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natashazaleski's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
I loved this book. Loved it. It hits so many of my favorite narrative tropes: wings, towered cities, strange beings, layers and layers of secrets, a heroine who's got talent but who has to work hard with it--and who experiences the consequences of talent/powers/special abilities.
Loved the characters, the world. I'll need to reread it when it comes out, as this was an ARC made from the uncorrected manuscript, so the voice did not come through as clearly as I know it will. So this review will change.
Looking forward to that reread--and to anything else she does with this world. Woof!
Loved the characters, the world. I'll need to reread it when it comes out, as this was an ARC made from the uncorrected manuscript, so the voice did not come through as clearly as I know it will. So this review will change.
Looking forward to that reread--and to anything else she does with this world. Woof!
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
Copy provided by NetGalley
I read an earlier draft of this novel, and so engrossing I found it that I managed to get through a lot of formatting glitches and a lot of other detritus of various drafts as the publisher apparently wanted to get it out well in advance of the pub date for maximum publicity.
Well, it worked on me in this case. I could hardly wait to get my hands on a clean copy, and though I remembered the general outline of the story, I found myself falling immediately into it, coming out reluctantly for the insistent details of daily life.
There is enough advance hoopla and other reviews out there to make a synopsis unnecessary, so let me go straight to aspects that struck me on this reading:
The complexity of character development. Everybody has reasons for what they do, and everybody displays the full range of human emotion, motivation, and reaction, while remaining distinct.
I could not predict most of the twists. And even when I could (once or twice) they were so well laid down that I anticipated seeing how they rolled out.
The architecture, the sense of dynamic history in people without written language, the weirdness of different life forms, and above all the aerodynamics were stunning. Even more impressive was the fact that the story never screeched to a halt so that the author could unlimber all that snazzy worldbuilding.
And finally, female agency. Though I have read a lot over more than half a century, my tastes remain pretty simple: I will always respond to a story that includes hope, a sense of honor, and compassion, as well as dire situations and high stakes, and I deeply appreciate watching a heroine, in particular, earn her agency. Kirit is a terrific heroine: angry, passionate, impulsive, smart, empathetic, inquisitive, honorable, desperately determined and paying for what she attains with all her wits and strength.
On this second read I reached the end, groping mentally for the next.
Please, let there be a next. I am so invested in these people and this world.
I read an earlier draft of this novel, and so engrossing I found it that I managed to get through a lot of formatting glitches and a lot of other detritus of various drafts as the publisher apparently wanted to get it out well in advance of the pub date for maximum publicity.
Well, it worked on me in this case. I could hardly wait to get my hands on a clean copy, and though I remembered the general outline of the story, I found myself falling immediately into it, coming out reluctantly for the insistent details of daily life.
There is enough advance hoopla and other reviews out there to make a synopsis unnecessary, so let me go straight to aspects that struck me on this reading:
The complexity of character development. Everybody has reasons for what they do, and everybody displays the full range of human emotion, motivation, and reaction, while remaining distinct.
I could not predict most of the twists. And even when I could (once or twice) they were so well laid down that I anticipated seeing how they rolled out.
The architecture, the sense of dynamic history in people without written language, the weirdness of different life forms, and above all the aerodynamics were stunning. Even more impressive was the fact that the story never screeched to a halt so that the author could unlimber all that snazzy worldbuilding.
And finally, female agency. Though I have read a lot over more than half a century, my tastes remain pretty simple: I will always respond to a story that includes hope, a sense of honor, and compassion, as well as dire situations and high stakes, and I deeply appreciate watching a heroine, in particular, earn her agency. Kirit is a terrific heroine: angry, passionate, impulsive, smart, empathetic, inquisitive, honorable, desperately determined and paying for what she attains with all her wits and strength.
On this second read I reached the end, groping mentally for the next.
Please, let there be a next. I am so invested in these people and this world.
jrosenstein's review against another edition
2.0
Updraft is really YA dystopia by another name. It has a lot of the hallmarks, a young heroine who turns out to have an unusual ability, a shadowy body that controls society, secrets that the plucky heroine must unearth. There's even hints of a possible love triangle. I just didn't find the story very compelling and while the world is unusual and creative, none of the physics make sense. This seems to be the start of a series so maybe things will be explained in later books, but I just didn't understand how it could be possible for people to fly around on silk wings. And there are invisible sky monsters, but no explanation of why they're invisible. Didn't move me.
hrobison11's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't read a book like this in awhile. It felt unique to me, it was intriguing. I literally could not put this book down today until it was finished!
dhalperi's review against another edition
3.0
Read this as it was nominated for several awards in 2016, but was very disappointed. Thin characters, immature writing, nonsense world. This book is really YA fantasy; I think I'm just too experienced a reader to enjoy this. Cannot recommend.
drownedworld's review against another edition
5.0
I read this months ago and somehow forgot to review it. Unfortunately, my memory is ridiculous but I loved this book, really, truly loved it. Fran Wilde's worldbuilding is sublime and I look forward to reading more from this author.
dcunitz's review against another edition
5.0
"They kept us from fighting to death in the clouds. They found the few left alive, taught them Laws. They learned how to raise the towers faster. On their wings, we rose"
tregina's review against another edition
3.0
This was a lot of fun to read, but at the same time it felt quite familiar. Not the setting, which was definitely something I hadn't seen before, but the tropes and the plot and the relationships. Its strength was definitely in the bone city itself, and I was left with so many questions about the whys and hows of it all that I look forward to having explored in the future.
judeandolin's review against another edition
DNF @ 63%. I kept chugging along, expecting this to get more interesting as I learned more about the world, the characters, etc., but it just didn't. The main character was lifeless and the plot was so hidden beneath the world-building that I couldn't decipher the two.
Basically, this is a world where humungous towers made of bone grow out of the Earth (?). The bones have been growing for so long that the surface of the world is no longer visible beneath the cloud cover, and the society uses mechanical wings to navigate between the towers and trade, etc.
SUCH an interesting, different idea, and I know I would have loved it if I could have connected to any of the characters.
Basically, this is a world where humungous towers made of bone grow out of the Earth (?). The bones have been growing for so long that the surface of the world is no longer visible beneath the cloud cover, and the society uses mechanical wings to navigate between the towers and trade, etc.
SUCH an interesting, different idea, and I know I would have loved it if I could have connected to any of the characters.