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A review by songwind
Updraft by Fran Wilde
4.0
Updraft presents a world where humanity exists in a series of living towers made of bone. Bridges connect some, but travel is mostly done by wing, as the ground is far below, beneath the clouds.
As our MC Kirit comes of age, she gets caught up in a vast and hidden tension that deflects the course of her life and takes he places she never imagined.
The City and its inhabitants feel well worn in, fleshed out and lived in. Despite the many outlandish things about the setting, I was able to suspend my disbelief to enjoy the story.
The plot is a nice combination of personal growth, action and intrigue. It was very readable (or listenable in this case) and kept my attention.
Warning: this book is not for those who like things explained. There are no long infodumps, and precious few explanations. What explanations we are given about the setting explain past events, but not the big questions. Why do they live in a living City? What kind of beast is it? How did humans get to this world in the first place? Are they non-standard humans, as is implied by some of their abilities (living at extremely high altitude, muscle-powering a set of wings, and others)? None of these questions have answers.
Wilde manages to include enough explanation to make the story accessible by inclusion in the narrative. This is my favorite method of in-story data acquisition.
All in all, a very strong book and a fascinating bit of world building. I am looking forward to book 2.
As our MC Kirit comes of age, she gets caught up in a vast and hidden tension that deflects the course of her life and takes he places she never imagined.
The City and its inhabitants feel well worn in, fleshed out and lived in. Despite the many outlandish things about the setting, I was able to suspend my disbelief to enjoy the story.
The plot is a nice combination of personal growth, action and intrigue. It was very readable (or listenable in this case) and kept my attention.
Warning: this book is not for those who like things explained. There are no long infodumps, and precious few explanations. What explanations we are given about the setting explain past events, but not the big questions. Why do they live in a living City? What kind of beast is it? How did humans get to this world in the first place? Are they non-standard humans, as is implied by some of their abilities (living at extremely high altitude, muscle-powering a set of wings, and others)? None of these questions have answers.
Wilde manages to include enough explanation to make the story accessible by inclusion in the narrative. This is my favorite method of in-story data acquisition.
All in all, a very strong book and a fascinating bit of world building. I am looking forward to book 2.