Sky Run

The Cloud Hunters #2

by Alex Shearer

In a world where islands float above the sun and Cloud Hunters sail the skies for water, orphans Gemma and Martin live with their 120-year-old great, great, grand aunt Peggy and the sky-cat Botcher on a remote rock miles from civilisation. When Peggy decides they should visit City Island to register at school, the group embarks on a trip that will take them through uncharted territories, navigating a very dangerous sky. Encountering cloud pirates, sky rats and an axe murdering motel owner, Gemma and Martin must learn to fend for themselves, and fight for what's right in a perilous world. In this sequel to Alex Shearer's CLOUD HUNTERS, SKY RUN returns to a fantasy world filled with adventure, escapism and a sense of magic at every turn.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens

303 pages, ebook

First published October 3, 2013

About the author

Alex Shearer started his writing career as a scriptwriter and has had great success in that field. His credits include The Two of Us, the 1990s sitcom starring Nicholas Lyndhurst. More recently he has started writing for children. His Wilmot stories have been adapted for TV by Yorkshire television, and his children's novel, The Greatest Store in the World, was screened as a feature length TV film on Christmas Eve 1999 by the BBC. Alex's recent novel 'The Speed of the Dark' was shortlisted for the 2002 Guardian Fiction Prize

Alex Shearer lives with his family in Somerset. He has written more than a dozen books for both adults and children, as well as many successful television series, films, and stage and radio plays. He has had over thirty different jobs, and has never given up trying to play the guitar.

Reviews

[Shaheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow. When I read The Cloud Hunters, I proclaimed it to be a perfect book. Sky Run returns us to the amazing world Shearer created in that book and this time we're following siblings Martin and Gemma as they make the long, hazardous journey from their home in the outskirts to City Island, where they plan to enrol in school.

The story-telling is again absolutely enchanting - Sky Run is narrated by Gemma and Martin, who alternate every few chapters. They both have distinct voices: Gemma's full of the cynicism and world-weariness of a 13 year old, and Martin's full of the wonder and excitement of a 11 year old boy. I loved them both, and I think they tell their story well. I've guessed their ages since, like in the last book, Shearer keeps us in the dark about their exact ages.

I also loved Peggy - the protagonist's great-great-great-aunt (or something similarly far removed). She's crotchety and a little bizarre, but immensely wise and caring. She's not a Gandalf-type character, but fills the role of world-weary mentor well. Her own background is very interesting, and I wouldn't say no to reading a further novel about her! In fact, most of the secondary characters would have worthy companion novels: Alain the lost Cloud Hunter boy is certainly the most intriguing, but I have a feeling Angelica has a few amazing stories up her sleeve. They both balanced out the protagonists and brought a little colour to their lives.

While Sky Run doesn't allow us a glimpse into Christien and Jenine's lives, it does prominently feature characters we met briefly in the first book. Which I think is awesome, because the duo from The Cloud Hunters are mentioned, and it's interesting to know how other people saw their unique situation.

Whereas Shearer allowed his unique world to unfold delicately in The Cloud Hunters, Sky Run assumes readers are already familiar with the planet that consists of floating islands where the 'sun' is the fiery planet core and the 'sea' is the air. I'd commented that the world-building could sometimes slow the action down in the first book, and am happy to say that this novel doesn't suffer from that problem.

In The Cloud Hunters, Shearer was telling a story of a boy who was living his dream, but in Sky Run, we follow normal kids who are seeing world outside of their tiny island for the first time. Their wondrous journey is fun, and they learn so much before even reaching City Island. Like the first book, Sky Run focusses on the awakening the protagonists go through, where they realise that the world is full of good and bad things, and learn lessons that most people, unfortunately, don't throughout their whole lives.

Sky Run is the ultimate coming-of-age story, perfect for all readers. I've loved coming back to this world and learning more about it, and hope there's more to come!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .

[Haylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn't seem to get into this one. I didn't finish it...

[Mavis Ros · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The sky is a vast, nightless, dangerous place."

This was actually quite good. Turns out it's not just for kids to read but for teens and adults as well. But honestly if I were still a kid back then reading this thing, I would still marked this book as not understandable in terms of extensive word vocabulary and some adult jokes being applied.

Let's just say that the introductions to Peggy, Gemma, and Martin didn't come out strong ever since they first met. Peggy just explained their whole flashbacks in one breath without taking a break to chill out her voice a little bit. You see, you can't just describe the whole story within two pages.

When Peggy decides to take both her niece and nephew, Gemma and Martin, to enroll for education so they can have the opportunity to where they'll learn a lot from, the three had taken on quite an excited but unexpected journey as they try to face uncharted territories, picking up new members, and crazy unexpected strangers along the way to reach City Island so Gemma and Martin can apply and go to school.

The book should have at least extended the last chapter a bit more. I thought it was still not enough to make it end that way. But that really does depend if Alex Shearer had optional plans to make another book or rather, the third one in the series.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle, dreamy ride, quite unlike the plot-driven adventures or puzzle-filled whodunits I usually read. Both the world and aspects of the story have some logical holes. In another book, that would greatly annoy me but, in this one, it didn't really seem to matter too much. The world and the plot (what there is of it) are only a vehicle for the characters and their development, both of which are drawn superbly. Perhaps this quote from the book sums it up "In my opinion, that's about the best you can expect from any story - if it's true in enough places, then even if the rest is lies, it somehow becomes true all over."

[Yi Ning Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the great thing about this book is that it manages to communicate some things that usually take people a paragraph and a dictionary full of complicated words to say, all while using simple words that arguably make it better for what it says.

[Ethan McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book, not too long and very exciting.

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real People in a Strange Place. (Sky Sharks!)

Here's the thing. Sometimes when an author creates an alternate world the lion's share of the book consists of the author huffing and puffing and straining to create and present his vision. There's a lot of exposition and explanation and description. The characters are just a marginal presence and the plot is just a device to move people around so the reader can experience more of this created world. I'm thinking variations on the "Avatar" experience. That can be fun if the world is really something, but it can also be exhausting.

On the other hand are books like this. The universe is unique, foreign, and fascinating. But, it is revealed bit by bit as the story unfolds and the characters develop. The greatest attention has been paid to the characters, even minor characters who appear only briefly. That they live, work and adventure in a strange universe counts as more of a bonus than as the only point of the book. And this universe is described in dry, matter-of-fact prose that has the effect of making this wild and wonderful creation seem as inevitable and natural as a Wal-Mart parking lot.

So, we start out with first person narrative from Peggy, a completely realized character. She is an elderly crofter on a remote farm that just happens to be a hunk of rock floating in the sky. As she describes the circumstances that start the story rolling we get glimpses of the fascinating but somehow entirely natural and normal world she inhabits. Additional characters are introduced, and at that point we could all just be getting ready for a family drama set on a farm in Iowa. But that's not where we are, and the combination of fully realized characters and a fully imagined system of worlds adds up to a very satisfying whole.

Peggy has taken over the care of two siblings, Martin and Gemma, and Peggy resolves to enrol them in school in distant City Island. This involves a perilous journey sailing through the skies to reach the school. The book, which starts being narrated in alternating sections by Martin and Gemma, turns into an exciting tale of hazard and adventure.

This book is a sequel of sorts to Shearer's "The Cloud Hunters". The characters from that first book are not featured in this one, and you don't need to have read that one in order to get into this one. Lots of books claim to appeal to a wide range of readers, in terms of age. This book struck me as one of the few that can really make that claim - it is accessible to younger readers, (the alternate world is understandable, the kid protagonists are relatable, the writing is crisp and clear), and yet also rewarding for older readers who appreciate a good tale well told. (I'm thinking, say, the "Treasure Island" effect here.)

So, a nice find and a wonderful book to recommend to adventurous readers.

Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

[Lucy-May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5

I really, really loved the first book in this series, The Cloud Hunters, & I did enjoy Sky Run as well, however is was incredibly different to its prequel. Sky Run had a very odd feel to it; the plot was incredibly random & at times was just totally bonkers. I loved the characters though & I must admit that I did enjoy following them on their voyage across the sky. I’m sad this is the last book in this series - Sky Run wasn’t as good at The Cloud Hunters, but I still love the world they’re set in & would love to learn more about it. It’s a shame that I can’t :(

⚠️ This book contains discussions of depression & death, as well as mild violence ⚠️

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this journey, loved the way their world works