The Surviving Sky

I need to ruminate on this one for a little bit, RTC.

Tinggi diatas planet-hutan, terdapat kota terapung, pengungsian terakhir umat manusia, peradaban yg terbuat dari tanaman, dibangun dengan menyatukan tradisi, teknologi dan sains. Disini para arsitek sangat dipuja, menjadi kaum yg diistimewakan. Kalau bukan karena kemampuan mereka, kota-kota akan jatuh & hancur karena earthrages (badai dahsyat) yang kerap melanda.
Earthrages sendiri merupakan badai dahsyat berupa tremor dan gempa bumi yang masif. Tornado yang mengikis setiap lapisan tanah. Secara harfiah bumi bergolak, bebatuan dan batang pohon memantul dan bergemuruh tanpa henti.
Iravan salah satu arsitek yang kuat dan karismatik. Kemampuannya adalah indentitasnya, namun bagi istrinya yang seorang arkeologis, hal tersebut adalaha cara untuk menekan kaum yang bukan arsitek. Bisa diduga, perjalanan pernikahan mereka tidak begitu mulus.
Ketika ekspedisi hutan berakhir buruk dan membahayakan karir mereka, Ahilya dan Iravan harus bekerja sama untuk menyelamatkan reputasi mereka. Dengan kota mereka yang mulai merosot, penemuan mereka bukan saja mengancam pernikahan mereka tapi juga seluruh peradaban.
Ahilya melakukan ekspedisi di hutan karena kehidupan bermula disana dan riset Ahilya bertujuan untuk menemukan cara bertahan hidup di permukaan tanah lagi, bukannya tinggal di kota terapung yang bergantung pada arsitek.
Aku sangat kesulitan memahami world building maupun magic system dari buku ini. Banyak kosakata yang sangat tidak familiar buat aku. Mungkin karena kemampuan bahasa Inggrisku terbatas. Jika teman-teman yang kemampuan bahasa Inggrisnya tingkat lanjut mungkin bisa mencoba tema distopia mengenai kota yang mengapung di langit karena manusia tidak mungkin hidup menapak tanah lagi karena badai dahsyat yang kerap terjadi.

I'm wondering if a book being readable is the same as it being good. This book is very readable, in that once it is picked up, you can easily read big chunks of it. That said, I had to make myself pick it up. I think the magic system is interesting - though towards the end it gets pretty incomprehensible.

There are no likable characters in the book. Big chunks of the book are an extended marriage spat in a relationship that is as-near-as-makes-no-difference domestically violent. Both partners are variously emotionally abusive to one another, and then every other character enjoys meddling in the marriage. The society is set up in a way that seems to condemn itself.

I think a good editor would have slashed about 100 pages of this. I'd cut big chunks of the marriage spat, and I'd probably cut about 50 pages of the ending where the magic system gets really convoluted and hard to follow.

This book has been on my top most anticipated lists since the first time it came onto my radar but I didn't want my horrible reading slump to affect my reading experience, so I decided to wait till I got both a physical copy and audiobook before I attempted to read it. And wow this was everything I wanted.

It's scary to go into a book from which you have too many expectations. It can be particularly heartbreaking if doesn't live up to it. But I'm glad I didn't have to worry about that here. Not that there's no heartbreak here, it's just the more cathartic and satisfying kind. The writing and plot took its time to make me feel invested because this is a very complex world, and the author dispenses information very slowly, like peeling an onion, so that we can try and understand the things which are left unsaid. I felt very reminiscent of The Broken Earth trilogy while reading this one because both have a commonality of the home planet being ravaged by geological disasters - in this case, earthrages - and the author does a brilliant job of creating a fantasy world inspired by Hindu philosophy/ mythology but which also has an in-world scientific base. I particularly loved the usage of the concept of rebirth from Hinduism, and how even if we don't have concrete memories of the previous lives, there is still an imprint of our desires and regrets that we carry forward. The way the philosophical elements and the magic/science of trajection tie in together towards the end is masterfully written.

I was very excited to meet our main characters because it's so rare to have protagonists in their 30s with marital problems in the usual kind of SFF books I read. And both Ahilya and Iravan are a delight to read - they are aggravating and got on my nerves and I wanted to give them a good shake many times over, but it was still a lot of fun to get to know them. However, what we mainly get to see is a marriage in trouble, one where the power imbalance and both of their stubbornness has led to a loss of trust and buildup of anger - and while I did feel amused by some of their arguments which really went nowhere (I did relate to some of them too deeply), I also would have loved to get some more glimpses of the good times so that I could believe more convincingly that their love was strong enough to weather the various storms.

In the end though, all I can say is that I finished the book feeling immensely satisfied. The beginning took a bit of time, but I breezed through the second half in just a couple of days. I really have to thank the author because it's been a while since I've read a book so fast. It also immensely helped that I could alternate between the book and audio, very beautifully narrated by Sharmila Devar and Pranshu Mishra. I have been thoroughly thrilled by this debut science fantasy, with a very unique and complex world which got my brain working quite a bit, and characters who could be infuriating but I couldn't help but love them. Can't wait to see where this story goes next coz the possibilities are very intriguing.

A city that can fly! I love it!

I love the world building in this - the magic system is well thought out, I love how they make the city fly, the politics of it all, how non architects and architects react to each other, the secrets that are being with -held.


This was-an entertaining story. We follow two POV., from the wife (Ahilya) and husband (Iravan). it was pleasant to see the differing sides of their story and both sides of their issues with each other.

The main focus of the story is the wife and husband relationships , how they are struggling with what they want, how they talk to each other and it makes the matter worse.
But its all worth it the end.

I loved the conclusion to this story, how the magic system
Expand and their relationship.

I highly recommend this story. I can't wait for book two