Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes. We were two nights out of Sydney, and there'd been no weather to speak of so far. I was keeping watch on a dark stack of nimbus clouds off to the northwest, but we were leaving it far behind, and it looked to be smooth going all the way back to Lionsgate City. Like riding a cloud. . . .

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.

In a swashbuckling adventure reminiscent of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Oppel, author of the best-selling Silverwing trilogy, creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.

Length: 378 pages	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled	Page Flip: Enabled
Audible book: Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $7.49 when you buy the Kindle book. Available

Kindle e-Readers

Kindle (5th Generation)

Kindle Keyboard

Kindle DX

Kindle (2nd Generation)

Kindle (1st Generation)

Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Paperwhite (5th Generation)

Kindle Touch

Kindle Voyage

Kindle

Kindle Oasis
Fire Tablets

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9''

Kindle Fire HDX

Kindle Fire HD (3rd Generation)

Fire HDX 8.9 Tablet

Fire HD 7 Tablet

Fire HD 6 Tablet

Kindle Fire HD 8.9"

Kindle Fire HD(1st Generation)

Kindle Fire(2nd Generation)

Kindle Fire(1st Generation)

Fire HD 10

Fire HD 8

Fire
Fire Phones

Fire Phone
Free Kindle Reading Apps

Kindle for Windows Phone

Kindle for BlackBerry

Kindle for Android Phones

Kindle for Android Tablets

Kindle for iPhone

Kindle for iPod Touch

Kindle for iPad

Kindle for Mac

Kindle for PC
Available on these devices

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Kenneth Oppel

93

Kindle Edition
$4.74
Kenneth Oppel

77

Kindle Edition
$4.49
Kenneth Oppel

94

Kindle Edition
$6.99
Heidi Heilig

251

Kindle Edition
$6.99
Kenneth Oppel

130

Kindle Edition
$6.99
Scott Westerfeld

394

Kindle Edition
$9.99

Try Kindle Countdown Deals
Explore limited-time discounted eBooks. Learn more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–An original and imaginative Victorian-era fantasy. Matt, 15, only feels alive when he's aloft working as a cabin boy aboard the Aurora,a luxury airship that is part dirigible, part passenger cruise ship. When wealthy Kate and her chaperone come aboard, Matt soon discovers that she is determined to prove her grandfather's claims that he saw strange creatures flying in the sky in that area the year before. The man's diary describes them as huge, furry beasts with batlike wings and sharp claws. Soon after Kate arrives, pirates attack the ship and rob the wealthy passengers. A storm forces the damaged Aurora to set down on a seemingly deserted island. Kate and Matt discover the skeletal remains of one of the creatures, and, later, a live but deformed one that lives among the treetops. In their attempts to photograph "the cloud cat," they stumble upon the pirates' hideout and are captured. Can they escape in time to stop the brigands from stealing the Aurora? Will Kate prove the existence of this undiscovered species? This rousing adventure has something for everyone: appealing and enterprising characters, nasty villains, and a little romance. Oppel provides glimpses of the social conventions of the era, humorous byplay between the main characters, and comic relief in the form of Matt's cabin mate and Kate's straitlaced chaperone. Reminiscent of Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines (HarperCollins, 2003), this adventure is much lighter in tone and has a lower body count.–Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard the luxury passenger airship Aurora when the ship encounters a battered hot air balloon with an unconscious man aboard. Before dying, the man claims to have seen beautiful creatures swarming in the air over an uncharted island. Not until a year later, when Matt meets the man's granddaughter, Kate de Vries, who boards the Aurora, does he learn that the man wasn't hallucinating. Pirates board, rob, and kill, and a fierce storm grounds the Aurora on the very island that Kate's grandfather spoke about--which proves to be the pirates' secret hideaway. Though readers will need to suspend disbelief of the mysterious flying creatures, which Matt and Kate call "cloud cats," details of life and work aboard the ship as well as the dramatic escapade itself make this a captivating read. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

File Size: 1098 KB
Print Length: 378 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (September 10, 2009)
Publication Date: September 22, 2009
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
Language: English
ASIN: B002OMZTQW
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,649 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #95 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk
- #160 in Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk
- #441 in Kindle Store > Whispersync for Voice > Add Narration for $3.99 or Less

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

Customer Reviews

2 star (0%)

Write a customer review

See all 216 customer reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Children's Books

4.5 out of 5 stars

World Literature

4.1 out of 5 stars

Young Adult Books

4.6 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

When Light is Just Right

September 14, 2015

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Airship Aurora isn't the only thing here that's lighter than air, but that's O.K.

This feels like a middle grade, early YA adventure. With the airship and the alternate technology it is steampunk, but that aspect isn't heavily featured and the tech frames and informs the story but doesn't dominate it. In a similar vein, there's swashbuckling adventure that makes this a direct descendant of high seas pirate adventures, but again that's mostly for flavor and atmosphere.

Our two primary characters, mild and modest but daring and stalwart Matt, and sassy, spirited Kate, carry the burden of the story effortlessly. Matt is an engaging narrator. Kate is a worthy and equal companion in adventure. Neither is loaded with quirks and while they aren't developed deeply they are fleshed out as completely as necessary for this type of adventure.

This is a modest, well crafted, imaginative, good-hearted, good-humored adventure. It's crisp, clear, fast paced and briskly plotted. It doesn't always go for big effects, and its appeal to me was built up from a number of small observations, events, descriptions, bits of dialogue and characters. That's what made it seem especially appealing for newer and younger readers testing the water for this type of fiction. As such, it struck me as a fine and entertaining introduction to the genre.

Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Brian Tara Shaner

Great beginning, and definitely left me wanting more

January 7, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Read all three books in this trilogy because my daughter wanted to (she's 11, and a strong reader for her age). Suitable for young readers, the YA romance element never goes farther than longing, and a few kisses. Solid storytelling in a steampunk-ish world, though I'd prefer Oppel reduce the use of "it was" and "said." He's also got a tendency to mix speakers in the same paragraph, which drives me batty. However, most readers probably won't notice those pedantic gripes amid colorful characters—not the least of which are pirates—airship wrecks, and strange new creatures. Loved the story, but wished the writing style were stronger.

Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

You won't put this book down once you start reading it

July 20, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Review by my 11 year old boy.

The book Airborn is a very good book about how a boy works very hard on an airship to support his family who are in a lot of crises, due to the fact that the father had died on the same airship. I like how the book shows that how the boy does not lose hope and feels all is lost when he does not get the promotion which he had worked on for so long and that would help his family. I also like how a teenage boy stands up to some of the strongest, scariest and most dangerous pirates in the book and does not back away. And when the pirates board the airship a second time he shows great skill, knowledge and interest as he plays the role of many people aboard to do their job.The book has many descriptions on how life was being a steward on an airship and other jobs aboard. In the beginning the boy does some breathtaking, heroic stunts to rescue an old man who later on happens to cause many problems for him, the crew aboard and the passengers. The book is connected to many different parts of the story that link together, and you have to have to remember other previous events for somethings to make sense. If you leave this book for a period of time things might become hard to understand for you may have forgotten about what had happened. You cannot just reread some pages back to get some of the events. The book will be more enjoyable to people who like action, adventure and can stand little violence. All in all I think that Airborn by Kenneth Oppel is a great book.

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Travelin' Dad

Wonderful!

September 1, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I'm always searching for books for my 15 year old son to read. My son loved Airborn, and so did I. This book was for my tastes far better than the typical young adult fare.

First, the story itself is entertaining and creative. It isn't at all formulaic. It has a good balance between fantasy and reality. The era is nearly the same as the early 20th century, but there are enough subtle twists to make the reader suspend disbelief and accept the possibility of existence of strange creatures and undiscovered islands. For instance, the gas used to make the airships ligher than air is called "hydrium". The metal of the airship is "alumiron". There are continents named "Europa" and "North Americus". It's just delightful how Oppel's world in Airborn is almost, but not quite, the same as ours.

Second, this is a really, really well written book. The writing technique is great. The mood is consistent and the vocabulary is just right for young adults. We're told the story from Matt's perspective, and to me his character, that of the female protagonist Kate, as well as the other main characters, are all well developed with just the right amount of introspection. The descriptions of action are great. The pace is even, and kept my attention enough that I finished the book in a couple of days. I've read a lot of young adult fiction, and I really think that Oppel is the best writer for young adults that I've read.

Third, the book is perfect for general audiences. It shows that you don't need to have a lot of profanity, violence and sex to sell books and interest readers. My son is a pretty typical teen who likes Eminem, Robin Thicke, South Park, Family Guy, etc. But he also loved this book. As a parent, it was great to see my son enjoy a book with a hero who has a sense of duty, works hard and loves his family. There's no profanity and not much violence (and no graphic violence). There's certainly romance, but nothing risqué. One last thing- although the story 's central character is a boy, Matt, I would recommend this book for both boys and girls. Kate is every bit as interesting and well-developed a character as Matt.

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Customer images

See all customer images

Most recent customer reviews

Amazon Customer

A wonderful tale.

I've read this book at least three times throughout the years. It's an easy to pick up book that's perfect for airship fans to read on a rainy sunday afternoon.

Published 2 months ago

Daniel Reagan

Flying high

Due to the plot and style of writing I kept up with every turn, wanting more. Kenneth Oppel has our imaginations flying high.

Published 5 months ago

Marianna

Great Book - A Must Read.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel was an amazingly wonderful novel. Thank you to AudioBookSync.com for providing this book to me for free during their summer give away program.Read more

Published 5 months ago

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Grandson likes the book.

Published 7 months ago

Jennifer O'Donnell

Amazing imagination and great book!!!

This was my absolute favorite book that I've read with my son. He had to read it for school and I actually didn't want to read this one at first. I'm not a huge sci-for reader.Read more

Published 7 months ago

Amazon Customer

This was the book that made me love reading when I was 15

This was the book that made me love reading when I was 15. Airborn will always hold a special place in my heart! I love Matt and Kate.Read more

Published 7 months ago

Michael P. Long

I found the main character quite interesting and all the parts of the airship were great. It really did make you want to be ...

This audiobook seems to be set in an alternate steampunk timeline/universe at the start of the century where airships were the primary means of travel.Read more

Published 7 months ago

Daniel

Great Story!

Few books have drug me into their world and kept me up untill i finished them; this is among the few.Read more

Published 7 months ago

A thoughtful purchaser

A Fantastic Adventure

Another hit from Kenneth Oppel, Airborn is a fantastic novel about a 15 year-old cabin boy named Matt Cruse. Matt serves aboard a passenger ship known as the Aurora.Read more

Published 9 months ago

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: Airborn

Set up a giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Kenneth Oppel

93

Kindle Edition
$4.74
Kenneth Oppel

77

Kindle Edition
$4.49
Laura Liddell Nolen

48

Kindle Edition
$1.99
Lindsey Frydman

58

Kindle Edition
$3.99
Lynn Cahoon

65

Kindle Edition
$4.99
Dorothy Wiley

129

Kindle Edition
$0.99

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Skybreaker Kindle Edition

Kenneth Oppel

93

$4.74
Starclimber Kindle Edition

Kenneth Oppel

77

$4.49
The Blue Sword Kindle Edition

Robin McKinley

374

$6.24
A Wrinkle in Time Trilogy (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet) Kindle Edition

Madeleine L'Engle

318

$14.91