Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2008
416 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Airman is set in the 1890's on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. It is the story of Conor Broekhart, a young Saltee Islander whose father, Declan, is the King's bodyguard. When Conor discovers that the power hungry Marshall Hugo Bonvilain is organizing a military coup, the king is murdered and Conor is blamed for the crime and thrown into prison.
In prison, Conor passes the solitary months by scratching designs for flying machines into the walls. This has always been his dream, to win the race for flight.
After two years, Conor now sixteen, plans and executes a daring escape to the mainland. Initially he plans to return home, but realizes that this would put his entire family in danger, so instead he builds a glider to fly to the prison island and reclaim the diamonds he buried there from the prison mine. Eight bags of diamonds, means eight trips.
"Starred review. Artemis Fowl fans will flock to this novel, and the polished, sophisticated storytelling here deserves an even wider audience than that bestseller. Conor Broekhart’s superpower is his brain, and he uses his smarts to fight tyranny. A tour de force. Ages 10-up." - Publishers Weekly.
"Starred review." - Kirkus Reviews.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of
Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father
(an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama
teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary
(elementary) school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history he was
learning in school at the time!
After leaving school he got his degree
from Dublin university and qualified as a primary school teacher, returning to
work in Wexford. He married in 1991 and he and his wife spent about 4 years
between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based
on his experiences in Tunisia; it has since ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Eoin Colfer's Website
Name Pronunciation
Eoin Colfer: Owen COLfer (Eoin is a very old Irish name, rarely used outside Ireland with this spelling)
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