Robert Weekes grew up in rural Montana helping his mother, a war hero-one, who helped to plan the battle that ended the war. He helps out in the family business. He dreams of being the first male to be accepted in the US Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Team. It's a prestigious group that is sent in when disasters strike. Even his mother wouldn't train him but after careful observations, he proved he could use the sigil necessary to fly. Grudgingly she taught him some other sigils so he could assist her when the trouble she needed to deal with was more than one person could handle.

After a daring rescue to get survivors of a vicious attack by members of a pro-men protest group, Robert was offered a scholarship to Radcliffe College as one of the very few men allowed to attend in the upcoming year. There he had to overcome a lot of prejudice against men being able to compete with women on an equal playing field.

The book has a lot of twists and turns and a compelling plot as Robert strives to achieve his dream. The Philosopher's Flight is basically society reversed. Women won the war when men, finally after years of fight, allowed the women to take charge. They fought dirty but they ended the war quickly and decisively. Now years later, women through their control and some advances in their use and development of the sigils were key to the entire economic health of the country.

This was a well-thought-out magical system. Sigils were formed by slowly dispensing cornmeal to form them. As long as the sigil was continually formed the spell would last. Thus to fly, you'd make the flying sigil as you flew and continue until you arrived at your destination. I couldn't help wondering about the economic cost of corn in such an economy or the amount of cornmeal drifting down from the sky continually. But then, who cares when the plot has so much going on that there wasn't a lot of time to spend trying to think of the long-term consequences of this particular magical system?

Many of the issues Robert Weekes had to deal with are ones that most if not all women have dealt with in their daily lives—even in, or should I say, especially these days as women are losing some of the rights they once and long fought for.

I read this book when it first came out but it has stayed in my mind every now and then turning to look at the world I live in and wondering how there isn't all that much difference, no matter which side of the line you are on, the only way to win is to share equally in creating a world worth living in.

Perhaps, there is a bit too much reality in this speculative fiction novel but it is still a strong story driven by a very compelling what-if.

** Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the chance to review this book. **

Not every book is for every person. I think it’s safe to say that The Philosopher’s Flight was not for me.

The Philosopher’s Flight follows the journey of Robert Weeks, a young man from a rural town in Montana who is the son of a war hero. This war hero, however, is unique from any you have ever met. In a twist of alternative history, his mother is a famous empirical philosopher who had fought in several conflicts prior to the World Wars. What is an empirical philosopher, you might ask? Good question. I never did fully figure that one out, but it seemed like a mixture between a magician and a physicist. By drawing these symbols called sigils, the philosophers could make amazing things happen (thinking of flying, explosions, etc). In the book, Empirical Philosophers were first discovered during the Civil War, and women were naturally talented in its practice. As a result, men were often discriminated against when they tried to enter the field. The book not only addresses an alternative history, but also reverse sexism.

Robert has a unique talent for flying, especially for a man. After leading a rescue mission one night, he gets recommended to attend Radcliffe, a college that specializes in empirical philosophy. Since men are rarely talented in empirical philosophy, Robert is discounted and often treated poorly by the female students. His heart desires to pursue search and rescue, a dangerous career field that has not been made safer by the start of WWI. This career choice is unheard of for a man, and lots of women in the book throw roadblocks in his path. Lo and behold, he overcomes them one by one.

On top of the female students fighting against him, empirical philosophy has its own enemies. They are called Trenchers, a group that is obviously a nod to Nazis and other right-wingers. It's almost laughable how villainized these guys are. Every time they see a philosopher, a fight to the death seems to break out. They’re trying to kill off the philosophers, which makes the spokespeople for the philosopher's public targets. So, naturally, Robert encounters and falls in love with the most prominent one, Danielle Hardin.

Fantasy is one of my least favorite genres. This book felt like fantasy mixed with feminism and a sprinkle of historical fiction for good measure. I had a hard time following the specialized terms, and it made the book feel like a slow read. Plus, Robert and his roommate Freddie were some of the only likable characters in the book. The women were written to sound petty and insufferable, Half the time, I couldn’t blame the Trenchers for wanting to get rid of them.

This book also contained two of my major pet peeves. First, I hate when male writers convolute feminism and liberalism with sexual promiscuity. Some women like sex, yes. However, a woman doesn’t have to sleep around in order to show that she is progressive for her time. It always feels over the top when it comes from a male author. Second, I DESPISE when authors treat small-town living as something that’s disgusting. There are plenty of wonderful people who live in small towns (and smaller cities, for that matter). There is a world that exists outside of New York City (or, in this case, Boston), and not everybody wants it. As someone who lived in the Boston area for 4.5 years, I could make you a list of reasons why I would not want to retire there. That’s simply my preference, and other people have their preferences. However, STOP WRITING SMALL TOWN CHARACTERS LIKE THEIR #1 GOAL IS ALWAYS TO ESCAPE. Also, not everybody who lives in a rural area is stupid and ignorant. These tropes are insulting.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite book. I give it 🌟🌟.

I'm not sure how I felt about this read. I really liked the author's writing style although some words were... a bit much, BUT I didn't really care for the story. I don't think I connected. I loved the premise of magic and women, but something in it was missing for me.

I'm very late to the game here, but boy did I enjoy this one. It was such a different take on a WWI era historical fantasy. I loved the idea of women being able to fly into enemy territory to save the soldiers. Weeks is a rarity in that he is male and he can practice empirical philosophy. The story takes you through his dreams and desires to join the completely female-dominated US Sigilry Corps Rescue. No one thinks it is possible nor ethical for a man to join in what is only done by females. The relationships that Weeks forms make you believe in humanity. 4 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

In an alternate reality, people practice empirical philosophy, which is kind of a mix of magic and science. They kind of manipulate elements by drawing symbols, and then they’re able to do things like fly, heal injuries, and transport people and things long distances in the blink of an eye. It’s a very female-dominated practice with very few males who are able to do it or excel at it. 18 year old Robert Weekes wants to help fight in World War I, and his dream is to be part of the elite all-women Rescue and Evacuation team. However, as a male, that’s practically impossible, so instead he just helps his mom with her philosopher work in Montana. However, after his skills are put to use in a dangerous mission, he finds out he’s pretty gifted for a male, and he’s offered a scholarship to Radcliffe, a female college in Boston. He hones his flight skills and learns more about empirical philosophy while making friends with his fellow flight students and falling in love with Danielle Hardin, a war hero. However, the extra attention to the school also draws the attention of the Trenchers, an anti-philosopher group that has been fighting (and killing) philosophers since the Civil War. Robert and his friends have to try to stay out of danger while also furthering their education and competing in the multi-college tournament known as the General’s Cup.

Overall, this was a very cool book. Completely unique concept. The historical fiction aspect was fun, especially since there was also a fantasy element, so it was interesting to see what facts and events the author tweaked to fit this empirical philosophy into the history. Robert was a great main character that was really likable, had good character growth, and you just really rooted for him. There were so many great and entertaining supporting characters as well. I found it very interesting to see the harassment and prejudice against Robert as one of a few males in a female-dominated field. I’m almost certain the author did that to cast light on how women are treated in real life, and it definitely makes you think.

My main complaint was there was a moderate amount of bad language, but much of it was very strong language like f words. Also, as this is a completely made up science, sometimes it was just a little hard to picture what people were doing to perform their various stunts and things, so it was a little fuzzy for me at times. Overall, though, definitely a fascinating read. I’d give it a 3 1/2 but will round down to a 3 for too much bad language. As there is only one more book in the series, though, I may deal with it just to see what happens next. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

This is a WWI-era fantasy novel with a lot of adventure, intrigue, and magic. It is well paced and most readers will feel the hook early in the story, and then it becomes impossible to put it down. I felt like the book almost through the plot with a will of its own. As an alternative history fan, this was really a good read for me. I would encourage people who like to think about “what if’s” of history to read it.

No spoilers here, but wanted to share my thoughts out there and far warning I'm not the best reviewer.
I was very thankful to have gotten this ARC to review, after all the rave, I don't why it took me this long to read this. The synopsis caught my eye. This book shows that men can do magic.and knowingly in past books. Men with magic were evil and were not trusted.. Thanks so much Tom for this book. I highly recommend this any who likes the past-time war and magic. and the journey that Robert takes.!

Initially, I was very excited to start reading this book! The cover, the synopsis and overall was something I was so sure I would like! however, it was very hard for me to continue reading past the first couple of pages. I hope I can come back to this book one day and read it. unfortunately, I can't find it in me to continue something that doesn't grasp my attention.

A coming-of-age story filled with action and adventure. I enjoyed this story, with its unique premise, setting, and timeline.

I apologize ... my life got busy and I forgot to download this book. I'm sorry I missed reading it!

I loved the world described in this book and in fact keep thinking about it after I finished reading. It was so vivid, real, and original. The story itself had a slower start, but once I was hooked I really enjoyed it. One of my few quibbles was that the jarring effect of a man in a minority setting. It felt strange at times to read about a historically marginalized group doing the marginalizing. It wasn't wholly bad as it made me think about power structures, but I would have preferred a female viewpoint added in to supplement the male main character. I think it would have balanced out the strangeness. All in all I would recommend this book and am looking forward to reading the sequel.

At first this was a really hard book for me to get into I tried quite a few times with other books getting in the way. I decided to finally push myself to read it and I found it to be very intriguing and I enjoyed it and it was action packed. Even though I struggled I was glad I finally found time to read this!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe even a 3.5 stars

What a fun book. Who doesn't love Fantasy and Magic. Incredible that this book is written pre WWI and an imagination into what was happening back then. As usual with kids it is a coming of age story and weaves in Magic and a race--the Philosopher's Race--who will win? Once you start reading you will not put it down so plan accordingly.

Nice world building and well crafted magic system. Steampunk setting and era were well executed. Sure to be a hit with fans of those genres.

I’m so mad at myself for not reading this book last year. Yes, that needs to be stated again. The concept sounded interesting and yet it somehow ended up being even more amazing than it sounded. I was pretty much obsessively fangirling over it the whole time I was reading. It might have annoyed Damian a bit…but I think that he’s getting used to my odd and adorable geeky quirks.

Okay, yes, so I did think that there was a bit of info-dumping in the first couple of chapters, which was a bit aggravating, but after that it balanced out a lot better and melded into the story beats more. I became absolutely invested in the characters and the story. I was cheering on Robert Canderelli Weekes as he fought to make his dreams happen, even when faced with very difficult odds.

It was weird to enjoy this story in a way, because all too often the standard in fantasy or sci-fi is to have a woman want to go into a masculine career and she disguises herself as a man and works her butt off to achieve her goals, etc. etc. But here Robert is in a similar position but he doesn’t try to disguise himself. He just plainly states his intentions and then works to prove everyone else wrong. And then it was fun to see him start to win over some of his classmates, as well as professional empirical philosophers.

This story was just very well done. All of the alternate history seemed perfectly plausible, and it was cool to see a bunch of strong-minded and strong-willed women out there doing these amazing things, and then of course the one man who just wants to be a Rescue & Evacuation flier. He just wants to help people and save people. You can’t help but root for him on this journey.

There is action and romance and a bit of a school setting, and I was just so entranced by this story. I’m definitely picking up The Philosopher’s War very soon, because I want to know what happens in Robert’s life next.

I have tried this novel a couple of different times now and I think it's just not for me. The terminology, especially calling all those that can do the magic, philosophers, is kind of throwing me off and I'm having a hard time really losing myself in this world because of it. I do think that this will be a book that many who love and read fantasy on a regular basis will enjoy and have passed on my recommendation to such a reader to test this theory.

I have a new 'best book of the year'!

Tom Miller's <em>The Philosopher's Flight</em> came at me so unexpectedly ... I wasn't even sure what kind of book this was going to be (it's been in my queue for about a year) ... but it didn't take long for me to become absolutely hooked and find little excuses to read 'just a little more' each day.

This strikes me as so unique, it's almost hard to pigeon-hole what sort of book this is ... alternate history/historical fiction/fantasy/war/romance?

It is 1917 and the United States is deep in WWI. Empirical philosophers, sometimes commonly referred to as sigilrists, have been making a difference. Sigilry is a mysterious art - part science, part magic - in which energy is manipulated by a person in order to produce a physical effect.  This accomplished through a combination of the manipulator drawing very specific sigils (which must be done correctly or it may not produce the intended result [or, worse, it might produce a different result]) with specific chemicals/materials (such as cornmeal or flour or water). The results might provide flight to the sigilrist, may allow the philosopher to transport a person or persons to a different location, might spur plants to grow faster, or melt the bones inside a living human body. Most philosopher's have a specialty.

The discovery and use of empirical philosophy began in the 1750's but the art is typically only able to be performed by women. Men are so rare that when Robert Weekes applies to one of the colleges that teach empirical philosophy, as a flight student, it causes a stir and protest. Raised by a sigilrist mother who had some fame in the military, Robert has a natural ability, uncommon in males, but of course he needs to prove himself at every turn, and he has to put up with a great deal of taunting.

I don't think I can adequately express how much I enjoyed this book.  From the remarkable world-building, to the clear allegory, to the characters that immediately real and often likable, to the plot and sub-plots that are complex enough to provide a lot of interest but not so complex that one needs an index to keep it all straight.

This is not a female-dominated society ... it is a female-dominated profession, and so we get the interesting dual view of how women are treated as well as the clear analogy of Weekes' struggles trying to be successful in a woman's line of work.

Tom Miller writes this story in such a tight manner - giving us all kinds of new information - the art form and the new, unusual world, while developing the characters and the story.

This is a book that I have liked so much that I will be purchasing extra copies in order to give to friends.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Philosopher's Flight</em> by Tom Miller is an absolutely remarkable, engaging alternate history fantasy that you should read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very slow and I had a hard time getting into it. However the world building in this story was amazing

Tom Miller’s “The Philospher’s Flight” is a delightfully reimagined history, an early nineteenth century America in which empirical philosophy (a kind of scientific magic) allows people to teleport, fly, and carve sculptures out of smoke.

Robert Weekes, a teenage philosopher-in-training, wants nothing more than to join the war effort as a flier on the Rescue & Evacuation team. He makes an unlikely candidate, but his natural ability (and a necessity for more philosophers) earns him a place at Radcliffe College.

This book is, on the whole, quite fun. However, it poses an upsetting question: What would society look like if women ruled a controversial but culturally integrated and essential practice (empirical philosophy) and have taken to excluding men from it simply on the basis of sex? We’ve heard countless stories of actual women through the ages doing just that: becoming their country’s first doctors, lawyers, astronauts, leaders despite all odds. I dislike that this story flips that gender dynamic so we’re meant to feel sorry for a man struggling in a women’s field. Though well written, “The Philosopher's Flight” is not written with sensitivity. For that reason, I cannot highly recommend this title.

It is great when you take a chance on a new author and you wind up thoroughly enjoying his first book. The Philosopher's Flight is an entertaining Steampunk version of the early 20th century that mixes historical fiction with science fiction and does it extremely well. I highly recommend Miller's debut novel and look forward to reading more from him. A very entertaining read.