only on the SciFi Channel's site. The bottom line is that I've been given a mission by our Rixosous Hostess.