Airborn

Airborn

by Kenneth Oppel

Have you heard of the RMS Titanic? It was the largest ship of its day (1912) and was 269 meters in length. Let’s say we measured that out here on campus. If the bow (or the front) of the ship was at the main library doors, then the stern (or the back) of the ship would be at the soccer goal furthest from campus! Now… let’s take a ship the size of the Titanic and make it an airship! Crazy, right?!

In Airborn – a fantasy, scifi, steampunk, adventure story by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel – that luxury airship is called the Aurora and 15 year old Matt Cruse is one of the Aurora’s cabin boys. After a thrilling opening where Matt impresses the captain and crew by bravely risking his own life, the book settles down for a few chapters and we learn more about Matt and his past, the Aurora, her crew, and the alternate Victorian era in which the book is set. It is a time when airships rule and passengers fly in luxury across the Pacificus and the Atlanticus. The skies aren’t always friendly and just as on the high seas, pirates are not uncommon. Once Aurora encounters a pirate ship – the dread pirate Szpirglas! – Matt and his new friend, Kate, are grounded with the Aurora and find not one, but two, big surprises on an uncharted island.

This book is a great mix of science fiction (steampunk) and adventure. It isn’t surprising that it won the Printz Award and that teens really continue to love this book. It is set in a familiar but alternative historical world to our own and I enjoyed the details of what was alternative and what was still true in our world. It was really fast paced after the Aurora met the pirates and the action kept me turning pages as fast as I could go until the end.

If you liked Larklight, Airman, Leviathan, or anything steampunk, you’ll probably enjoy Airborn.