Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

To save his younger sister from their villainous uncle, a 16-year-old enters a perilous contest that involves killing massive sky serpents.Anyone living on the socially stratified floating islands can rise in status by dueling or entering a Trade. Conrad, once a High, is demoted after his uncle kills his father and assumes the role of Archduke. After his mother is killed, Conrad tries to reunite with Ella, the sister his uncle abducted, but Uncle demands that he first enter the Selection and rise through the ranks of one of the Twelve Trades. Chosen by Hunter, which is responsible for exterminating the menacing, steel-scaled gorgantauns, Conrad is soon taking part in the Gauntlet, a deadly contest between airships to see which crew can kill the most gorgantauns. But he won't just have to battle sky serpents-Conrad also faces the ever-present threat of mutiny, a murder attempt, and shifting loyalties. Amid budding friendships, the crew unearths startling truths about their world, revealing a more profound conflict than Conrad envisioned. Gregson's YA debut provides a skillful blend of action, suspense, and comic relief. After each airship battle, readers can barely draw breath before political intrigues turn the story on its head, but this is also a touching story of found family and personal growth. Most major characters read white; in this racially diverse world, one crew member has dark skin.A thrilling and brilliantly realized series opener; readers will clamor for the next installment. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

To save his younger sister from their villainous uncle, a 16-year-old enters a perilous contest that involves killing massive sky serpents.Anyone living on the socially stratified floating islands can rise in status by dueling or entering a Trade. Conrad, once a High, is demoted after his uncle kills his father and assumes the role of Archduke. After his mother is killed, Conrad tries to reunite with Ella, the sister his uncle abducted, but Uncle demands that he first enter the Selection and rise through the ranks of one of the Twelve Trades. Chosen by Hunter, which is responsible for exterminating the menacing, steel-scaled gorgantauns, Conrad is soon taking part in the Gauntlet, a deadly contest between airships to see which crew can kill the most gorgantauns. But he won't just have to battle sky serpents-Conrad also faces the ever-present threat of mutiny, a murder attempt, and shifting loyalties. Amid budding friendships, the crew unearths startling truths about their world, revealing a more profound conflict than Conrad envisioned. Gregson's YA debut provides a skillful blend of action, suspense, and comic relief. After each airship battle, readers can barely draw breath before political intrigues turn the story on its head, but this is also a touching story of found family and personal growth. Most major characters read white; in this racially diverse world, one crew member has dark skin.A thrilling and brilliantly realized series opener; readers will clamor for the next installment. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Like the other floating islands comprising the Skylands, Holmstead is a Meritocracy, where family status can be won or lost in a duel. When Conrad was 10, his uncle Ulrich murdered Conrad’s father, the archduke, and claimed his title. Ulrich then took Conrad’s younger sister, Ella, to raise as his heir and exiled Conrad and his mother to live in financial precarity. After a monstrous sky serpent called a gorgantaun kills Conrad’s mother, Conrad, now 16, strikes a deal with status-obsessed Ulrich: if Conrad achieves greatness within one of the esteemed Twelve Trades, he and Ella can reunite. Conrad gains membership into Hunter, the defenders of the Skylands, and schemes to become a captain. But first, he and seven other trainees must survive the Gauntlet—a perilous competition between skyship crews to slay the most gorgantauns. Following a somewhat melodramatic start, debut author Gregson plunges headlong into a first-person-present adventure that alternates high-stakes action with nuanced interpersonal drama. Mutinous machinations and improbable alliances distinguish this rousing trilogy opener, and snarky banter and sophisticated character arcs lend dimension to the intersectionally diverse cast. Ages 14–up. Agent: Heather Cashman, Storm Literary. (Jan.)

School Library Journal (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 8 Up —Dueling cane in hand, 16-year-old Conrad fights to provide for his sickly mother after the death of his father sent the pair tumbling down the rungs of the Meritocracy in disgrace. When a metallic sky serpent decimates Conrad's home, killing his mother, he finds himself embroiled in the machinations of his uncle: the man who is responsible for their misfortune and who has kept custody of Conrad's sister, Ella. Striving for unassailable social status, Conrad is selected as a Hunter, where he struggles to overcome his mistrust of others in order to survive the frequently deadly training and succeed as a leader. With a writing style and plot presentation that hails back to Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, Conrad's story religiously adheres, beat by beat, to the formula readers have come to expect from young adult dystopian books. This allows the plot to move quickly, eschewing extended explanations in favor of high-octane scenes filled with metal-clad creatures and occasional high-drama interpersonal character clashes. However, this pacing and narrative focus results in a muddled overall plot, since it is not conducive to satisfactorily conveying the complexity of the Meritocracy, a society which has two simultaneously parallel and intersecting social hierarchies. Conrad and other primary characters are not presented as a particularly diverse crew and a general white default is adhered to. VERDICT Not a priority purchase, but a fun addition to collections serving teens in their vintage dystopian era.—Austin Ferraro