Skybreaker

By: Kenneth Oppel

Narrated by: David Kelly

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

High in the sky, far above the normal lanes of travel, drifts a ghost ship carrying unbelievable treasure. Matt Cruse is on the trail of that treasure, with the help of his charming society friend, Kate de Vries, and a mysterious gypsy girl named Nadira. With them flies Hal Slater, roguish captain of a boldly designed Skybreaker aircraft that can reach heights previously undreamed of.

But between Matt and his destination stand ruthless pirates, and an even more ruthless businessman. And what Matt's crew will find when they finally do reach the Hyperion is far more valuable, far more exciting, and far more dangerous than they ever imagined.

Listen to the first book: Airborne.

©2006 Kenneth Oppel (P)2008 Full Cast Audio

Critic Reviews

"Creative, compelling, nicely unpredictable and alive with nature and technology." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Fast paced, suspense packed excitement

I enjoyed Skybreaker almost as much as the first book in the series, Airborn. Oppel has created a quick, intelligent and resourceful young hero in Matt Cruse. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that Matt spends more time brooding in this one than he did in the last one, and his constant jealousy every time another guy looks or talks to Kate just gets old. This book is action packed though, and Matt's adventures never fail to hold my attention on the long train rides home from work. I'm glad I had listened to Airborn right before listening to Skybreaker, because David Kelly's reading takes some getting used to - the way he reads sounds kind of...I don't know, phony, I guess. Like he is reading fairy tales to very small children. All of the other voice actors are great. It's funny, because in each of these audiobooks, there is one actor who sounds so much like a famous person that you can't help picturing the character looking like that person. In Airborn, the actor playing Vickram Spearglass sounded so much like Quentin Tarantino it was uncanny. In Skybreaker, the John Rath character sounds exactly like Sean Connery. It's hilarious. Anyway, enough rambling. I highly recommend this audiobook. Kids or adults who enjoy scifi/fantasy/"steam punk" will enjoy it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Very awesome story and great narration behind it!

Very awesome story and great narration behind it! You will definitely cry left on the edge of your seat throughout the story!

Great for listening with the family

Kenneth Oppel’s words and the cast’s performance kept us all engaged and excited throughout the book. I would recommend for kids age 9-10 and up. My 5 yo had trouble following the storyline.

Good clean adventure!

Mystery, intrigue, and adventure! A great sequel to the first, but a tale that stand on its own!

Great story!

The story continues from the first book, Airborn. So creative and fun. I enjoyed it. Great story to listen to in the car on a road trip. Teens enjoyed it too!

Overall enjoy the series

So far I really like this series. I wish they'd get rid of the dramatic music. Not necessary in my opinion. I find it distracting.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Wow! What a terrific story.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat. I kept making time to listen and hear what happened next.

Brilliant!

Once again Kenneth Oppel and Full Cast Audio deliver a stupendous performance. My 8 and 11 year old girls loved the high flying adventure. We are anxiously awaiting Starclimber slated to come out in the fall!