in the 1890s, Conor Broekhart is a boy living on the Saltee Islands off the Irish coast, where his father works as the king's bodyguard. But his happy, carefree life is changed forever when he finds out that the power-hungry Marshall Hugo Bonvilian is organizing a military coup to overthrow the king. When Conor is unable to stop Bonvilian, the king is murdered, and Conor is falesly accused of the crime and thrown into prison. In prison, the boy passes the solitary months by scratching designs for flying machines onto the walls. After two years, Conor is finally able to build a glider, and executes a daring escape to the mainland. But right Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Starred Review. Gr 7 10 From the popular author of the "Artemis Fowl" series (Hyperion/Miramax) comes a swashbuckling adventure and spectacular fantasy for somewhat older readers. Born in a hot-air balloon at the Paris World's Fair in 1878, Conor Broekhart is destined to fly. Until the 1890s, he lives an idyllic life on the Saltee Islands off the Irish Coast, with Princess Isabella as his best friend; Good King Nick like a father to him; and a science tutor, Victor Vigny, who shares his obsession with making a flying machine. Everything changes when Conor witnesses Marshall Bonvilain murder the king with Victor's pistol, and he is labeled a traitor and thrown into prison, which is a brutal hell of nightmarish torture where inmates must mine for diamonds under impossible conditions, and he must plan an escape if he is to survive. Grippingly written, this is a fast-paced, highly entertaining tale of flying machines, criminals, martial arts, swordplay, princesses, poisons, and evil villains. The themes are as sweeping as the Airman's wings in full flight: justice, revenge, romance, good triumphing over evil, realizing one's dreams, blackmail, regicide, conspiracy, corruption, betrayal. While the often dark and gruesome subject matter is not for the faint of heart, the moral underpinnings of the story are solid. Give this not only to fans of "Artemis Fowl" but also to those who delight in flying through Kenneth Oppel's "Matt Cruse" books (Eos). Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information