One day into the voyage, an ornithopter delivers two passengers to the ship: Kate de Vries and her chaperone Marjorie Simpkins. Matt is disappointed to learn that the Junior Sailmaker position he was promised has been given to the airship fleet's heir, Bruce Lunardi. Despite loving his mother and sisters dearly, Matt is relieved to be in the air where he feels closest to his father - a former sailmaker who died in an accident aboard the Aurora.

One year later, Matt leaves his home in Lionsgate City, a fictionalized Vancouver, to accompany the Aurora on its voyage to Sydney, Australia. His last words ramble about 'beautiful creatures' that he supposedly saw on his ill-fated voyage. Matt saves the man, whose name is Benjamin Molloy, only to have him die shortly after being taken aboard. While on lookout duty, he spots a damaged balloon carrying an unconscious old man. The book takes place aboard a transoceanic luxury passenger airship, the Aurora, and is told from the perspective of its cabin boy, Matt Cruse.įifteen-year-old Matt Cruse is a cabin boy for the Aurora, an airship that stays afloat using a gas called 'hydrium'. Additionally, the world contains fictional animal species such as flying creatures that live their entire lives in the sky. The novel is set in an alternate history where the airplane has not been invented, and instead, airships are the primary form of air transportation. Airborn is a 2004 young adult novel by Kenneth Oppel.

Airborn kenneth oppel series