Amazon.com Review
Pirates! Volcanoes! Hidden islands! Earthquakes! Giant airships! Sea monsters! Jack Black, son of the captain of the
Bellerophon, the largest airship in the world, knows he's headed for adventure when he joins his father on an around-the-world trip. But he has no idea of the extent of his upcoming escapades. Starting with a fall from thousands of feet up in the sky, and a miraculous safe landing on a cursed--or blessed, depending on how you look at it--pirate ship, Jack embarks on a wild quest to save his father and the airship, which has been planted with a bomb. Along the way, he helps the buccaneers vanquish an automated war machine, rescue a dashing and beautiful young airplane pilot (who in turn helps save the pirates), and break the curse of the pirate ship. The story includes a cast of unforgettable characters: a lyrical cook drunk on molasses, a pair of gruff twins who have not spoken to each other in 25 years, but who sing in beautiful harmony in their sleep, and an elderly woman who lives quite contentedly on an otherwise uninhabited, virtually unreachable volcanic island. Packed with betrayal, friends from surprising corners, and many lessons in trust and courage, this is a ripsnorting adventure no one will want to put down. (Ages 8 to 13)
--Emilie Coulter
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
With a swashbuckling style and an imagination in overdrive, Hughes (Toots and the Upside-Down House) grabs readers on page one and never lets go. Jack Black, an enterprising young lad, convinces his captain father to take him along on the maiden voyage of the Bellerophon, the world's largest airship. Little does Jack know that he's in for the ride of his life. From uncovering a dastardly plot to sabotage the Bellerophon to a dangerous midair plunge onto the deck of a mysterious pirate ship, where he gets caught in a deadly race to destroy the dreaded Nemesis, a futuristic warship on auto- pilot, Jack careens from one perilous predicament to the next. Hughes's robust blend of fantasy and adventure features nonstop action, whisking readers from the clouds to the high seas, from the tropics to an exploding volcano to a polar ice cap. The beguiling cast includes a ship's cat named Lard, a cook who gets tipsy swilling molasses, a swaggering flyboy whom Jack worships but who may not be all he seems. And there's the likeable Jack, of course, who rises to meet the challenges thrown his way. Entertaining from start to finish. Ages 10-13. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
