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Title: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel ISBN: 0-06-053180-0 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 11 May, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Superb Adventure!!
Comment: Wow, what a fantastic adventure. I was a little skeptical to read it as the cover didn't seem very interesting, but after I started reading Airborn, I was enthusiatically entralled. Airborn brings together the ideas of Treasure Island and Treasure Planet for a gripping adventure. The descriptive, vivid writing of Kenneth Oppel makes the reader feel they are there expereincing all the ups and downs of the characters. I enjoyed accompanying Matt and Kate aboard the airship, Aurora, as they search for an uncharted species that Kate's grandfather had briefly documented before he died aboard a hotair balloon. Pirates, a shipwreck, a typhoon, jumping snakes, and a beautiful yet deadly uncharted species makes the book hard to put down. Bravo Mr. Oppel! Well done!
Rating: 4
Summary: Not your typical Treasure Island
Comment: "Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes." This is a normal occurrence for Matt Cruse, cabin boy aboard the Aurora, a luxury class passenger and cargo ship, and a fitting beginning to this book. What should be a normal voyage becomes an exciting adventure as the Aurora is boarded by pirates, caught in a typhoon, and shipwrecked on an uncharted tropical island where Matt and his friends make an amazing discovery.
This book isn't your typical Treasure Island, however. The Aurora is an airship (think the Good Year Blimp with a full crew and rich passengers) that sails the skies 800 feet above the ocean surface. The airplane has never been invented, and the airships are powered by a light-weight gas called hydrium (a mango-scented gas than all other molecules and pushes any other air out of the space it is in) and propellers to guide the ships through the air.
In this tale, the Aurora, and more specifically Matt Cruse, rescues a stranded balloonist over the Pacificus. One year later, the balloonist's granddaughter, Kate, appears as a passenger on the ship, intent on finding a mysterious creature her grandfather saw on his final voyage. Kate shares her grandfather's story with Matt, who aids her in her quest. Together they face many dangers, including the wrath of Kate's overbearing chaperone, Miss Simpkins, who does not feel that proper ladies should associate with the crew of an airship.
This book is very well written. Kenneth Oppel describes the events, people and places fully, without letting potentially gruesome incidents get to graphic. All of the plot lines intertwine gracefully throughout the narrative until they connect in the book's climax. The characters are interesting and multi-dimensional. For example, Matt's overwhelming sense of duty and single-minded protectiveness of the Aurora contrasts with his sense of adventure and his new friendship with Kate in which he often must choose between her and the ship. Kate is willful and adventurous. She can take care of herself, but is not beyond asking for help when she needs to do so. Even the "villains" in this book have multiple sides. Captain Szpirglas of the pirate ship loots every ship he can, but is only violent when he needs to be in order keep the crew and passengers under control. He also has a soft and caring side that no one would suspect.
The places in this book make it realistic despite the fantasy element of airships instead of airplanes. For example, the Aurora is traveling from the west coast of North America to Sydney, Australia, and the Air Academy where some people study to be airship crew is located in Paris. The book has a historical feel to it, with the oceans called the Atlanticus and Pacificus, the women in long dresses and jewelry aboard the ship, and the notion that women should not have adventures or go to university. The characters, however, have a more modern feel to them, especially Kate, who does not buy into the ideals of her society and intends to make great discoveries of her own and make sure that no one else takes the credit.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fantasies, pirate stories, adventures or teenage heros.
Rating: 5
Summary: Interesting Addition to the Teen Fiction Genre
Comment: Matt Cruise is a cabin boy on a tremendous airship that sails hundreds of thousands of feet above the ocean, ferrying enormously wealthy passengers from city to city. The airship is known as the Aurora, and Matt is ecstatic to have the chance to fly upon this ship day in and day out. It's what he's always dreamed of, as he often images himself as the gas that powers the ship. One night while aboard the Aurora, Matt meets a dying balloonist, who tells Matt about all kinds of beautiful creatures that drift through the skies. Matt, knowing that this sounds crazy, ignores what the man says. But later, when he meets the man's granddaughter, Matt realizes that the man's ravings could very well have been true. And that the creatures in which he spoke about, are completely true.
As a fan of Kenneth Oppel's SILVERWING trilogy, I was ecstatic to hear about his newest addition to the literary world, AIRBORN. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed in even the slightest way. AIRBORN is an exciting thrill-ride of an adventure, that takes the reader through space, and clouds, where we get to meet up with pirates, voyagers, and all types of other humans and creatures who tour the sky day and night. Matt was an exciting character, who will be loved by readers, as he is very optimistic, and intelligent, and his imagination is much like a childs, what with his constant fantasies about sailing through the sky, and being the gas that powers the airship. Fans of Oppel's SILVERWING trilogy will find it hard to put down AIRBORN.
Erika Sorocco
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Title: Firewing by Kenneth Oppel ISBN: 0689849931 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Sunwing (Aladdin Fantasy) by Kenneth Oppel ISBN: 0689832877 Publisher: Aladdin Pub. Date: 10 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: SILVERWING by Kenneth Oppel ISBN: 0689825587 Publisher: Aladdin Pub. Date: 01 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1) by Jonathan Stroud ISBN: 078681859X Publisher: Miramax Kids Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, Anthea Bell ISBN: 0439531640 Publisher: Chicken House Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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