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Skybreaker (novel)
Encyclopedia
Skybreaker, sequel to Airborn
, is a fantasy novel
for young adults
and adolescents
written by Canadian author
Kenneth Oppel
. It continues the adventures of young airship
student Matt Cruse
, and Kate de Vries
, a would-be scientist.
has been stationed on the Flotsam, an old cargo ship. The Flotsam is his training vessel. All Airship Academy students are assigned a training vessel for two weeks, he is assigned to partake in journeys made by the training vessel. During one trip, the ship flies through the Devil's Fist, a permanent storm in the Indian Ocean. After several dangerous maneuvers through wind drafts
, the Flotsam levels. A vessel, drifting at 20,000 feet, is suddenly spotted from the crow's nest. Captain Tritus deduces that it is the Hyperion, a long-lost ship built for billionaire Theodore Grunel that was supposedly carrying great riches. Tritus foolishly attempts to go tow the ship; however, he and most the crew are stricken with altitude sickness
. Despite Tritus's protests, Matt, the sole crew member unaffected by the altitude, pilots the ship down and steers for the nearest port, saving the crew in the process.
Matt returns to the Airship Academy where he is approaching finals and is told by the principal that he is failing and needs to study to pass the exams. Matt then gets a request to meet a strange man named John Rath requesting the coordinates of the Hyperion. When the man is revealed to be a criminal in search of the Hyperion's loot, Matt escapes with a gypsy girl named Nadira. Matt, Kate, Nadira and Kate's chaperone Ms. Simpkins hire a man named Hal Slater, an accomplished pilot, to fly them to the Hyperion.
Aboard Hal's ship, the Sagarmatha, the gang finds the Hyperion and climbs aboard. They find a whole collection of rare animals and a blueprint of a machine that produces hydrium. Knowing that the blueprints will be worth millions, the gang tries to leave, but is stranded on the ship when Rath and his men shoot at the Sagarmatha. After a battle onboard, the gang manages to escape the Hyperion in an ornithopter. They lose the blueprints, but ultimately get away with 40 gold bars.
Sketches of these animals are available at Kate's field Journal
Airborn (novel)
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...
, is a fantasy novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
for young adults
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
and adolescents
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
written by Canadian author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Kenneth Oppel
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....
. It continues the adventures of young airship
Airship
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...
student 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...
, and 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....
, a would-be scientist.
Plot summary
Matt CruseMatt 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...
has been stationed on the Flotsam, an old cargo ship. The Flotsam is his training vessel. All Airship Academy students are assigned a training vessel for two weeks, he is assigned to partake in journeys made by the training vessel. During one trip, the ship flies through the Devil's Fist, a permanent storm in the Indian Ocean. After several dangerous maneuvers through wind drafts
Vertical draft
An updraft or downdraft is the vertical movement of air as a weather related phenomenon. One of two forces causes the air to move. Localized regions of warm or cool air will exhibit vertical movement. A mass of warm air will typically be less dense than the surrounding region, and so will rise...
, the Flotsam levels. A vessel, drifting at 20,000 feet, is suddenly spotted from the crow's nest. Captain Tritus deduces that it is the Hyperion, a long-lost ship built for billionaire Theodore Grunel that was supposedly carrying great riches. Tritus foolishly attempts to go tow the ship; however, he and most the crew are stricken with altitude sickness
Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness—also known as acute mountain sickness , altitude illness, hypobaropathy, or soroche—is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude...
. Despite Tritus's protests, Matt, the sole crew member unaffected by the altitude, pilots the ship down and steers for the nearest port, saving the crew in the process.
Matt returns to the Airship Academy where he is approaching finals and is told by the principal that he is failing and needs to study to pass the exams. Matt then gets a request to meet a strange man named John Rath requesting the coordinates of the Hyperion. When the man is revealed to be a criminal in search of the Hyperion's loot, Matt escapes with a gypsy girl named Nadira. Matt, Kate, Nadira and Kate's chaperone Ms. Simpkins hire a man named Hal Slater, an accomplished pilot, to fly them to the Hyperion.
Aboard Hal's ship, the Sagarmatha, the gang finds the Hyperion and climbs aboard. They find a whole collection of rare animals and a blueprint of a machine that produces hydrium. Knowing that the blueprints will be worth millions, the gang tries to leave, but is stranded on the ship when Rath and his men shoot at the Sagarmatha. After a battle onboard, the gang manages to escape the Hyperion in an ornithopter. They lose the blueprints, but ultimately get away with 40 gold bars.
Characters in Skybreaker
- Matt CruseMatt CruseMatt 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...
- Kate de VriesKate de VriesKate 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....
- Miss Marjorie Simpkins
- Nadira Szpirglas
- Dorje Tenzing
- John Rath
- George Barton
- Theodore Grunel
- Hal Slater
Animals in Skybreaker
In the book there are several fictional animals.- Aerozoan – A squid like animal with a Hydrium Sac, and able to produce huge amounts of electricity. This animal is where Grunnel got his idea for the Prometheus Engine.
- Araneus Volatilis – A spider-like creature with wings. It is very light and flies to high altitudes.
Sketches of these animals are available at Kate's field Journal