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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Book review: The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills






ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Samantha Mills is a Hugo, Locus, Sturgeon, and Nebula Award-winning author who has published a dozen short stories since 2018. Her fiction has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, and others. Mills has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, as well as the Hugo and Astounding Awards. She has a Master's Degree in Information and Library Science, and she is a trained archivist focusing on helping local historical societies and research libraries. Mills lives in Southern California. The Wings Upon Her Back is her debut novel.

Publisher: Tachyon (Apr 23) Length: 336 pages Formats: Genre: Science Fantasy, Alternate History

“The Wings Upon Her Back” is set in the divided city of Radezdha, ruled by the mecha sect led by the power-hungry Winged Vodaya. The story opens with Winged Zemolai making the mistake of letting a spy go free. As a result, she loses everything; she finds herself cast away from her sect and physically maimed by her god. 

There’s not much she can do. Another sect rescues her, but what choice does she have? She can either venture alone into a world that hates her or fight against the only world that has ever accepted her.

The chapters alternate between two timelines: Zemolai’s childhood and her arduous training to become Winged, and her adult path of disillusionment and fight for survival. Both parts are action-packed and emotionally charged. Zemolai ran away from home to join the Winged. Without getting into details, it required inhuman sacrifices, including blind obedience and eventually getting nerves wired into mechanical wings that allowed Winged to fly.

It shows how easy it is to succumb to the allure of authority and how easily revolutionary leaders turn into oppressive rulers. But of course, it's more complex than that - the gods left Radezdha and no longer care about wars or atrocities committed in their name. Zemolai's single-minded loyalty to the cause results in pain and the initial inability to see lies for lies. 

The writing is good, with a strong narrative voice, and concise style. But it's also visible and sometimes gets in the way of simply telling the story. Especially at the beginning of the story, where certain details, such as the workings of the city and the gods' influence, were presented in exposition-heavy passages. 

Other than that, it's still an impressive debut novel with vivid imagery, compelling characters, and action-packed sentences. 



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