Skip to main content

Book Review - Updraft

Unexpected, masterfully crafted, original epic fantasy.


Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

Updraft by Fran Wilde, published September 2015 by TOR Books


A wholly original world, unlike anything I’ve read before!
I would classify this superb novel as technically an epic fantasy, but in a world without magic, with shades of steampunk technology, a conspiracy that rocked me to the core, and a mystery that drove me to devour this book as fast as I could.
I say epic fantasy because of it's scope, but not geographically as most epic fantasies are: making arduous journeys across continents to fulfill terrible fates, or find fabled lost quarry, battling with their enemies, their own fears and against nature itself. And I love that about epic fantasy. But this story stays isolated geographically into a large city in the sky whose very existence itself, and the question of why there are no other cities like this, is part of the very deep mystery. As the beginning of a series, do not expect the answers to many of the questions that will be burning in your mind as you approach the final pages. But fear not, there is plenty of epic action, terrible fates, hidden enemies and inner conflict to satisfy!
This amazing novel defied my expectations in each twist of the plot. The prose was sparse but it kept me riveted and the action flowing. A young woman must give up everything she knows and desires to learn the secrets of the city, and change herself drastically to become a catalyst for a revolution. Now that may sound like many other stories, but I swear that premise is where any similarities end. Everything about Fran Wilde’s Bone world challenges my thinking and expectations of world building in a very positive way. The story was it like a breath of fresh air for me in sheer creativity. Updraft redefined what fantasy could be, in my mind. Away from the medieval European traditions and into something more rich and varied and ultimately wonderful.
Yes, Updraft leaves SO many unanswered questions, but I can assure you, as I have read them all, the books to follow not only continue to defy expectations but eventually answer all the mysteries while retaining a strong sense of wonder and grandeur.

Rating: 10 out of 10 Galaxies

 Please support your local independant bookstore!
Updraft is also available at IndieBound
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for adding input into the datafeed!
Your comment will be reviewed by the moderator before posting to the public.
Again, we are glad to have you here!

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review - The Ganymedan

Sci-fi Noir at its finest! The Ganymedan by R. T. Ester, Published by Solaris/Rebellion books Thanks to Solaris and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this intense experience! It’s hard to know where to start. This book is a gripping sci-fi thriller with a shadow of tragic  darkness. It inhabits a future solar system so vivid and lived in, that felt so plausible. It battles with questions of morality, and what does it mean to be alive and sentient for machines or toandroids, and humans. It is the desperate flight of a wanted man aiming to stop heinous crimes from continuing to be perpetrated in secret. And yet a lace of humor trims the narrative pleasantly.  The reader is instantly immersed into a future with its own culture and jargon and you learn to adapt to it quickly if you are familiar with science fiction. Pieces of the strange puzzle snap into place as the desperation grows and the tension mounts. While could not necessarily relate to the main character, V-dot, I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Book Review - Your Behavior Will Be Monitored

  How do you know that chat, voice, or video is really a human or not? Your Behavior Will Be Monitored, by Justin Feinstein. Published by Tachyon  In all the reviews of books I have read, and I read a heap of science fiction, I have never used the word 'prescient' to describe my thoughts on a novel; that is until now. This is foremost a prescient insight into, not a distant future, but a tomorrow that is highly plausible, chilling, but maybe hopeful, if we heed warnings. Indeed a commentary on AI sentience and what it is to be alive. In my day job I work for a company pushing AI into every product, and every tool that employees use. This whole book was relatable in a deeply personal level. I work in tech, I understand introverts and I see the way COVID has affected social competencies. Perhaps this book also quickly befriended me as I work in an office environment, and this was secondarily a satire of office life, but augmented with AI co-workers. I smiled, laughed, and nodded...
Post a Comment
Read more

Book Review - The Many

Want to walk a mile in someone else's shoes? The Many by Sylvain Neuvel. Published by Rebellion Publishing Thanks to Rebellion and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this remarkable book! When I was a teenager, I recall intense feelings of wanting to see myself and others through the eyes of other people, especially my family and friends. This remarkable novel explores that feeling. But not just one person, but a whole group of people, virtual strangers. What starts out as a melding of just two or three minds becomes something much greater, a hivemind. How would knowing and seeing and feeling everything through someone else's point of view affect your views, your mind, your beliefs? Inside we all have beautiful parts and ugly parts: desperate, lonely, sad, angry feelings, things we dislike about ourselves; but we also have hope, kindness, love, generosity, the pride of doing something good for others, the self-worth that accompanies accomplishment. Now multiply that by 2,...
Post a Comment
Read more