AIRMAN

Set at the end of the 19th century, this savage, enthralling melodrama pits a young would-be aviator against a high official so fiendishly clever and evil that his name—Bonvilain—seems a drastic understatement. On the Saltee Islands, a tiny kingdom off the Irish coast, 14-year-old Conor’s idyllic life with best buddy Princess Isabella takes a brutal turn when Bonvilain secretly throws him into the diamond mines as part of a murderous plot to overthrow the local monarchy. Against steep odds, Conor survives and, several years later, engineers an aerial escape that leads to a wild climactic melee. Laced with explosions and sudden violence, well-stocked with ugly customers and replete with cliffhangers, this high-flying page-turner will keep readers riveted to their seats from opening gunshot to final sword thrust. (Science fiction. 12-15)