The Wind Upon Her Back
By: Samantha Mills
Location: FIC MIL
Genre: Sci Fi Fantasy
“we do what’s right because it’s right, because it helps the most people live their lives the way they want to live them. We protect the vulnerable and we use our strength to shield the weak, and if they don’t care, we carry on anyway, because that’s our path.”
― The Wings Upon Her Back
A loyal warrior in a crisis of faith must fight to regain her place and begin her life again while questioning the events of her past. This gripping science-fantasy novel from a Nebula and Locus Award-winning debut author is a complex, action-packed exploration of the costs of zealous faith, brutal war, and unquestioning loyalty.
Five gods lie mysteriously sleeping above the city of Radezhda. Five gods who once bestowed great technologies and wisdom, each inspiring the devotion of their own sect. When the gods turned away from humanity, their followers built towers to the heavens to find out why. But when no answer was given, the collective grief of the sects turned to desperation, and eventually to war.
Zenya was a teenager when she ran away from home to join the mechanically-modified warrior sect. She was determined to earn mechanized wings and protect the people and city she loved. Under the strict tutelage of a mercurial, charismatic leader, Zenya became Winged Zemolai.
But after twenty-six years of service, Zemolai is disillusioned with her role as an enforcer in an increasingly fascist state. After one tragic act of mercy, she is cast out, and loses everything she worked for. As Zemolai fights for her life, she begins to understand the true nature of her sect, her leader, and the gods themselves.
Greg review
This book is incredible.
It's a book that, somehow all at once, manages to explore the fanatic loyalty and isolation that comes with abusive relationships or cultish commitment to a cause. And the hurt and introspection that comes with breaking that cycle of abuse. All in the wrapper of a steampunk-y revolution with mecha-winged warriors and apathetic & unknowable gods.
It's impeccably structured, carefully crafted, and has a defined, narrow focus that complements the themes perfectly, and makes it so that every chapter means something.
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