Skybreaker
Skybreaker first edition cover.
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| Author | Kenneth Oppel |
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| Cover artist | Kirk Caldwell |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Matt Cruse series |
| Genre | Fantasy, Adventure novel, Steampunk, science fiction |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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July 20, 2005 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) Audiobook |
| Pages | 340 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 59136517 |
| Preceded by | Airborn |
| Followed by | Starclimber |
Skybreaker, sequel to Airborn, is a fantasy novel for young adults and adolescents written by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It continues the adventures of young airship student Matt Cruse, and Kate de Vries, a budding scientist.
Using reward money from the discovery of Vikram Szpirglas' pirate base, Matt Cruse is attending the Airship Academy in Paris. While travelling through a storm in the Indian Ocean, his training vessel is caught in a vertical draft revealing a large airship drifting at 20,000 feet. Deducing that it is the Hyperion, a long-lost ship said to be carrying great riches, the captain steers towards it to attempt a boarding. However, Matt is forced to descend when the rest of the crew members are stricken with altitude sickness. Upon returning to Paris, Matt meets with Kate de Vries, his friend and object of affection, to discuss the Hyperion's billionaire owner Theodore Grunel. Kate announces that she plans to find "Grunel's treasure" using co-ordinates that Matt remembers in a special ship called a Skybreaker that will allow them to reach high altitudes safely.
Matt receives a request from a claimed descendant of Grunel. When they meet, the man reveals himself to be a criminal named John Rath and tries to force Matt to give up the co-ordinates. Matt escapes with a gypsy girl named Nadira who claims to have a key that works on the Hyperion and proposes her own plan to find it. Matt initially declines but changes his mind when he overhears a warm conversation between Kate and a wealthy acquaintance named Hal Slater. Matt and Nadira search for a Skybreaker named the Sagarmatha moored in Paris, but when they find it, they learn that Hal is the captain. Matt, Kate, Nadira and Kate's chaperone, Ms. Simpkins, hire Hal and his Sherpa crew to fly them to the Hyperion and promise Hal 80% of the gold they discover. Although Kate temporarily allays Matt's fears, he sees her develop an increasing rapport with Hal and becomes jealous. Matt begins to accept romantic advances from Nadira which culminates in a kiss between them in the crow's nest.
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