Book Review: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
April 1, 2012 § 3 Comments
I haven’t reviewed a book on here for a long time, in part because there are approximately 291,329 bloggers out there who review books on a regular basis and do a bang-up job of it. In addition, I didn’t think many folks were stumbling across my blog because they were looking for book reviews (humorously, the only review that gets traffic is the only negative review I’ve given, which, for reasons I can’t comprehend, regularly gets traffic from Google searches). So I’ve abandoned giving regular reviews of what I’m reading, but when I come across something I particularly liked, I’ll still send it your way, which is what I’m doing right now.
In my endless quest for books for young adult boys, I was referred to Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel. It had airships and adventure, which made it easy for me to pick up, but once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down.
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt’s always wanted; convinced he’s lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist’s granddaughter that he realizes that the man’s ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.
In a swashbuckling adventure reminiscent of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Oppel, author of the best-selling Silverwing trilogy, creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.
In Airborn, Kenneth Oppel strikes a perfect balance between a fun voice and characters I really cared about. I can’t remember the last time I actually laughed out loud during a book, but with the dry and witty dialogue it was a regular occurrence while reading Airborn. There’s a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, but the love-interest is far from stereotypical as is their relationship.
Airborn is a great read for anyone looking for a good adventure and a bit of fun, and, while it’s a great book for boys, my wife also read and loved it.
I loved this book; and the sequel is well worth a read too
I enjoyed both the sequels, but I thought Airborn was the best. Both of the other two were still a lot of fun, but followed the same kind of pattern. I really wished they’d all built on each other more, but I thought Oppel did a great job upping the ante with each one.
Yeah, the first one was defiantly my favourite!