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Airborn (novel)
Encyclopedia
Airborn is a 2004 young adult novel by Kenneth Oppel
. The book won the Canada's Governor General's Award. Airborn is set in a time where the primary form of air transportation are airships. The technological advancements in the story appear to depict a world similar to that of the 1930s or 1940s, but the airplane has not been invented and the Earth contains hydrium, a fictional gas lighter than hydrogen, as well as fictional flying creatures live their entire lives in the sky. These suggests that the book takes place in an alternate reality. The book takes place aboard a transoceanic airship, the Aurora, and is told through the perspective of its cabin boy, Matt Cruse
. The third book in the series, Starclimber
alludes to the series taking place somewhere before or after World War I
as there are references to arch duke Franz Ferdinand
as well as women's suffrage
. This novel inspired the album "The Airship" of Adam Young's melody and instrumental driven project "Port Blue".
is called the Aurora, which runs for a luxury airline. When we first enter the story, we see him while he is on duty in the crow's nest, scanning the skies for anything unusual. He soon spots a dark balloon drifting a few hundred feet away. The balloon is heavily damaged, and when Matt receives permission to board the balloon from the Aurora's captain, he finds an old man lying unconscious in the gondola. Matt rescues the Old Man, but he dies shortly afterward, rambling about 'Beautiful Creatures'. The story cuts abruptly to one year later when the Aurora is embarking from Matt's home; Lionsgate City, on another journey to Sydney. Matt admits that, although he loves his Mother and sisters dearly, he is relieved to be aloft again, for he only feels truly at ease in the air. When airborne Matt feels closest to his father, and he was born in the air it is his natural element. Matt frequently reminisces about his father (who died years previously when he fell from the top of the ship while making repairs) as an idol, and an admirable person, airship sailmaker, and father. His father gave him a compass for his tenth birthday, which he carries with him always. Matt aspires to be an excellent sailmaker like his father, but also dreams of becoming a Captain of one of the majestic airships himself. Back aboard the ship, Matt's relief is ruined by terrible news; he was promised the position of the sailmaker, but the place is given to Bruce Lunardi, a boy who just graduated from the Airship Academy and whose father, Otto Lunardi, is the wealthy owner of not only the Aurora but of many other airships as well.
One day, just after the Aurora sets sail, a small aircraft lands on the ship, bringing aboard 2 passengers: Kate de Vries
and her chaperone, Miss Marjorie Simpkins. Matt learns that the old man
he rescued was Kate's grandfather and Kate will stop at nothing to prove that the creatures that her grandfather saw were real. Kate shares her grandfather's journal containing detailed drawings and information of the creatures with Matt. The creatures are born in the air and can stay in the air forever, never touching the ground, though they are as large as a panther
.
A few nights later, the ship is raided in the dead of night by pirate led by the notorious Vikram Szpirglas, a father of two (second child revealed in Skybreaker). Szpirglas' pirates plunder the passengers and crew of all valuables. Szpirglas kills Mr. Featherstone, the chief wireless officer of the Aurora, who'd been caught trying to radio
for help. The pirates then proceed to leave, but both ships are caught in a storm and Szpirglas' smaller ship crashes into the Aurora, tearing through the ship's skin and causing hydrium; the substance that keeps the Aurora afloat, to leak out of the airship. Without its precious lifting gas, the airship is left at the mercy of the winds and is sinking quickly towards the churning seas below. Sailmakers begin gluing and repairing the skin, but the Aurora has lost too much hydrium gas and the passengers and crew prepare to abandon ship. Just then, Matt sights an island on which they can land the Aurora, and they do so.
While the crew unload unnecessary baggage so the ship may remain airborne, Kate discovers that this is the very island which her grandfather spotted the creatures flying above. She is firmly bent upon exploring the island, forcing Matt to accompany her. After hours of looking, they find the skeleton of one of these large winged creatures in a tree. A few minutes later, they find a living one which has a crippled wing and fell to earth at birth. They decide to name these creatures "Cloud Cats".
The Aurora is almost ready to fly again when another storm heavily damages the ship's skin yet again. Matt is rebuked for being late for his shift but redeems himself when he remembers that he smelt hydrium on the island. Kate has one last chance to go back and take pictures of these creatures but Miss Simpkins has locked her in her room for associating with Matt. She escapes by drugging Miss Simpkins and runs off with her camera
. Matt and Bruce are sent to find her and together discover that cloud cats are dangerous carnivores. Bruce gets bitten on the leg and as they run back to the ship, Matt and Kate lose Bruce and stumble on the pirates.
Szpirglas and his crew don't recognize them; Kate and Matt are forced to act as if they were shipwrecked. They decide to spend the night at the pirate camp, then try and escape at night but are caught and locked in a hydrium pit. They use Kate's harem pants
as a balloon
and escape. They then have to rescue the Aurora from the pirates, who are bound to find her. In the forest, Kate is overwhelmed with guilt over the disaster that looms ahead. If she had not gone running into the jungle in the first place, attempted to photograph the cloud cat, alerted the pirates to their presence, or fallen asleep while in the village, the pirates would never have suspected that the Aurora was just on the other side of the island. Matt interrupts Kate by kissing her twice, and this action marks the beginning of their romantic relationship.
They find Bruce with an injured leg in the forest and sneak back onto the Aurora. All passengers and crew are being held hostage by 8 pirates. There is no wind, so the pirates don't notice as they undo all the landing lines. Matt is only a cabin boy, but because of his passion for flying, he knows everything about the Aurora and how to fly her. They switch the controls from the main control car to the auxiliary control car and fly her but Szpirglas soon retakes control. Matt, Kate and Bruce have to defeat 8 pirates and shut down the engines that are carrying them back to the island. Matt sneaks into the infirmary to get bandages, peroxide and antiseptic ointment for Bruce's wound. He also takes some sleeping elixir with him. Matt gives sleeping elixir to the ship's passionate cook, Chef Vlad Herzog, to put in the pirates' food. Bruce is killed (by being shot in the head) by Szpirglas. Crumlin, the first mate pirate, is eaten by the cloud cat. Matt and Szpirglas fight on top of the Aurora in the open air and Matt is forced to fall off the hull. He freefalls, then lands with a crash on a fin. He comes to the bitter realization that he is not as light as a feather as he thought, and cannot fly. But he defeats Szpirglas, who is torn apart by cloud cats as he falls. The Aurora is about to crash into the island's mountain peak but Matt steers her out of harm's way.
The story ends six months later, as Kate is exhibiting her cloud cat skeleton and her pictures of the cloud cats and is going to study zoology at a university in Paris. Matt, with the help of the reward money for finding Szpirglas' base of operation
, goes to the Airship Academy in Paris
, which is located directly across the river from the university.
The current status of the film is unknown. Whether or not it will even be made is undecided.
Kenneth Oppel
Kenneth Oppel is a Canadian author. Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, he spent his childhood in Victoria, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has also lived in Newfoundland and Labrador, England and Ireland....
. The book won the Canada's Governor General's Award. Airborn is set in a time where the primary form of air transportation are airships. The technological advancements in the story appear to depict a world similar to that of the 1930s or 1940s, but the airplane has not been invented and the Earth contains hydrium, a fictional gas lighter than hydrogen, as well as fictional flying creatures live their entire lives in the sky. These suggests that the book takes place in an alternate reality. The book takes place aboard a transoceanic airship, the Aurora, and is told through the perspective of its cabin boy, Matt Cruse
Matt Cruse
Matt Cruse is the main character and narrator in the Airborn series written by Kenneth Oppel. He is described as a cabin boy in the first book, though he goes on to be first mate of his own ship for a short time in Starclimber and even part of a team going to outer space...
. The third book in the series, Starclimber
Starclimber
Starclimber is the third book in the Matt Cruse fantasy series, written by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel."-Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries go higher than ever when they take part in the very first expedition to outer space -- and the journey turns out to be even more thrilling, perilous, and deadly,...
alludes to the series taking place somewhere before or after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as there are references to arch duke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
as well as women's suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
. This novel inspired the album "The Airship" of Adam Young's melody and instrumental driven project "Port Blue".
Plot summary
The story begins with the Aurora a airship on a journey to Sydney, Australia. Matt, a 14-year-old cabin boy, is the protagonist of the story. The airshipAirship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
is called the Aurora, which runs for a luxury airline. When we first enter the story, we see him while he is on duty in the crow's nest, scanning the skies for anything unusual. He soon spots a dark balloon drifting a few hundred feet away. The balloon is heavily damaged, and when Matt receives permission to board the balloon from the Aurora's captain, he finds an old man lying unconscious in the gondola. Matt rescues the Old Man, but he dies shortly afterward, rambling about 'Beautiful Creatures'. The story cuts abruptly to one year later when the Aurora is embarking from Matt's home; Lionsgate City, on another journey to Sydney. Matt admits that, although he loves his Mother and sisters dearly, he is relieved to be aloft again, for he only feels truly at ease in the air. When airborne Matt feels closest to his father, and he was born in the air it is his natural element. Matt frequently reminisces about his father (who died years previously when he fell from the top of the ship while making repairs) as an idol, and an admirable person, airship sailmaker, and father. His father gave him a compass for his tenth birthday, which he carries with him always. Matt aspires to be an excellent sailmaker like his father, but also dreams of becoming a Captain of one of the majestic airships himself. Back aboard the ship, Matt's relief is ruined by terrible news; he was promised the position of the sailmaker, but the place is given to Bruce Lunardi, a boy who just graduated from the Airship Academy and whose father, Otto Lunardi, is the wealthy owner of not only the Aurora but of many other airships as well.
One day, just after the Aurora sets sail, a small aircraft lands on the ship, bringing aboard 2 passengers: Kate de Vries
Kate de Vries
Kate de Vries is a fictional character in the novels Airborn, Skybreaker and Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel. She comes from a rich family, though she is very interested in science. At the end of the last book, she becomes the fiancée of Matt Cruse....
and her chaperone, Miss Marjorie Simpkins. Matt learns that the old man
Man
The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...
he rescued was Kate's grandfather and Kate will stop at nothing to prove that the creatures that her grandfather saw were real. Kate shares her grandfather's journal containing detailed drawings and information of the creatures with Matt. The creatures are born in the air and can stay in the air forever, never touching the ground, though they are as large as a panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
.
A few nights later, the ship is raided in the dead of night by pirate led by the notorious Vikram Szpirglas, a father of two (second child revealed in Skybreaker). Szpirglas' pirates plunder the passengers and crew of all valuables. Szpirglas kills Mr. Featherstone, the chief wireless officer of the Aurora, who'd been caught trying to radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
for help. The pirates then proceed to leave, but both ships are caught in a storm and Szpirglas' smaller ship crashes into the Aurora, tearing through the ship's skin and causing hydrium; the substance that keeps the Aurora afloat, to leak out of the airship. Without its precious lifting gas, the airship is left at the mercy of the winds and is sinking quickly towards the churning seas below. Sailmakers begin gluing and repairing the skin, but the Aurora has lost too much hydrium gas and the passengers and crew prepare to abandon ship. Just then, Matt sights an island on which they can land the Aurora, and they do so.
While the crew unload unnecessary baggage so the ship may remain airborne, Kate discovers that this is the very island which her grandfather spotted the creatures flying above. She is firmly bent upon exploring the island, forcing Matt to accompany her. After hours of looking, they find the skeleton of one of these large winged creatures in a tree. A few minutes later, they find a living one which has a crippled wing and fell to earth at birth. They decide to name these creatures "Cloud Cats".
The Aurora is almost ready to fly again when another storm heavily damages the ship's skin yet again. Matt is rebuked for being late for his shift but redeems himself when he remembers that he smelt hydrium on the island. Kate has one last chance to go back and take pictures of these creatures but Miss Simpkins has locked her in her room for associating with Matt. She escapes by drugging Miss Simpkins and runs off with her camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
. Matt and Bruce are sent to find her and together discover that cloud cats are dangerous carnivores. Bruce gets bitten on the leg and as they run back to the ship, Matt and Kate lose Bruce and stumble on the pirates.
Szpirglas and his crew don't recognize them; Kate and Matt are forced to act as if they were shipwrecked. They decide to spend the night at the pirate camp, then try and escape at night but are caught and locked in a hydrium pit. They use Kate's harem pants
Harem pants
Harem pants or harem trousers, also known as parachute pants, are women's baggy long pants tapered at the ankle, with side flaps on the hip that button at the waist area....
as a balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
and escape. They then have to rescue the Aurora from the pirates, who are bound to find her. In the forest, Kate is overwhelmed with guilt over the disaster that looms ahead. If she had not gone running into the jungle in the first place, attempted to photograph the cloud cat, alerted the pirates to their presence, or fallen asleep while in the village, the pirates would never have suspected that the Aurora was just on the other side of the island. Matt interrupts Kate by kissing her twice, and this action marks the beginning of their romantic relationship.
They find Bruce with an injured leg in the forest and sneak back onto the Aurora. All passengers and crew are being held hostage by 8 pirates. There is no wind, so the pirates don't notice as they undo all the landing lines. Matt is only a cabin boy, but because of his passion for flying, he knows everything about the Aurora and how to fly her. They switch the controls from the main control car to the auxiliary control car and fly her but Szpirglas soon retakes control. Matt, Kate and Bruce have to defeat 8 pirates and shut down the engines that are carrying them back to the island. Matt sneaks into the infirmary to get bandages, peroxide and antiseptic ointment for Bruce's wound. He also takes some sleeping elixir with him. Matt gives sleeping elixir to the ship's passionate cook, Chef Vlad Herzog, to put in the pirates' food. Bruce is killed (by being shot in the head) by Szpirglas. Crumlin, the first mate pirate, is eaten by the cloud cat. Matt and Szpirglas fight on top of the Aurora in the open air and Matt is forced to fall off the hull. He freefalls, then lands with a crash on a fin. He comes to the bitter realization that he is not as light as a feather as he thought, and cannot fly. But he defeats Szpirglas, who is torn apart by cloud cats as he falls. The Aurora is about to crash into the island's mountain peak but Matt steers her out of harm's way.
The story ends six months later, as Kate is exhibiting her cloud cat skeleton and her pictures of the cloud cats and is going to study zoology at a university in Paris. Matt, with the help of the reward money for finding Szpirglas' base of operation
Operations management
Operations management is an area of management concerned with overseeing, designing, and redesigning business operations in the production of goods and/or services. It involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resources as needed, and...
, goes to the Airship Academy in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, which is located directly across the river from the university.
Awards and nominations
- The book won the Governor General's AwardGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
for children's literature. - The book was a Michael L. Printz AwardMichael L. Printz AwardThe Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas, who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association...
honor book. - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon award winner.
- The book was a 2007 Nutmeg Children's Book Award nominee. It came in fifth place.
- The book was a 2006–2007 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardRebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardThe Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award is a program sponsored by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, the Illinois Reading Council, and the Illinois School Library Media Association. The award has been granted annually since 1988...
nominee.
Film adaptation
- The book originally was being adapted into a film, to be directed by Stephen SommersStephen SommersStephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...
. Thomas Dean Donnelly adapted the screenplay, and Christian Vandal was to star as Matt Cruse. However, in 2008, Oppel indicated that the project has been dropped.
The current status of the film is unknown. Whether or not it will even be made is undecided.