Reviews

Oppel outdoes himself every time, developing a complex world with a rich and enticing atmosphere, creating a fast-paced plot of action and adventure, and scripting quirky and eclectic characters, all factors that make Skybreaker a worthy sequel to Airborn. 

– Calgary Herald 

There are few writers for kids anywhere in the world who write pure adventure quite so well as Kenneth Oppel. Iain Lawrence comes to mind, especially in his High Seas trilogy. But Oppel's latest novels are . . . well, higher. The ships of which he speaks are rigged and sailed and subject to the vagaries of storms and pirates, but they are ships of the air, zeppelins, massive frigates of the sky.

– Globe & MailL (Toronto)

A New Statesman Book of the Year. For children of ten-plus, Kenneth Oppel's Skybreaker is an irresistibly ebullient blend of adventure, mystery and romance set on an airship concealing a fortune in gold. It dragged my son back to enjoying reading

– New Statesman (UK) 

"A rollicking adventure... A grand, no-holds-barred imagination." 

– Toronto Star 

The action rarely flags in this old-fashioned adventure tale, set in an alternative universe in the earlier part of the 20th century, and readers, especially thos who read Airborn, will enjoy the thrilling ride.

– KLIATT (starred review)

Oppel does it again! This action-packed sequel to Airborn starts with a bang and doesn't let up until the satisfying ending.... This worthy companion to Airborn maintains its roller-coaster thrills in true swashbuckling style. 

– School Library Journal 

Matt Cruse, now 16 and a student at the Airship Academy in Paris, is swept into another sky adventure even richer and more surprising than the one in Airborn.... Creative, compelling, nicely unpredictable and alive with nature and technology.

– Kirkus

After the excitement of his encounters with pirates, cloud cats, and the rich and alluring Kate de Vries, Matt Cruse finds life at the Airship Academy significantly anticlimactic. When, on a training mission, he glimpses the legendary Hyperion, the ghost airship that is the relic of a crazed jillionaire's last hurrah, he sees a fast-track to the wealth he needs to woo Kate properly. Enter shady thugs, a mysterious gypsy girl, and the dashing captain of the fabulous skybreaker Sagarmatha, an airship especially designed to attain the extreme altitudes where the Hyperion drifts, ripe for salvage. Whereas Airborn was almost entirely (and exhilaratingly) plot-driven, this sequel manages to delve into its characters even as it delivers yet another breakneck flight through the skies of its beguiling alternative world. The romantic tensions among the four adventurers headed for the Hyperion allow plenty of opportunity to explore their personalities as they steer the Saga toward the ghost ship. Killing altitudes, conflicting agendas, and the ruthlessness of the Aruba Consortium goons who are also intent on capturing
the wealth and secrets of the Hyperion provide more than enough material for heart-stopping action scenes that will please even the most jaded of readers. 

– The Horn Book (starred review)

When you buy Kenneth Oppel’s Skybreaker, prepare to clear your schedule: you won’t be able to put down this ripping good yarn. In the sequel to Airborn,we reunite with Matt Cruse, now struggling with classes at the Airship Academy, and his love interest Kate de Vries, scientist-in-training. The two friends, along with Captain Hal Slater and Nadira, a mysterious Roma girl,are racing to find the Hyperion, a long-lost airship Matt has sighted during a training mission. Reportedly full of treasure, the Hyperion represents a salvager’s dream and, once the word is out that the ship has been found, it’s a cutthroat and potentially deadly competition to get to it first. In Hal’s prototype vessel (the Skybreaker of the title), they reach the fabled ship, but face dangers from pirates, the natural world, and each other, as they struggle with avarice, jealousy, and pride.

Like its predecessor, Skybreaker is distinguished by stellar prose, engaging characters, and a minute attention to detail that makes even the most fantastic elements totally believable: indeed, you’ll ache with disappointment that this world doesn’t really exist. The Hyperion is a veritable menagerie of wonder, with fabled beasts (including a stuffed Yeti), an engineerium full of amazing inventions, and, possibly, the restless spirits of dead crew.

Oppel has also produced complex characters: the heroes are flawed, and the villains ambiguous. While the crew’s enemies are less colourful than those in Airborn, they are just a backdrop for the dramatic conflicts between the protagonists, who struggle to decide who among them is friend or foe. A ompelling psychological thriller in addition to a great old-fashioned adventure tale, this is an enthralling read for ages 10 and up.

– Quill & Quire (starred review)

There are few writers for kids anywhere in the world who write pure adventure quite so well as Kenneth Oppel. Iain Lawrence comes to mind, especially in his High Seas trilogy. But Oppel's latest novels are . . . well, higher. The ships of which he speaks are rigged and sailed and subject to the vagaries of storms and pirates, but they are ships of the air, zeppelins, massive frigates of the sky.

– Globe & MailL (Toronto)