The Fledging of Az Gabrielson (The Clouded World) [Paperback]

Jay Amory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006 | Series: The Clouded World (Book 1)

Az is one of the Airborn. With a stretch and a beat of their eight-foot wings his people travel effortlessly around and between their cities, perched high above the clouds amidst a life of ease and airy beauty. Only Az has no wings, so in his glorious world of freedom and flight, he is a painful - and isolated - oddity. Then, one day, he is selected for a job. A job below the clouds. The system of massive automated elevators, which send up everything the Airborn need to survive, are breaking down - and threatening to take the Airborn society with them. Someone must travel to the Ground to find out what has happened and Az, with his wingless similarity to the prehistoric Groundlings, looks to be perfect for the task of hunting for answers beneath the clouds. But on the Ground, in the vast shadows of the cities, Az finds more questions than answers: a benighted people who worship a dim notion of the Airborn and aspire to be like them. A people who fill elevators with tributes to their winged deities. A people who are beginning to think their way of life is part of a very un-natural order of things. And a girl called Cassie Grubdollar, who's definitely no angel . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up—Generations ago, sky-cities were constructed above the cloud cover and those who reside there have adapted to the point where they are born with wings. Sixteen-year-old Az Gabrielson, however, was born without them. The people of the sky-cities rely on supplies arriving in elevators from below to sustain them. Mysteriously, the elevators begin to arrive empty and the people begin to starve, so Az is sent down to figure out what is going on. His lack of wings gives him the perfect disguise. He discovers that the Earth is still populated by "Groundlings" who tithe to the elevators with the expectation that when they die, they will be reborn with wings in the sky-cities and live a better life. The conflict on the Ground is rife with parallels to current events. Amory has created a cast of characters both likable and despicable. The Groundlings come complete with their own dialect, which feels natural after a page or two. While it begins with a more traditional science-fiction feel, once Az arrives on the Ground, the story develops into a steampunk odyssey. Plenty of chases and explosions make for an action-filled read, and the brevity of the chapters makes the book approachable for reluctant readers. Give this novel to fans of Philip Reeve's "Hungry City Chronicles" and Kenneth Oppel's Airborn (2004, both HarperCollins) and its sequels. This looks to be the beginning of a series to watch.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Amory peppers the ground with an absolutely wonderful cast of characters. All great stuff . . . Amory is a writer with an innate social conscience and a voice that calls to readers of all ages. I look forward to seeing how the story develops in the next volume."  —SF Revu

"Amory's short brisk chapters with succinct headings keep the plot revelations coming and the pages turning. And particularly successful are the vivid scenes where Cassie's family scour the predator-ridden landscape in the 'murk comber' for items that fell from the sky cities . . . an entertaining read, and though part of a trilogy stands on its own."  —Starburst

"Action packed [with] appealing and quirky characters."  —VOYA

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; Export Ed edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575078790
• ISBN-13: 978-0575078796
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

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