Book Review: The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills

Genre(s): Science Fantasy / Dystopian

Book Synopsis:

Zenya was a teenager when she ran away to join the mechanically-modified warrior sect. She was determined to earn mechanized wings and protect the people of Radezhda, the city she loved. Under the strict tutelage of a mercurial, charismatic leader, Vodaya, Zenya finally 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 brutally cast out and loses everything she worked for. As Zemolai struggles for her life, she must question her sect, their leader, and even the gods themselves.

Review:

This is a book that I will be thinking about for a long while. It wasn’t just the characters that drew me in, but the world, the themes that were explored, and its relevancy to our current time. Yes, it’s fantasy, yes, it’s set in a fictional world, but the political landscape is eerily reminiscent of certain situations (or potential situations) in the real world right now. It was a phenomenal and thought-provoking story.

The story oscillates between Zemolai as an adult and Zenya as she was in her teenage years. Zemolai’s history as Zenya and the choices she made then play a pivotal role in who she became as an adult. I don’t often quote the books I review, but this one is so relevant to the storyline that I’m compelled to:

“You are every person you have ever been, continual and simultaneous, an iterative being composed of a million decisions large and small.”

Zemolai/Zenya is not a perfect character. No, she is deeply flawed, and doesn’t see it until her world begins to fall apart around her. But that’s what made her such an interesting character. The reader experiences her downfall, her determination to keep pushing forward (even when her reasons are misguided), and her eventual realization that maybe she was on the wrong path. But can she change? Can she fix what she destroyed? Can she learn from her mistakes?

Her story is set in a world where the people are divided between five sects, each following their own god. As Zenya, she was born into the scholar god’s sect, but that was never where she wanted to be. Zenya wanted to fly. But to do so meant leaving her sect and joining another—if she could prove herself worthy, strong enough, smart enough. She wanted to join the mecha god’s sect of winged warriors.

The mecha sect is where I felt the world started to overlap fantasy with science-fiction. They were known for incorporating body modifications, most notably those that would directly tie into their nerve endings and allow for the addition of wings. The Winged were the elite soldiers of their world, led by Vodaya, who at first seems to be little more than a stern mentor for Zenya. By the time she is Zemolai, Vodaya possesses all the hallmarks of a dictator. Since the story moves between Zenya (past) and Zemolai (present) with each chapter, I kept wondering what ultimately tipped Vodaya over the edge… It is revealed eventually, and with it comes some revelations that Zemolai wasn’t expecting.

This turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I highly recommend it.

Author website: samtasticbooks.com