Starclimber

Starclimber, by Kenneth Oppel, is the final book of the Airborne series. Set in an alternate history during the early 20th century, this steampunk trilogy is, in short, excellent. It centers around a young man (Matt Cruse) and his adventures on airships across the world. He is accommpanied (and ocasionally dragged) by Miss Kate Devries, along with a couple other friends he makes across the series.
I came across the first book from a friends recommendation, and I'm very glad to say she must have brilliant taste in literature, as I found myself steadily devouring the entire series
I particularly loved the science fiction aspect of the books, which were very well constructed, and in general, had a leaning to the 'hard' sci-fi genre. Of course there was also the relationship Matt shared with Kate (DeVries) that's very well laid out, and proved my preconception about this being yet another clichéd YA boy/girl relationship wrong.
I found the entire series to be riveting, well written, and is definitely one I can recommend, especially if you enjoy steampunk, alternate history, science fiction, or just feel like mixing it up a bit.
This book in particular is the last in the series, and is about Matt Cruse heading, as you may have guessed, into space. He has been selected for part of a special sending the first "astralnauts" past the atmosphere for the first time. This one is loaded with suspense, and, just like the others, absolutely captivating. I didn't find this one to be as action packed as the first two so much as it was suspenseful and somewhat mysterious. That said, it lives up to the rest of the series and is the perfect conclusion for a series of it's caliber.



Right now I'm reading Gregor the Overlander (from Suzanne Collins of THG), I'll have a review posted ASAP.