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    Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars
    Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars
    Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars
    Ebook339 pages8 hours

    Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars

    By Nick James

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A devastated Earth's last hope is found in Pearls: small, mysterious orbs that fall from space and are capable of supplying enough energy to power entire cities. Battling to control the Pearls are the Skyship dwellers—political dissidents who live in massive ships in the Earth's stratosphere—and the corrupt Surface government. Jesse Fisher, a Skyship slacker, and Cassius Stevenson, a young Surface operative, cross paths when they both venture into forbidden territory in pursuit of Pearls. Their chance encounter triggers an unexpected reaction, endowing each boy with remarkable—and dangerous—abilities that their respective governments would stop at nothing to possess. Enemies thrust together with a common goal, Jesse and Cassius make their way to the ruins of Seattle to uncover the truth about their new powers, the past they didn't know they shared, and a shocking secret about the Pearls.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFlux
    Release dateSep 8, 2011
    ISBN9780738730493
    Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars
    Author

    Nick James

    Inspired by the big drama and snappy dialogue of comic books and graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan and Brian Michael Bendis, Nick James began writing at a young age. His love of fast-paced storytelling led to his action-packed science fiction series for young adults, Skyship Academy. James grew up in the small island town of Anacortes, Washington. He graduated from Western Washington University in 2006 and currently works as a substitute teacher in Bellingham.

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    Reviews for Skyship Academy

    4/5

    45 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This story is a science fiction dystopia. It features a corrupt earth government, Skyships of rebels, and aliens. In this future when the United States has been devastated by something and retaliated by nuking any perceived enemies, surface dwellers are divided into fringers and the residents of some protected cities. These cities are powered by pearls that fall from the sky and have enough energy to keep the cities going. The main characters are Jesse Fisher who has been raised on one of the skyships and is supposed to be training as one of the agents who are spies and soldiers. He's more interested in going to one of the other cities as soon as he turns eighteen. The other main character is Cassius Stevenson who has been raised on Earth under the control of the mysterious Madame who goal is to bring down the skyships. The boys first meet on earth in one of the abandoned cities when both are looking for a fallen pearl. When they touch each other something strange happens to each of them. Jesse develops the ability to call the pearls to him and to cause them to explode. Cassius gains the ability to explode spewing fire all around him. Cassius has no control over this ability but Madame says that she has the cure if only he goes to skyship academy and brings her Jesse.Jesse has plans of his own and wants to get to Seattle to find out about his mysterious past. This story is filled with action as both boys find themselves on Earth and making their way to Seattle. This is the first book in a series. I'll be reading more to find out more about Jesse and Cassius.
    • 4/5
      I read an uncorrected proof.
    • 5/5
      Skyship Academy is one of those books that's incredibly understated. In fact, I never heard of this book until I found it on Amazon and the blurb pulled me in. I'll admit that I wasn't incredibly excited about it -it wasn't at the top of my To-Be-Read pile, and for a few weeks I kept moving it down the pile in favor of other books. But from the first page to the last, I discovered something that was far beyond what I ever expected. But the biggest surprise? Skyship Academy has gotten zero love in the blogosphere since its release last year. That's one thing that I just don't understand. Why? Why no love for such an excellent piece of science fiction writing that pushes the limits, takes risks, and has some excellent personality that sets it apart from everything else on the shelf.Skyship Academy transports readers into a desolate future, where the most valued commodities are the mysterious Pearls, which are capable of suppling enough energy to power entire cities -its a power dangerous enough to kill for. The government and the Skyship Academy are at war over the Pearls. Right in the middle of the fight are Jesse Fisher, a Skyship student and slacker, and Cassius Stevenson, a young and promising operative working for the government. They come together in a chance encounter, that pull the two men into an unexpected fight of there own that could reveal the secrets behind the Pearls.I would warn readers: the packaging of Skyship Academy can be somewhat misleading. From the cover and the blurb, I thought that I was getting some sort of YA science fiction novel with dashes of dystopia. Instead, I was treated to a more adult-oriented speculative novel with heavy science fiction elements, excellent action, great writing and some fascinating jabs at social commentary and modern politics.Both Cassius and Jesse are excellent characters, and author Nick James does an exquisite job of infusing plenty of personality into very every word and every piece of dialog throughout the entire novel. But most importantly, James delivers a fascinating and unique plot with plenty of perfectly-constructed action, and wild twists that send the reader down unexplored paths.Then, there's the setting. James paints a dark, but gritty and interesting vision of the future with biting social commentary and somewhat whimsical references to modern politics. Nearly everything about James' world is as engaging as it is unexpected, and he does a great job of weaving all the elements together.That's why I just don't understand it: Why no love for Skyship Academy? It's one of the best books I've read in a while that hits all the right notes.
    • 5/5
      **Originally posted on tickettoanywhere.net**Prior to BEA 2011 I had never heard of this book and I only stumbled upon it as I attended the book signing of another author and afterwards we all got to talking over at the Flux booth. Nick started to describe his book but once I saw the blurb by James Dashner I knew that it was something I had to check out. I'm not usually one to be swayed by blurbs (and to be honest I don't usually read them) but I've met James several times and so he's an exception.From the start of this book all the way until the last page I was sucked into the story. I love the world that Nick created which was a bit sci-fi with a wee addition of dystopian mixed in. I loved how he gave a brief history of how the world came to be what it was without being dry or weighing down the story. He made a believable futuristic world where resources are scarce and humanity has been divided into factions as they fight for survival. I really enjoyed the characters in this book as well. This was very much a boy book with the majority of the main characters being boys. There was a couple of token girls tossed into the mix but they didn't always come across as very girly to me and were a bit stiff and awkward at times. But overall I really enjoyed all of the characters. I liked how Jessie was more your typical boy then anyone overtly special. He wasn't the best in his class, he was more likely to be the one who was messing up. But given the circumstances that he was thrust into he came into his own and turned his ordinariness into something more. I really enjoyed this story and all the possibilities that it raised for the rest of the series. The writing was strong and I was really invested in the story. I wasn't surprised by some of the twists and turns. And there were times when I thought some events were a bit far fetched. I liked how there were active adults in the story - although their were times where they came across as a bit stiff as well. But what I like best about the book is the potential for what is to come. As a first in a series it hit all the right notes in building a world and characters that you want to know more about. I am really looking forward to the second book and you will as well once you give this one a try.
    • 5/5
      Such a fantastic read for me! I've always been a huge science fiction fan and recently I've discovered my love of dystopian stories. Nick combines both these elements perfectly so it was pretty much a win win situation for me. What really drew me in was how easily these two worlds fit together.Jesse Fisher lives in what was once The United States of America. After a devastating attack, Earth has been rendered almost inhabitable. The government has reformed and priorities have shifted. It's only been through the saving grace of Pearls that so many people have been able to survive. These strange and powerful orbs began falling from the sky soon after the attack. Seeming to be made of pure energy, each Pearl can power a Chosen city or a Skyship for months. These Chosen cities and floating Skyships are havens where, for the right price, people can live in safety and comfort.As with a lot of dystopian tales, there are many layers to the new world we find our characters in. Jesse has to contend with the world of the surface and the world of the sky and things aren't always as they seem. Also, in true science fiction fashion, the Pearls also have some secrets of their own. I really can't say much more without giving away too much! Definitely a book that you do not want to see spoilers of.I really loved the characters in this book. Jesse isn't the strongest or the best at anything but he doesn't let that stop him. Cassius finds out that being the strongest and the best doesn't mean all that much if you've been lied to your entire life. As for other supporting characters, some seem pretty black or white, good or bad...but I have a feeling I might be wrong about them. There is just so much mystery to this story it's hard to tell who's going to come out on top in the end.This strange world full of floating cities, barren landscapes, magical Pearls, lies and mystery got me hooked from page one. A fantastic debut and I'm supper excited for book 2!
    • 3/5
      I have had this book to read for quite awhile. I thought it looked like a really interesting premise (and it has a cool cover). It ended up being okay but not great. It takes quite a while for the story to get going and I never really connected with the characters or the story.I listened to this on audiobook and it was fine. The narrator did a decent job with characters voices. The narration wasn’t anything special but it wasn’t bad either.The first half of the book is pretty typical post-apocalyptic sci-fi stuff. Humanity has been split into the military on Earth and the Skyships above; they both fight over Pearls which are an alien power source that falls to Earth from the heavens. Things get a lot more interesting when our two heroes (one boy from a Skyship and one from Earth) have an encounter that leaves them both strangely changed.I will say the characters are pretty balanced between male and female; there are strong characters of both. So this book should appeal to both female and male sci-fi fans. Some of the things happening towards the end of the book are very mysterious and interesting. The book ends at a decent spot; some things are wrapped up but there are still questions.Overall this is an okay sci-fi read. I personally never engaged all that well with the characters or the story. However the book does pick up quite a bit in the second half and get more interesting. While I don’t plan on reading anymore of the series I would tentatively recommend to fans of post-apocalyptic earth type sci-fi; especially YA fans.
    • 4/5
      The story takes place in post-apocalyptic America (and in the skies above it). The view points toggle back and forth between the two male teenagers Jesse and Cassius. Jesse is a Skyshipper who grew up in the skies and Cassius is a government goon who was raised in one of the “Chosen Cities” that are spread across what’s left of Northern America. Outside these Chosen Cities people still live and try to survive – though it is a blasted wasteland – these people are called Fringers.

      One of the best opening lines in a YA book:
      "My fingers grip the ledge, searching for cracks. The rest of me dangles into empty sky like some demented human windsock."

      Two factions of people fight over an energy source called Pearls that fall from the sky. These two teens happen to meet because of the search for one. Of course they fight right?!

      Enjoyable and super fast paced (once you get past page 100), this is the first book in a trilogy that completes this year. The characters are ones I quickly grew attached to, they each have their strengths and weaknesses along with their reasoning behind their actions. There are are a few things however, that I nit picked at while reading. Mainly in the first few chapters with Jesse he used the word ‘mass’ a lot. I get that it’s a slang word and I even know a few kids that do the same thing – they latch onto that slang word and use it until you want to smack them. That’s how I felt about Jesse for a little while. Of course that wasn’t how it was the whole book, so if you are like me in that easily annoyed respect don’t worry. I thought the first 100 pages was a tad bit low on the action, but I have to admit that I might have been expecting more action because of how much action there was in the first chapter. Way to suck me in Nick James! So that was my bad – don’t go in expecting just enjoy the ride. The Pearl Wars leads you in by the nose, giving you little sniffs here and there of history and the current state of things with the world, I would definitely have loved to know more, but I’ll just have to wait for the next book. Nick James has a lovely website with lots of info on the factions and characters - so that I gobbled right up.

      There are a a few supporting characters that were excellent additions that you can't help but wonder - no where is this going to go? Thankfully this was very light on any romantic aspects which for a YA book was oh so refreshing!

      Nick James has a lovely website with lots of info on the factions and characters - so that I gobbled right up.

      There is a definite surprise in store for readers, and I love being taken by surprise!

    Book preview

    Skyship Academy - Nick James

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