I finished this and then just had to stare at the wall for a moment. I keep meaning to write a review and just struggling to put together my thoughts.

I absolutely loved this. The writing is just beautiful. There are so many lines that I stopped and highlighted, because I absolutely loved them. The world building is fascinating and I love how it is trickled in as necessary instead of given upfront or info-dumped. This book follows the main character through two different storylines (similar to Witch King by Martha Wells) and is a deep examination on faith, fascism, and the power of indoctrination. every single character is so flawed and yet you really understand why they are making the absolutely awful decisions that they are making (similar to The Unbroken by CL Clark). It's emotional, it's full of pain, it's got TWO absolutely gripping storylines, and I couldn't put it down.

Just, wow.

This is Ms. Mills' first novel, and if her name seems familiar, she wrote the stunning short story "Rabbit Test. This has the perfect blend of what I've liked in her writing (bodily autonomy issues, fantastic characterization) and blends it with a sci-fi world that takes a fantasy bent because of how the mechas are revered within the world, and what happens in the aftermath of the gods broadly abandoning you and your people. I am also a sucker for "what if the thing you wanted wasn't what you thought it was and now you're sitting in the ashes that have resulted". Hopefully this is a start of a fantastic publishing career for her, and I can't wait to read more from her.

How do you recover from being abandoned by the one you love the most?

The Wings Upon Her Back is a compelling sci-fi/fantasy story that resonates with those who have given their unconditional love to someone who didn’t deserve it. The timeline goes back and forth between the past of Zemolai, a 40 year old Winged soldier who serves the Mecha God, and her current life. She struggles as she is abandoned by Vodaya, the charismatic leader of the religious group, and has a complete crisis of faith as she is dragged into a rebellion against her tyranny. It is a wonderfully orchestrated tale of what happens to those who give their whole existence to someone who bleeds them dry of everything.

I really loved the themes covered in this story: it really speaks to anyone who has personally followed their own type of charismatic leader. It doesn’t only show how someone got to that stage but also how they recover from it. In the end, I think its quite a hopeful story that touches on something that is also very timely (looking at you, US elections).

That being said, there were some aspects of the story I didn’t love. The characters were beautifully created but there were some inconsistencies in Zemolai’s character right at the end. She has moments where you think you understand her character but it doesn’t align with her actions somewhat. The minor characters suffer from this slightly, but more than their character isn’t summarized completely. It would have been wonderful to have a bit more dimension to those characters, but I also understand the focus is on one character.

There are dual timelines in this story, which I think was a great narrative choice. You see Zemolai as she deals with being abandoned and her as a child on her journey to joining the sect. However, this did make the plot a little bumpy as far as pacing. It wasn’t necessarily hard to track but the tone shift kind of took me out of the story and made me go “what exactly is going on here”.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves big metaphorical language and themes who is looking for a different type of speculative fiction who love character driven stories. For me, I liked it but the flaws are hard for me to look past.

Spectacular!

I don't read a lot of short stories, so I had never read Samantha Mills before. That being said, this first novel was a fantasy lovers dream come true, and Mills will be a must read for me moving forward.

In this novel, Mills does what fantasy and sci-fi can be so great at doing. She holds up a mirror to real world problems, but she does so in a world that still allows escapism and fantastic elements. Zemolai grapples with fascism, disillusionment, and civil war in a way that reflects the very real tragedies there - all while being a bad ass flying warrior. The characters are so well written, and Zemolia/Zenya's story is a perfect depiction of how someone might slowly become a warrior for the wrong side without even knowing it's happened. Vodaya is the perfect villain, and she flawlessly demonstrates what happens when power is placed in the wrong hands.

The plot is dark and gritty, as it is dealing with Civil War and all the heartbreak that goes with it. I wouldn't say this is your light, fantasy romp, but it is a gorgeously written look at the tragedy of giving power to evil people and allowing them to run rampant with it. Highly recommend.

Samantha Mills nos ofrece una historia futurista sobre abusos y creencias religiosas, muy pero que muy conseguida en el aspecto desasosegante de ser testigos del maltrato psicológico de las figuras de poder, pero no tanto respecto a la propia historia en sí.


La acción se sitúa en una ciudad cuya población está dividida estrictamente en castas según indicaron en su momento los dioses a los que idolatran pero que ahora se han retirado de la escena. Los guerreros, los ingenieros, los agricultores… todos desempeñan una labor clara y no hay apenas movimientos entre grupos, aunque sean posibles. Una sociedad bastante rígida y dividida en estratos que respeta más las tradiciones antes que mirar al futuro, en la que Zenya abandonará a su familia de estudiosos para cumplir su sueño de pertenecer a la casta guerrera y volar con sus propias alas.

Mills nos ha ofrecido una historia incómoda de leer y quizá ese sea su mayor mérito, porque el resto del libro no deja de ser bastante convencional, con dos narraciones situadas en distintos momentos en el tiempo, cuentos de revolución y agitación y luchas de poder tanto internas como externas. Pero la relación de Zenya con su superior, cómo la moldea desde la juventud para adaptarla a sus necesidades como si fuera arcilla en sus manos, cómo se refleja esa situación de abuso de poder es tremendamente realista y, por lo tanto, difícil de aguantar estoicamente. Me costó mucho trabajo seguir leyendo ciertos pasajes cuando vemos que la pupila es capaz de recurrir a drogas para seguir contentando a la maestra, en una espiral descendente hacia los infiernos de la abstinencia y de la necesidad extrema de aprobación por parte de la figura maternal y de superioridad a la vez. Es tremendamente retorcida la forma en que Zenya va madurando, abocada a una vida de servidumbre y constante entrega a quien no lo merece.

También es importante el tratamiento de los fanatismos religiosos en The Wings Upon Her Back, con la salvedad de que los dioses SÍ estuvieron presentes en el origen de la ciudad, pero es su retirada posterior lo que deja sin guía ni consuelo a sus seguidores. Un poco como en “El infierno es la ausencia de Dios” de Ted Chiang, salvando las distancias, por supuesto.

Lo que falla es la historia que cuenta la autora, no los medios utilizados para mostrarla. Y es que las conspiraciones y los planes de sublevación son demasiado inocentes y los personajes bastante banales en sus conversaciones y motivaciones. Es una lástima porque The Wings Upon Her Back tenía los mimbres para ser una mejor novela de lo que ha acabado siendo.

Definitely a new favorite. The Wings Upon Her back is an absorbing, fantastic story about following a charismatic leader even when it starts to look a lot like an abusive relationship. It's also about starting over when you've spent decades of your life dedicated to the wrong cause.

In a city abandoned by five sleeping gods, the followers of one take ruthless control of the other Four. Zemolai was born as Zenya in the scholar sect, but she's been a loyal member of the warrior sect for 29 years, using mechanical wings to soar to the sky and follow the mecha god's orders. When she makes a single, tired mistake, her sect tosses her out to the street to die - and from there we see the story unfold in two timelines. Zemolai, the jaded, middle-aged warrior being taken in by a group of young rebels ("bolt-babies"), and Zenya, the passionate youth who wants nothing more than to earn her wings and protect her city as a member of the warrior sect.

The writing is genius. There were so many sentences that I had to stop and read several times, because they were just that delicious. Stories with several timelines often disappoint me because I find myself bored by the past timeline and I want to get back to the present, but I didn't feel that in this case. The timelines put the story together and played off of each other, especially towards the end. The way the tension between Zenya and her brother and Zemolai and Vodaya is built up until it finally cracks is just... chef's kiss.

It definitely has the marks of an abusive relationship, and as the author says at the end - I hope you find something resonant in this, but I also kind of hope you don't.

I also appreciated the casual normalization of queer identities. Zemolai herself doesn't have a romantic interest or big gender feelings, but there are multiple nonbinary characters in the cast, as well as a polyamorous triad.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book was absolutely beautifully written. It is slow, but definitely grew on me as I continued reading.

We follow Zemolai (formerly Winged Zemolai) and her journey in two timelines. This was masterfully presented and unravelled the backstory of the protagonist, giving her character reasoning and presenting her vulnerability, while simultaneously depicting the shattering of her previous beliefs and a fall from everything she knew.

The book didn’t focus on the world or religious elements, but rather on Zemolai herself and the abuse she suffered from her mentor (Vodaya). The scenes were graphic and honestly hard to read on multiple occasions, but the pay off this book gives was absolutely worth it, especially the final scenes.

Overall: 3.5⭐️ (rounded up to 4)

I really enjoyed this book. The characters and the complexity of the world is fascinating. 5 societies dictated by their desires, scholar, engineering, farming, labor, and the winged. Which are those who have had metallic wings attached to their back to defend the people, but what if the corruption finds its way into those societies. The societies are also split by the gods they follow.

Zenya is the main character of the book, she is a member of the winged who was raised in Milar as a scholar. She is torn between family and her duty. More so she dreamed since she was young to fly. But in one moment her whole world is flipped upside down.

Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for April 23rd
Blog post goes live April 19th
Will be discussed in April wrapup Pt 1

**TL;DR:** An intense and dark story about a women untangling her faith and herself from an abusive relationship and society.

Zemolai is a winged warrior in service of the Mecha God in the city of Radezhda, where the people build towers to reach their sleeping gods. After a brief lapse ‘in judgement’ Zemolai is cast down, her wings ripped from her, and she is left for dead. What follows is her coming to grips with what her life was ultimately in service too. We follow both this timeline and how Zemolai became winged, and the toxic, abusive relationship that destroyed and remade her.

This book was intense, I can’t emphasize that enough. The focus on the book is much less on the world, the gods, and much more on Zemolai and her reckoning with her faith and relationships. Zemolai is the victim of abuse and manipulation by her mentor Vodaya and we see that on page, graphicly. Gaslighting, physical and emotional abuse, abuse of power, it all happens and breaks Zemolai down so far as to loose her family, and turn on those that helped raise her.

If you aren’t ready for something that’s simply exhausting at times from the amount of loss and abuse, this is a definite skip. But if you’re willing to read through that this payoff is great for Zemolai and the final scenes really stick with you.

3.5 Heretical Books out of 5

The Wings Upon Her Back weaves a highly personal, powerful story of disillusionment and redemption with the grand scale of a society under a theological crisis. A people built a city for its gods, and then the gods went to sleep. Did the gods abandon us?. What would you give to feel the reciprocation of an unrequited love? Who do you become once meeting your heroes disillusions the path you have followed and you must make your own choice to find your own? Mills answers (or sometimes doesn't answer) with a masterful story grappling with faith and addiction and abuse, and shows us hope and optimism and the exhilarating freedom of choice. The writing quality stands atop a solid story foundation augmenting its strengths and polishing the few rougher parts. This is an early contender for one of my favorite reads of the year and I really hope to see some buzz!

My overall feeling upon completing The Wings Upon Her Back is that it was… ok.

It is mainly a story about disillusionment and I think that tone, though interesting to explore, kept me struggling to engage with the story. I feel like a lot of areas where the main character’s Zemolai’s life would provide an intense story were skimmed over. I don’t feel we knew her enough as a character outside of her desperation to conform to the life she thought she wanted.

I did enjoy that Zemolai was a mature female main character. She is a deeply flawed character and takes the reader along on her journey of trying to reconcile with her mistakes.

The world building is intriguing and the story is compelling but for some reason I just don’t care? I feel like we weren’t given enough as readers to really understand the divide between the sects and the origination of the conflict.

It is told in two time periods, one with Zemolai as an adult when her life has fallen apart and one that shows her journey as a young girl to reach that point. I think I enjoyed the past perspective more than the present day one but I did alternate at times on which time period was more enjoyable.

I understood Zemolai’s trauma bone with to Vodaya is the reason I hate how much she capitulates to the woman despite being shown time and again how easily cast aside she is by Vodaya.

I think part of my disconnect with the book was based on how much I hated Vodaya. And she’s such a huge part of Zemolai’s story. I also don’t understand or like the main character’s choices. Which is also the point but didn’t work for me.

The pacing really seemed to stutter for me. It would find its groove, start to creat a great pace between the two time periods when abruptly, one perspective switch would completely slow it down. Even the Epilogue was really plodding in how it wrapped up the story.

The big reveal about Vodaya was great. It almost made me like the character more even though I still hate her. This turning point at the 70% mark, I really enjoyed. It brought a lot of the story together more tightly for me.

I don’t know why I thought it was a series. I just thought it was building to more so the end felt very abrupt and kind of forgettable.

I knew this ARC would be a top read for me just from the first chapter. Mills has a very strong sense of style that I personally loved. I thought her use of parenthesis throughout the prose was cheeky and clever.

This is a slow book, best enjoyed when you take the time to really absorb the story that has been intentionally crafted here. (At least, that's how I read it.) This is a story written in two timelines, following the same character both into and out of an abusive relationship of sorts. Mills details the complications of this kind of entrapment and liberation beautifully, showcasing a isolationist community at war with itself, to the detriment of their all their citizens, even the ones presumed to have the upper hand.

To shadow what Mills says in her afterword, I think you can find something resonant in this story if you are a survivor of any kind of abuse, but I also kinda hope you can't.

Amazing!! This book is really entertaining it has everything to keep you entertained, Well written the story line keeps you wondering what’s going to happen next , every chapter is a new surprise, I will definetly recommend to everyone!

Once there were five Gods, each with their own following. A god for the workers, the farmers, the engineers, the scholars, and the warriors. Several centuries ago the Gods returned to Heaven, entering a mysterious sleep, and leaving man to fend for themselves. In their absence the five sects have struggled to work together, breeding suspicion, resentment, and war.

For as long as Zemolai can remember, she’s dreamed of flight. To be a member of the Winged, the mechanically-modified soliders of the warrior sect. However, after over two decades of battle, drugs, and her role as an enforcer, she finds her faith flagging. For these reasons, she is driven to an act of mercy, one that gets her cast out of her sect and stripped of her wings. Left to die, she is rescued by members of the resistance, and with their help she begins to uncover the truth about her religion, her leader, and the Gods themselves.

This was such a unique story and I had such a great experience reading it. The concept itself is original and the world building is fantastic. I loved that the author tended to be very vague on physical characteristics and descriptions, the only exceptions being if these things added to the characters back story. It left you free to imagine them as you will, and for me it gave them more life.

𝘈𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

This book is narrated from two different points in the MC’s life: as Zenya, the girl who wanted to fly, and Zemolai, the warrior who fell. Both narratives were so relatable. I recognized a younger version of myself in Zenya as she finds her faith and pushes away any doubts for the joy of belonging, and again when my heart broke with Zemolai, as the reality of her world is laid before her and she has to learn to forgive herself for her past. I was honestly inspired by her, and only hope I can be that brave the next time I’m forced to accept a truth that hurts.

There are so so many layers to this book, from religion to faith, that I could honestly talk about it all day. This story is so so powerful and I know will be with me for a long time. I really hope you, if you’ve read this far, you’ll give it a chance ❤️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Pub Date: April 22, 2024

Thank you NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for this free e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

“The Wings Upon Her Back” is set in the divided city of Radezdha, ruled by the mecha sect led by the power-hungry Winged Vodaya. The story opens with Winged Zemolai making the mistake of letting a spy go free. As a result, she loses everything; she finds herself cast away from her sect and physically maimed by her god.

There’s not much she can do. Another sect rescues her, but what choice does she have? She can either venture alone into a world that hates her or fight against the only world that has ever accepted her.

The chapters alternate between two timelines: Zemolai’s childhood and her arduous training to become Winged, and her adult path of disillusionment and fight for survival. Both parts are action-packed and emotionally charged. Zemolai ran away from home to join the Winged. Without getting into details, it required inhuman sacrifices, including blind obedience and eventually getting nerves wired into mechanical wings that allowed Winged to fly.

It shows how easy it is to succumb to the allure of authority and how easily revolutionary leaders turn into oppressive rulers. But of course, it's more complex than that - the gods left Radezdha and no longer care about wars or atrocities committed in their name. Zemolai's single-minded loyalty to the cause results in pain and the initial inability to see lies for lies.

The writing is good, with a strong narrative voice, and concise style. But it's also visible and sometimes gets in the way of simply telling the story. Especially at the beginning of the story, where certain details, such as the workings of the city and the gods' influence, were presented in exposition-heavy passages.

Other than that, it's still an impressive debut novel with vivid imagery, compelling characters, and action-packed sentences.

I was kindly sent this by the publisher, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

The main character seems unreal, perhaps so isolated in plot terms that she has become sociopathic, but I simply couldn't empathise with her journey. As she 'steps outside' to see the real world beyond the brainwashing, it reminded me too much of other stories.

I didn't find myself wanting to return to this world, so regretfully did not finish. Apologies.

The Wings Upon Her Back by Samatha Mills is a book I'm really struggling with. I got this book early from Net Galley and I wish I hadn't requested it. I found myself quickly reading through the book today and realized...no. I just don't think I can do it. Let's talk about this a bit.

In The Wings Upon Her Back, the main character is a winged warrior who starts to doubt her life. In a moment of weakness, she betrays her god and lets someone go that she shouldn't. She is quickly found out and then cast out of her life. She joins up with a group of rebels and then...

Honestly, I only got to about 40% or less on what I was reading. The book is well written, with a lyrical style, but the constant back and forth between the present and the past and so much focus on the different religions and gods has made me lose interest. The Wings Upon Her Back is not a bad book but it just isn't holding my attention. I could scan through the rest of the book and write up a review...but why? It just seems like I'd be wasting my time.

Still I asked to review this book and felt that I should write something up about it. I think if you enjoy reading about made up religions and rebellion and people trying to find themselves, then this might be for you. The Wings Upon Her Back isn't an easy read. Its perhaps meant to be a metaphor or allegory. I don't personally get the book but I'm not saying its a bad book.

I feel like I need to move on though. There are many other books I want to read. I have another book to review too. So I will close up The Wings Upon Her Back and say thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me an early copy of the book. I hope you are not offended when I say this book isn't for me. I do think it'll find an audience though when it releases on April 23, 2024.

This is one of those weird reviews (or just a weird reviewer I guess LOL) where I don't really have a good sense for the book as a whole. Basically I quite enjoyed it, but have a series of +ve and -ve comments to make and am hoping that just listing them all out will produce a useful review as I can't really capture the book in its entirely.

I think that comes from my first bugbear: that the story is written across two timelines. The first, where the story begins, is our Winged MC Zenya provides a small mercy for character found to be in violation of strict religious law - and then finds herself instead under the gaze of harsh judgement.

The second basically follows Zenya's lifestory, and basically how she found herself eventually 'winged' in the first - but the main gist of the backstory detailing and explaining the tyrannical setup of the world she lives in.

(its with not small irony to note that most of the story is about Zenya not actually having wings as its almost all before and after)

Anyway this juxtaposition of timelines created quite a number of challenges for the story. At the most basic I felt there wasn't enough grounding in each timeline to instantly recognize where we were. There was any number of times that I actually got confused and had to flick ahead or back to check where we were, there wasn't really a strong sense within Zenya or the setting in general to distinguish between the two, nor something majorly symbolic in the setting or otherwise.

The second more thematic problem with the two timelines is they sort of undermined each other. A lot of Zenya's character was (skilfully) revealed in the opening scenes - her entire backstory doesn't really give us much new other than putting "Fact" to the feelings we already have. While the backstory did contain a lot of world-building, GOOD worldbuilding btw, my feeling was the backstory timeline could have been much abridged to a few action and 'setpiece' heavy scenes that gave us a sense of the history, not an entire narrative.

My other critiques of this book is that their simply isn't a lot of characterization, or narrative and thematic develop of other characters. Given that the story is about being disillusioned with one's Gods (among others) it seems like a story ripe for a variety of characters or more importantly their responses to the strict religious world they live in. And technically they are there, they just don't get a tonne of screen-time or much development. It was confusing because in both timelines Zenya as a sort of 'team' around her but in neither was there enough material on minor characters that I can explicitly bring to mind anything about them.

However that all sounds super negative - here are some of the GREAT things about The Wings Upon her Back.

The World itself is super intriguing and interesting. The Gods are "real" in this book and directly intervene in people's lives (or do they?) the interplay of this creates a huge amount of tension and drive for the story and its great. While I did critique some elements of the worldbuilding in the above paragraphs what World was Built in this book was awesome and so interesting to read about.

In fact I give this a double bonus because some of the reveals towards the end about said Gods and the theology were just brilliant in the way the mythology interacting with the action of Zenya and her Antagonist - I don't want to spoil too much but the way it plays out is well done.

Finally the villain of this story really played out disturbingly realistically, in terms of having a very toxic relationship with Zenya - how that relationship impacted our MC, and as above how it tied into everything that went on. There were moments where the story almost sounded a bit like a psychological thriller in terms of the mind games.

So yeah in conclusion I'm not actually sure how to capture this book as a whole. It has some great bits, some less than, some flaws - a bit like life really!!

It was a pretty decent read and I was pretty content with it. It was thrilling throughout and while it had a few slow parts I still loved it. If you’re looking for a dystopian I recommend trying this book.

Characters:
Zenya was a fascinating character with her brain’s absolutely stubborn ability to put blame anywhere but on the place that would implicate her and make her feel guilty. Blaming the scholar sect for DARING to question authority & oppression and “influencing” her brother to bravely fight against the mecha sect, instead of blaming the mecha sect for oppressing and slaughtering people who dare to question them. The effects of being brainwashed and manipulated and emotionally and mentally abused by a cult-like leader were so apparent. It's of course frustrating to see someone making those choices, but it was done in a way that really highlighted the abuse of it all and that worked for me.

Plot:
Some of the action of the plot didn't work for me and also some of the pacing. There were a few parts that dragged a bit for me. But I was fascinated with the world and potentially finding out more about the gods and with Zenya's internal struggles and personal journey, so I never felt like dnf-ing or anything.

Themes:
Mental and emotional abuse. Idolization of leaders. Religion -- differences in how individual interpret the same religion as well as how religion can be used by those in power to keep a population in control... and a general question of what any deity would be and how they would feel about us if they are indeed real. Power and control.