Book Review: Airborn
Hello, hello! I've just finished Airborn (actually I finished it on Wednesday...) by Kenneth Oppel, recommended to me by Liam, so I'm going to tell you my opinion about the whole thing.
Airborn
Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Fantasy
Summary:
Thoughts:
I gotta say, from all the reviews I read on this book, I was expected big, big, big things from it. I was thinking that there would indeed be tons of action and plenty of other juicy stuff. But I found nothing in there that I was really that pleased by.
The characters. I felt no sympathy for them during their "hard" times because in reality, I felt that they did not seem real enough. There was not enough character building and so forth to really make me feel like each person was an individual being that had a huge part to the story. For some reason or another, I really didn't feel any emotions for any deaths that may occur, and I didn't even care when they learned more clues on their mysterious winged creatures. Frankly, I didn't care because the book bored me out of my mind.
The plot. There was no suspense for me. It was all too predictable. Uh-oh! We have no hydrium! Oh looky there, there's an eternal supply coming from that rock! How will we get it back to the ship? Let's use the rubber hosing that just happens to be on this airship! I really felt like the author did poorly to give me juicy details that left me hanging. There was one part where the person who was supposed to be on guard was missing, but about one paragraph later the author stated the whereabouts of this person. To me, that is not good suspense. It's a horrible way to run a book. Don't tell me where this person is! MAKE ME GUESS!
The humor. I felt like it was just failed attempts to add pinches of humor here and there. Nothing made me laugh. And I was in a laughing mood that day, so that's saying something. I felt like the author was, perhaps, trying too hard to make it funny, and therefore, it just wasn't. It didn't work for me whatsoever.
The language. Over all, there wasn't too much foul language. A few times they said "beaver dam" and H-E double hockey sticks, and I'm not fond of that either. Thankfully it was not every page, ever word type of thing, but it still made me utterly disappointed with this book.
Star Rating: 3
Yes, most reviews gave this book 5 stars, but to me, I felt like 5 stars was a distant dream for this book. I don't believe that it deserves higher than a 2.5-3 simply because of all the listed above.
<3 Seana
PS: Humor me with a comment if you strongly agree, disagree, or feel like commenting. (:
Airborn
Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Fantasy
Summary:
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.
Thoughts:
I gotta say, from all the reviews I read on this book, I was expected big, big, big things from it. I was thinking that there would indeed be tons of action and plenty of other juicy stuff. But I found nothing in there that I was really that pleased by.
The characters. I felt no sympathy for them during their "hard" times because in reality, I felt that they did not seem real enough. There was not enough character building and so forth to really make me feel like each person was an individual being that had a huge part to the story. For some reason or another, I really didn't feel any emotions for any deaths that may occur, and I didn't even care when they learned more clues on their mysterious winged creatures. Frankly, I didn't care because the book bored me out of my mind.
The plot. There was no suspense for me. It was all too predictable. Uh-oh! We have no hydrium! Oh looky there, there's an eternal supply coming from that rock! How will we get it back to the ship? Let's use the rubber hosing that just happens to be on this airship! I really felt like the author did poorly to give me juicy details that left me hanging. There was one part where the person who was supposed to be on guard was missing, but about one paragraph later the author stated the whereabouts of this person. To me, that is not good suspense. It's a horrible way to run a book. Don't tell me where this person is! MAKE ME GUESS!
The humor. I felt like it was just failed attempts to add pinches of humor here and there. Nothing made me laugh. And I was in a laughing mood that day, so that's saying something. I felt like the author was, perhaps, trying too hard to make it funny, and therefore, it just wasn't. It didn't work for me whatsoever.
The language. Over all, there wasn't too much foul language. A few times they said "beaver dam" and H-E double hockey sticks, and I'm not fond of that either. Thankfully it was not every page, ever word type of thing, but it still made me utterly disappointed with this book.
Star Rating: 3
Yes, most reviews gave this book 5 stars, but to me, I felt like 5 stars was a distant dream for this book. I don't believe that it deserves higher than a 2.5-3 simply because of all the listed above.
<3 Seana
PS: Humor me with a comment if you strongly agree, disagree, or feel like commenting. (:
I very strongly disagree.
ReplyDelete*Warning: Do not read if you haven't read the book. (This isn't to you, Seana-- it's mostly aimed at a particular follower who I know reads all of my comments here. I won't say who.)*
The plot and writing were very good in my opinion. The love that Cruse had for his airship was quite well done, and the picture of his ship dying was brilliant. Perhaps I was being unperceptive, but I wasn't able to predict many of the plot twists. Yes, some of them were predictable, but not all of them were obvious.
The characters were very well done. Captain Walken in particular is a favorite of mine, and as I said before, Cruse's feelings come through the writing quite well. Kate is annoying, but she's meant to be. Szpirglas was the cliche elegant pirate villain, but he was well written as well, particularly when his son comes into the thing. And, of course... the scandal of the rich heiress with the cabin boy! With Miss Simpkins in the background fluttering her handkerchief in disapproval, I thought the feelings came through well.
The humor is mostly in conversation, and it is better than a lot of other attempts at humor I've seen. Question for you: Do you bash Suzanne Collins because HG doesn't have a single joke in the thing? No, because you don't expect humor. Compared to HG, this book, this trilogy, is hilarious. It's all relative.
One of the reasons I asked your age before recommending this was the language. Don't say I didn't warn you.
I have no problem with being critical in reviews-- just allow me to defend myself.
Aye, you did warn me, but the language wasn't what made me dislike the book. I don't know why, but it just wasn't for me. I am giving this author another shot by reading his Silverwing books, and so far, it's...cute. Not death-defying action by any means, but still a nice plot to it.
DeleteYes, I admit I was a wee bit critical with it, and yes, you have the right to defend yourself.
Hmm...Aiborn vs. HG with the humor Airborn wins, but I suppose at the time of writing this post I was not being relative. But alas, I shall stick to my opinions.
Perhaps it's just me, but I love books set in air or sea. Near the end there where he falls from the side of the airship and he feels like he's flying-- that was my favorite scene in the book. Flight has always been a fascination for the world's imaginations, and I love it. So perhaps I'm biased.
DeleteI wrote a review on Jack Blank yesterday, but I'm rewriting it to go up today.
Hmm. Your love of air and sea could have been a wee bit biased, but that's not your fault you enjoy those.
DeleteI saw your Jack Blank review, and it was quite good indeed. Well done!
I just felt that the scenes portraying Cruse's love of the air and the ship were well-written in a way that made the reader feel for him.
DeleteDanke!