The Boundless.

Oppel, Kenneth.  The Boundless.  Simon & Schuster     2014  332p  $15.99  ISBN 978-1-4424-72884 elem/ms  Mystery/Detective      VG         

This is an adventure story that finds young Will Everett riding the newest train, The Boundless, across the country.  When he finds a treasure room on the train, the bad guys come after him.  To help save the treasure and his own life, Will joins up with a couple of members of the circus troupe that is traveling on the train, and many adventures follow.  This is a really good adventure yarn, with enough steam punk to capture both the adventure-story lover and the steam-punk story lover.  What is not to love here?  You have a train traveling cross-country, you have a boy who stumbles across a treasure, bad guys who want to steal the treasure, and the circus people who want to help the boy.  This said, it took me quite a while to get into the tale.  Once I was pulled in, though, the action was fast-paced and fun to read.  This is an old-school action adventure for youngsters.          

Summary: This is an adventure story that finds young Will Everett riding the newest train, The Boundless, across the country.  When he finds treasure on the train, the bad guys come after him, at which point Will joins up with a couple of members of the circus troupe that is on the train, and many adventures follow.     

Adventure-Fiction                                           --Lynn Fisher

Oppel, Kenneth. This Dark Endeavor.

Oppel, Kenneth.    This Dark Endeavor.      

Simon & Schuster/Little Brown 2011  304p  17.99 978-1-44240315-4  

jr/sr        Horror (Mild)           E-BN  

Victor Frankenstein and his twin Konrad are inseparable. They everything together and

enjoy each other’s company. Then the day comes when Konrad falls ill and the

doctors can not find what is wrong with him. It is up to Victor to try and save

his brother.      Victor and Konrad Frankenstein are twin look-a-like and they

are inseparable. They live in a castle that also has a dungeon. Their distant

cousin, Elizabeth, who younger than they are lives with them and have grown up

together. They all share good times together and enjoy exploring  their

surroundings. They one day come upon a secret door in the library and walk down

a very dark and creepy staircase and encounter a locked door. When they manage

to open the door they discover a library full of books about magic and alchemy.

Their father discovers them and makes them promise to never go back into the

room. Then the day comes when Konrad who always seemed fit and healthy falls ill

with a mysteries illness that saps his strength.  It is then that Victor decides

that it is possible he may be able to find the answers to Konrads' illness in

the magic books hidden in the forbidden room.

What happens next is a story unlike any you have read. The book is full of

mysteries, love, magic, adventures and secrets. Very enjoyable. Could be a

prequal to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

 There is however a very strong scene where Victor loses his fingers that might

be to much for some children.       Diaz, Magna

Airborn: an edge of the chair audiobook

Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn (unabridged)(audiobook)
Full Cast Audio, 2006. 10 CDs $45.00 978-1-933322-54-4
Fantasy

Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.
There’s only one word to describe this Full Cast Audio’s version of Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn and that word is: outstanding. Oppel, of course, has written a fantasy that dares the reader to put the book down, but translating an author’s words to an audio book doesn’t guarantee the same reader involvement. In this case, Full Cast Audio has cast the perfect voices for the various characters in the story. A total of 32 different voices bring the story of Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries to life, and the pirates themselves are Jack Sparrow worthy. The beauty of the airship Aurora, the otherworldliness of the cloudcats and the danger posed by pirates come alive and envelop the listener. The cast doesn’t just read the story; the cast becomes the characters. Readers who say they don’t like fantasy, or science fiction will change their minds after listening to this presentation. Even if the print version is on the shelf, adding the audio version is highly recommended. RZ