Summary of plot: 7 year old Conor Broekhart is the son of Captain Declan Broekhart and Catherine Broekhart. He lives in a castle, with the king of the Saltee islands, Nicholas Trudeau and his daughter, Isabella Trudeau. They are the last of the royal family of Trudeau monarchs. Also in the castle is the power-hungry Marshall, Hugo Bonvilain. King Nicholas describes him in his diary as a scourge to the island. One day, he sets the King’s tower on fire but Conor saves Isabella and himself by using a makeshift glider and parachute using the flag. King Nicholas is grateful to Conor, and makes him a knight. After Conor’s mentor, Victor Vigny and King Nicholas are murdered by Bonvilain, with a sentry and Conor being the only witnesses, Conor is disguised as a soldier and brought to his father, having been told that his father believes that Conor took part in the king’s murder, while Captain Broekhart swears to kill Conor on sight the next time they meet. Declan Broekhart has been told that Conor is dead. Conor is sent to the prison on Little Saltee, on the alias of Conor Finn, and quite by chance, is thrown into the same cell as one of King Nicholas’s spies, a blind musician known as Linus Wynter. Linus is there for Conor’s first few days, and explains the terms such as released, sheep, and tells him how to survive on Little Saltee, before being actually released, though fully expecting to be “released”. Released, according to him, means murdered, and sheep mean captured members of an Irish gang known as the Battering Rams. As part of Conor’s punishment, the leader, known as Otto Malarkey, is sent to abuse Conor. However, Conor is skilled in fencing and after a few days, takes over Malarkey as the leader. Conor provides many suggestions to the guard, Arthur Billtoe, as a means of gaining favour. Eventually, he finds mud caked over luminous coral, and makes calculations for one of his and Victor’s dreams, to build a flying machine. Meanwhile, the Battering rams are smuggling diamonds, and burying them in the salsa yards, another of Conor’s suggestions, so that when Conor escapes, he can retrieve them and buy Malarkey’s freedom. He succeeds in his plan, on the day of Isabella’s coronation by sneaking up into a firework balloon with a glider. It is a close shave, but he succeeds. He goes back for the diamonds, and one day, meets Linus in Kilmore. Because of the way they act, they attract the attention of Marshall Bonvilain and his second in command, a Turkish mercenary, Sultan Arif. One day they pay a visit to them, but Conor is not home, and they abuse Linus instead, and tell him that Lord Broekhart and Lady Broekhart, along with Queen Isabella will be poisoned. Conor hurries to finish his plane, naming it La Brosse, after Victor’s nickname. As soon as he comes within sight, the wall watch fire their Gatling guns at him, however he is still too high. However, after another round of firing, he is within range. Just before his plane is shredded, he jumps clear of the craft, gliding out of sight of the gunners, and gliding into Bonvilain’s apartment just as Lord Broekhart was about to drink the wolfs bane-spiked wine. None recognize Conor, and a fight ensues. Eventually, Bonvilain is defeated, but Isabella and Conor’s parents mistake him for an assassin, and demand that he remove the goggles he is wearing. Only then do they realise their mistake and after the reunion is complete, they find Bonvilain trying to escape. Seeing escape is impossible, he releases the soldiers hidden in the room. However, they are defeated, but Declan is injured. During this fight, Bonvilain tries to escape on Conor’s glider, but before he is out, Lord Broekhart stabs him, and he is betrayed be Sultan Arif, who leaves him. He manages to get airborne, but is shot by one of the wall watch. A wind carries him towards the sea, where he drowns. With Bonvilain and Sultan Arif out of the way, Captain Broekhart leads the heartfelt cry of “long Live the Queen”. Before leaving, Conor admits that he will miss Isabella, and they kiss for the first time.
Reflection: I feel that the novel is an amazing piece of work. It successfully shows that determination alone can conquer all kinds of problems. It demonstrates the value of friendship, and that all evil will be thwarted in the end, just a matter of time. It also tells us that although a person is disabled, he might not necessarily be useless, as shown in the case of Linus Wynter. He survived 50 years of war and prison, never seeing. It also tells us that no lie is safe, as with Bonvilain’s lies to Conor and his father. It also proves that money is the root of all evil.
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