Rebel Skies

Excellent world building and magic system, great action sequences but the writing felt stilted and with a couple of exceptions (Akane!) I didn't like the characters much.

  One of the great things about book subscriptions and book clubs is that they can broaden your horizons a bit and lead you to books you wouldn't have otherwise come across, which is the case for me with this book – I'm not all that sure I would have picked this up of my own accord. But I would have been massively missing out as I have loved reading this. 

This book introduces us to Kurara, a young girl who has paper magic – she can fold paper with her mind and bring it to life. The story is set in a world where there is an Empire that controls the civilization living on the ground, and there are cities in the skies who at least some of the inhabitants want independence from the Empire. In addition, there are giant paper magic creatures called shikigami who can cause a lot of destruction. Early on in the novel, Kurara is found by a fellow user of paper magic, Himura, who tells her she is a crafter and takes her to live and work with him on board an airship, from where they hunt shikigami and retrieve their paper cores, which is what is implied to contain the enchantment that make these creatures live. The cores are then sold to the Princess, who researches them. 

The world building is exquisite and just makes me want to know more – I want to learn about the magic system, about the Empire and the political set-up, how the sky cities were established and how long ago such that the inhabitants are now considered like a separate race. It's very original and was a huge breath of fresh air – I love a demon and fae/chosen one style epic series but there are a lot of those so its good to shake it up and read something that really departs from that. In fact, if you don't like romance in your fantasy fiction then I have good news for you, because there is no love interest or romantic subplot. The closest it comes is the implication of a potential romance between two background characters. 

There were a couple of twists I didn't see coming – one I think I probably should have, but I was so wrapped up in soaking up all the world building and wondering about what I was learning about it that I didn't really take note of the clues that were there. It left me feeling winded and knocked off course, which is a really great reaction to have to a plot twist. I did suspect the betrayal of a certain character who I will decline to name to avoid spoilers, but even though I anticipated it, when it happened it left me so mad that I was still feeling it days later. I have rarely been so enraged with a fictional character, I wanted to reach into the book and shake them. 

Overall, though, I would have liked to see deeper characterisation, as many of the supporting cast felt quite flat and interchangeable, I didn't really have a good feel for their personalities. It was a bit like characterisation suffered at the expense of the world building, as that is so rich and detailed compared to the cast. 

When I started this novel, I didn't realise that it's the first in a trilogy, so I was frustrated by how little was answered or resolved at the end of this book. Even knowing it's the start of a series, it still feels a bit like it's the first half of a first instalment or a prequel novella of a sprawling fantasy epic. The ending feels quite abrupt, just as the action and narrative conflicts are really being laid out. 

That being said, I loved every moment I was reading it and will definitely be picking up the next instalment without question. Despite the weaker characterisation of the supporting cast, I gave it 4/5 stars because I am very generous with my star ratings, I adored reading it, I'd happily read it again, I'll absolutely be reading the next book and I do really recommend it.