Airman

by Eoin Colfer

One dark night on the island of Great Saltee, fourteen-year-old Conor is framed for a terrible crime he didn’t commit. Thrown into prison by the dastardly Hugo Bonvilain, Conor is trapped in a seaswept dungeon and branded a traitor. He must escape and clear his name; he wants his old life back – his family, his friends . . . and his princess.

Conor knows there is only one way out. It’s an impossible task, which has never been done before. But Conor is determined to do it. He’ll have to fly.

Swashbuckling new fiction from the amazing Eoin Colfer, ideal for readers aged 11+.

• ISBN10: 0141322217
• ISBN13: 9780141322216
• Publish Date: 1 January 2009 (first published 26 December 2007)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Puffin
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

"Conor Broekhart was born to fly, or more accurately he was born flying."

I enjoyed Airman much more the second time around.

Conor Broekhart was born flying and has been obsessed with the idea of flight ever since. At the age of fourteen, he is labelled a traitor and sent to Little Saltee prison for a crime that he did not commit. The only way that he can escape the prison and reclaim his life is by flight.

Conor is an extremely likable character. He's intelligent and has a scientist's mind which means that he's always planning his next idea or invention. Conor might be one of those good-at-everything characters, but I didn't mind it because I wanted him to succeed.

The secondary characters are quite unique. Victor Vigny is Conor's teacher and is also a flight-obsessed scientist. Linus Wynter is a blind musician who befriends Conor in prison. Princess Isabella is Conor's childhood friend and crush and their interactions are adorable. I also love Conor's parents, Declan and Catherine. Marshall Hugo Bonvilain is more villainous than a villain can be (it's not like his name is a dead giveaway or anything). I prefer morally ambiguous characters, but since this book is on the younger side of the YA spectrum, things are very black-and-white. I didn't mind it because sometimes it's nice to read books where there's a clear line between the heroes and the villains.

The best part of Airman is the plot and pacing. Airman has a dash of everything. There's adventure, science, romance, betrayal, inventions and prison escapes.

Airman is a gripping and delightful alternate history story that pays tribute to the history of flight.

"A monkey glances up and sees a banana, and that's as far as he looks. A visionary looks up and sees the moon." (Victor Vigny)

[nannah]

I feel like this story had way more potential than it actually achieved. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but it was definitely lacking. Especially in the writing. Colfer really likes to tell the emotions and backstory immediately after meeting a character, and he shoves characterization down the readers' throats instead of letting them experience the changes and the characters themselves. When a character hesitated, he would explain the hesitation by plunging into backstory and then justifying the character's decision and it all really isn't needed. Also, adverbs littered the pages and became very distracting.

But the STORY was very nice, even though character relationships were rushed and motives were muddy and just told to the readers. It's an okay read overall, if cumbersome.