Starclimber (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: astral cable, specimen cage, magnetic shoes, Sir Hugh, Miss Karr, Captain Walken (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Mr. Cruse, how high would you like to fly?"

A smile soared across my face.

"As high as I possibly can."

Pilot-in-training Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries, expert on high-altitude life-forms, are invited aboard the Starclimber, a vessel that literally climbs its way into the cosmos. Before they even set foot aboard the ship, catastrophe strikes:

Kate announces she is engaged—and not to Matt.

Despite this bombshell, Matt and Kate embark on their journey into space, but soon the ship is surrounded by strange and unsettling life-forms, and the crew is forced to combat devastating mechanical failure. For Matt, Kate, and the entire crew of the Starclimber, what began as an exciting race to the stars has now turned into a battle to save their lives.

Award-winning and bestselling author Kenneth Oppel brings us back to a rich world of flight and fantasy in this breathtaking new sequel to Airborn and Skybreaker.

About the Author

Kenneth Oppel is the bestselling author of Skybreaker, winner of the Red Maple Award and the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award, and Airborn, which won the Governor General’s, Red Maple and Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Awards. Also a finalist for the prestigious TD Children’s Literature Award, Airborn was a Michael L. Printz Honor Book in the U.S. and an IBBY Honour Book. His million-copy-selling Silverwing Saga won the Mr. Christie’s Book Award. Oppel lives in Toronto with his family. http://www.kennethoppel.ca.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060850574
• ISBN-13: 978-0060850579
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,083 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #1 in

  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( O ) > Oppel, Kenneth

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stairway to space, March 5, 2009

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Having explored the far reaches of the skies, Matt Cruse is about to fly beyond them -- into the unknown expanse of space.

Yup. Space. Kenneth Oppel's airship trilogy takes a distinctly sci-fi turn in the final volume, "Starclimber" -- it's focused on the wondrous expanses outside Earth's, and the dangers that go with its first pioneers. It's a little top-heavy with Matt's romantic woes, but Oppel does a truly brilliant job mingling sci-fi, adventure and a sense of lyrical wonder.

Matt Cruise has been working as a tug captain at the Celestial Tower, but he's offered a wildly different job: to become one of the first astralnauts on a space mission.

Unfortunately as he undergoes the grueling training, Matt is distracted -- Kate (who is heavily involved in the suffragette movement) is being pressured to make a "good match" with a rich man. And while both of them are included on the cable-climbing "Starclimber," Matt is horrified when he discovers that Kate's parents have forced her to make a choice -- get engaged or give up outer space.

The specially selected team succeeds in leaving the Earth behind, only to find that space has its own variety of dangers -- including mysterious glowing objects, monstrous space creatures, asteroids, and the threat of a bombing from the fanatical Babelites. But the worst is yet to come, when Matt finds that he must repair a delicate piece of equipment... or the entire expedition will be destroyed.

Just as Oppel's "Airborn" and "Skybreaker" asked what if airships had dominated the skies, "Starclimber" explores the idea of a more technologically advanced Victorian age where space travel is a realistic possibility. He even touches on some timeless topics, such as prejudice against women's abilities (and Kate's rebuttals) and fanaticism (the Babelites, believing it angers God to venture into space).

And despite the slow unfolding of the story, Oppel keeps it interesting with his a lovely prose style (the darting lights and haunting space "music"), and the detailed descriptions of space training and technology. About halfway through it suddenly tightens into a taut action story, with lots of space rescues and bizarre alien life forms.

And though a bunch of bickering strangers in space sounds boring, he injects little moments of comedy into the story ("There is no energy in Paris, no dynamism. An artist like myself must move on. Also, I set fire to the French president"). If there's a flaw, it's that the subplot about Matt and Kate's fragmenting relationship weighs a little too heavily during life-threatening crises.

Matt and Kate have grown up a great deal, but are still very much the same -- she's a impetuous, strong-willed and determined scientist, while he's a lovable, humble pilot who just wants the skies and Kate (although he suffers from some thorny jealousy and doubts about her). The supporting cast is a pretty fun bunch as well, particularly the prickly Miss Karr, pompous windbag Sir Hugh, and the paternal Captain Walken.

"Starclimber" takes everything that was good about Oppel's steampunky fantasy books, and launches them into orbit. A solid finale for a brilliant trilogy, and definitely a good ending for Matt and Kate.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Adventure, March 13, 2009

By	Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is the third book in an alternate reality created by world-renowned Kenneth Oppel. In this book, the airplane has not been developed but flying machines, gliders, blimps and balloons are the mode of air transportation. The first two books Airborn and Skybreaker have won almost every Canadian children's literary award. Combined they have won: Governor General's Award, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award (twice), Red Maple Award (twice), Michael L Printz Honor Book (ALA). They have won 26 awards and been nominated for another 7. The interesting thing is, this was the first book in this series to come across my desk and was read as an independent story. It stands strong on its own and left me wanting to read the first two.

This story is part of the saga of Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries, two young people in love and pursuing higher education to realize their dreams - Matt of becoming a captain on an airship and Kate of becoming a world-class scientist and researcher, especially zoology in the stratosphere. It is also the story of the race to space. The French are trying to build a tower into space, and Matt and Kate are called home to Canada, to be part of Canada's attempt. Kate is outright invited to be a scientist on the Mission. Matt must go through a grueling training regime and compete with over a hundred people hoping to be an astronaut aboard the Canadian ship Starclimber. Matt is a skilled Skysailor but can he compete with so many older and more experienced men?

The story is part science fiction, part romance, and part social commentary. Oppel does an excellent job of weaving the different elements into a cohesive tale that is compelling and addicting. You reach a point in the book where you do not want to put it down. The greatest strength of the story is the incredible characters that seem so real, and the powerful narrative technique used by Oppel that makes you feel like you are there and part of the action. The story has a great pace that picks up speed as it moves along and finishes like a runaway train dragging us along with it, racing to the end.

This is a great novel and like the others in the series will probably win numerous awards.

(First Published in Imprint 2009-03-13.)

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, August 10, 2009

By	Brad Laughlin (Montgomery County, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is very good and I found it very hard to put it down. I want to be biased and give it a 5 out of a 5 but the imagery in this book is not as good as it was in Airborne and Skybreaker. I had to skim though airborne to refresh my brain on the appearances of certain characters since Kenneth decided not to give them much of a introduction. I also found the first couple of chapters have been rushed though. Despite a few flaws the storyline in this book is excellent and I enjoyed it very much.