Airman

I am a fan of Eoin Colfer's other books, so I was eager to sink my teeth into this new one and I was surprised to discover that Mr. Colfer has outdone himself with this latest imagining which gives us a hero who might be out of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells but who is also unmistakably a Colfer character, as witty as he is intelligent. I fell in love with Conor and his dreams of flight. I only wish it could have lasted longer.

This was one of those books I saw sitting on my boss's bookshelf that made me think, "Maybe I should read that." Yet it wasn't until multiple people told me in person and repeatedly how good it was that I caved. And it really is good, gentle reader. It puts the buckle in swashbuckling. The play in swordplay. The terror in terrific. It's a good old-fashioned tale of thwarted romance, betrayal, great heroism, murder, diamonds, villains, kings, Americans, thugs, and a boy with the unusual inclination to fly. The thing to know about Conor Broekhart, before all the nastiness occurred, was that he was born in the sky. A hot air balloon, if you wanted me to be more precise. A falling, soon-to-be-crushed, death trap of a balloon, to be even closer to the mark. Of course Conor didn't die, and as a result his family returned to their home on the Saltee Islands (just off the coast of Ireland) with a new baby to introduce to the King. Conor's father was the king's right hand man, and because they were so close the boy grew up running around the castle with his best friend, the princess. But that was before the king was murdered. Before Conor was thrown into jail on the Little Saltee island (think Alcatraz, but with less charm). Before the boy discovered how to survive in his new, harsh, surroundings and find a way out of his predicament. And now the princess and his family are in mortal peril, unless Conor can truly crack the riddle of how to construct a machine that will fly. Is it fantasy? No more than any historical novel where the hero indulges in science. Is it science fiction? Only if you consider the notion of one man discovering the use of propellers on his own fantastical. Is it steampunk? No. Stop being silly. No this is, odd as it may sound, fiction with spice. That's not really a category, so I don't know if you can call it anything but original. Frances Hardinge's Fly by Night suffered similar categorical problems. Her book seemed like a fantasy, but like this book it was merely an alternate history. Still, if lumping this puppy in with 500+ page fantasy tomes is the only way to get kids to read it, so be it. I've no objections on my end. For all its 416 pages, the book feels very tight. Colfer keeps a firm hand on the reins of his plot, never indulging too far in one direction or another. The result is a story that flies by with hardly a gasp for breath. This isn't to say that the author doesn't indulge in a small aside once in a while. He does, but they're always very quick and funny. For example, when the castle tower is on fire and King Nicholas must escape from his royal bathroom the text reads, "There was a window, of course. Nicholas was a great believer in the benefits of good ventilation. He was a devotee of meditation, too; but this was hardly the time for it." There are also copious details that give the book just enough heft to keep it from feeling too frivolous. They tend to be little things

Eoin Colfer attained international recognition with his splendid series of novels about a twelve year old genius thief named Artemis Fowl. The sixth book is coming out later this year. Those books are full of fun and fantasy, with laughs coming as quickly as danger. However, Colfer has outdone himself with his latest novel. Just released, AIRMAN literally soars the heights of grand adventure. Although the book is listed in the children's section, adults will be able to curl up with this one and remember a childhood filled with wronged heroes who have to fight their ways back from incredible losses to battle the evil villains. The pacing and characters in this book are different from those in the Fowl books and Colfer's other novels. Conor Broekhart is the kid and the hero I wanted to be when I was just discovering adventurous fiction (and part of me would still like to be even now). He's strong, courageous, intelligent, and a trained swordsman. Everything a dashing hero needs to be. Usually novels like this end up with the hero saving the princess and earning her undying love. Colfer starts out with Conor doing that. That left me wondering what was next. Well, what was next took a page from Alexander Dumas's THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and blended it into the fabric of Conor's story in a way that kept me hurriedly turning pages. Raised in the Saltee Islands, Greater and Lesser, Conor was the son of King Nicholas's most trusted captain, Declan Broekhart. The islands are fictitious, but Colfer builds them with splendid fascination. Originally an insult, the islands were granted to the original king and granted their independence. The one of the world's largest diamond mines were discovered there. Overnight, the Saltee Islands became a world player. The time is the late 19th century and airplanes haven't been invented yet, though they've been dreamed about. Conor and his mentor, Victor, spend their days together designing airplanes, hoping to build the one that will actually fly. I loved Conor's relationship with his parents as well as his mentor. It made me remember so many other good books of derring-do I'd read as a kid. Victor trains Conor as a swordsman, martial artist, and scientist, and Conor naturally excels at all those things - exactly as a hero cut from this cloth is supposed to do. But when the villainous Marshall Bonvilain kills the king and Conor's mentor, Conor witnesses everything. Unable to kill Conor because it would give his plot away, the Marshall develops an insidious plan for getting rid of him. The twists and turns of the Marshall's plot don't get revealed for some time, but I couldn't believe how things turned out for Conor. Not only was he consigned to the diamond mines, where most men died while digging, but no one - not even his family or the princess who loved him - tried to help him. I hung on every adventure Conor had while in prison. His struggles against Malarkey, the man the Marshall had hi

I love the Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) series and Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer, so I was exciting to pick up this book and delve into a story of adventure in the great blue yonder. What I didn't expect was how enraptured I would become by this book, especially after reading the first chapter that made me roll my eyes with its campiness. Conor Broekhart was born to fly, or more accurately, he was born flying. From his legendary birth in a hot air balloon to his heroic feat saving the princess from a deadly fire by turning a flag into a parachute, Conor has always looked to the skies for inspiration. But when his tutor and king are both killed in a plot to take over the government, Conor spends the next two years in prison, thinking his father has turned his back on him and his beloved princess blames him for her father's death. After nearly loosing himself in the inhumane conditions of the prison mines, Conor finds escape drawing designs for flying machines on his cell walls. His plans finally take flight ex machina in the form of a balloon that carries him to safety. He must then decide if he will turn his back on those who abandoned him or stand against the evils that threaten the freedom of his nation. It was like reading The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics), The Princess Bride: S Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure and an H.G. Wells novel all in one. It had all of the elements of a great adventure novel in a very contemporary writing style. It made me laugh, it broke my heart, and it left me wanting more. I absolutely adore this book and hope that Colfer continues to write adventure novels. This book is for a slightly older audience than Colfer's usual readers because of its complex themes and sometimes violent overtones, but it is still an appropriate book for advanced middle grade readers, high school students or adventurers of any age.

As a reader of many young adult novels, I was never able to get into the author's Artemis Fowl series although I know they are popular. However, I have to give high praise, two thumbs up and five stars to this fabulous and unique adventure story for boys and men of all ages. This a wonderful coming-of-age story of a young man with a scientific mind and a dream of being the first man to fly. Trained in science, fencing, martial arts, and raised with a high education, our young hero Conn, while saving his princess damsel from death, soon is betrayed and framed for murder and sent to prison where there he plots escape and spends years inventing his future dream machine. Great characters of good and bad, high action and adventure, a little romance, and lots of cool flying. This is truly outstanding and a pleasant change of pace from the author's other styles of writing.