Starclimber

As the third book of this series, Starclimber has a lot to live up to. Oppel has done a great job in developing an interesting and truly original storyline. Its quite believable in a fantastical sort of way. As long as he is writing about the Starclimber, the problems that occur to the ship and the people on board and the solutions to the life threatening dilemmas, the writing is crisp, clear and exciting. Its the development of Matt and Kate which is problematic. Since the story arc has covered several years, there should be some sign of Matt and Kate maturing and having learned from their experiences and mistakes. Instead, its as if Oppel wasn't sure how to develop their characters and had them behave as rather immature and selfish teenagers. Kate's character is so willful and self-centered that it is difficult to be sympathetic or to even like her. Matt's character behaves so jealously and is so insecure that he doesn't seem to be the same person we've seen in the previous two books. Their interaction with each other does not bode well for a long term relationship as it is full mistrust, selfishness and immaturity. Its hard to believe that they really care for each other.
The series seems to have come to end in this book as there is closure on a number of story lines. Perhaps Oppel will produce more, but if he does want to continue with the Matt and Kate characters, he'll need to spend more time developing them.
The voice actors portraying the various characters are all excellent as in the previous productions. Well, the scots character early in the book was rather grating and sound levels with his voice were very loud and unnecessarily startling and explosive. However, overall, this series is one of the best I've ever listened to and one I can recommend.

This was absolutely a marvelous book and I could hardly wait to finish it. It was ingenious and I enjoyed getting to know the characters into further depths. There were unique twists and intrigue. This is a definitive recommendation if you enjoy adventure fantasy. Although listed under the young adult section, it is really marvelous for any age.