Clash of the Sky Galleons

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's Clash of the Sky Galleons is a sky pirate adventure for 11 year olds about a father who can't let go of revenge, and the son who has to watch his back.

What happens

Quint is back on board his father's sky ship, the Galerider. He's been taken away from his studies to learn what being a sky pirate really means.

Quint's dad, Wind Jackal, has other things on his mind. Years ago a fire killed Quint's mother and brothers. Everyone believed the man who lit it, a quartermaster called Turbot Smeal, burned to death in it too. Now an unsigned message says he's alive.

So the book opens with the Galerider tethered over the Edge in a screaming wind. Wind Jackal and Quint are lowered on ropes down a sheer cliff into an old quarry where Smeal is meant to be hiding. What's waiting for them is a trap (and some very nasty creatures with papery wings).

It's a proper edge-of-your-seat start! The ropes spin, the mud pours past, and you really feel how cold and dark it is down there.

What makes it more than a chase is Quint worrying about his dad. Wind Jackal is brave and his crew adore him. But he wants revenge so badly that he stops listening, and Quint can see it happening. There's a super awkward moment in a tavern where the whole crew stares at the table while their captain rants.

The world is VERY full. Ships fly on heated flight-rocks, the crew is a mix of goblins, gnomes and an ancient oakelf, and Undertown is packed with smoky taverns and shady money-lenders. If your reader loves a world with lots of strange names to keep track of, they'll be in their element.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

It's quite violent in places. A creature's head is sliced off in the first chapter, and Wind Jackal lists all the horrible ways he'd like Smeal to die. There's also an old story of scholars driven mad who kill each other.

For a child who's easily upset by gore, that could be too much. If your reader is already happy with battles and monsters, it's thrilling stuff.

What to read next

Quint has had adventures before this one, and they get mentioned in passing. If you'd rather go further back, The Curse of the Gloamglozer is the one where Quint and his father arrive in the floating city of Sanctaphrax.