Bookworm Speaks!- Skyborn Review

Bookworm Speaks!

Skyborn

by David Dalglish

****

Acquired: Half-Price Books

Series: Seraphim (Book 1)

Paperback: 464 pages

Publisher: Orbit (November 17, 2015)

Language: English

Subject: Fantasy

****

The Story: Six islands float high above the Endless Ocean, where humanity's final remnants are locked in brutal civil war.

Their parents slain in battle, twins Kael and Brenna Skyborn are training to be Seraphim, elite soldiers of aerial combat who wield elements of ice, fire, stone and lightning.

When the invasion comes, they will take to the skies, and claim their vengeance.

The Review: In the world of fiction, particularly fantasy, is rife with cliches. Frankly there are too many to blame. 

What is unique about the text was that there are many elements within that are quite familiar to seasoned readers. Two young adult protagonists, a magical academy, a few romances, a strange conspiracy at work behind the scenes of their world, a grand battle, all of these things have been done in countless forms and styles. It is a testament to the skills of the author that they were able to take all of these familiar elements and mold them into a story that is probably one of the most unique stories that Bookworm has read in quite sometime. 

The first way the story accomplishes this is in its setting. If one to firmly classify it, it would fall into the fantasy category. Indeed, on the surface, it follows many threads of fantasy. The twins grow up in a land that feels like a medieval fantasy. A farming community, raised by an aunt that is firmly apart of the working class and no technology to speak of. Not to mention that this whole world takes place on a series of floating islands and the Seraphim have elemental based powers. However, as we are taken deeper into the story, there are hints that an advanced technology is at work. This is particularly evident with the Seraphim’s wings as well as the mechanism that keeps the islands aloft. The fact that the maintainers of the current order have the world ‘tech’ in their names, ‘Theotech’ to be precise. Quite a catchy term to be honest.

There are also hints that we are looking at the distant future of our current world and some great cataclysm long ago created the world the reader finds themselves in. All of human civilization is now confined to half-dozen islands. 

Although, these “last remnants” of humanity stories tend to push plausibility for Bookworm. Bookworm knows that is a lot coming from a fantasy story but planets are big places and frankly Bookworm would like this series, or another series with this trope, end with a ship from the outside world coming into contact with the isolated people. We will leave that to the author though. 

We spend a little too long in the first part of the book though. The twin’s aunt’s worry can only emphasized for so long. 

Then there is the setting in the latter parts of the book, the magic academy part where the twins train to become Seraphim. Again many familiar elements. The male lead starts up a romance with a young woman that is way out of his league and the female lead with a handsome, young ace. Again, all familiar territory. Amazingly, the author makes the whole thing feel rather fresh. There are also a variety of plot developments and subplots that add variety to what could veer enter well trodden territory. 

The best way to explain this phenomenon is perhaps the author did a good job at balancing the story and the characters. Bree and Kael are very well rounded characters. They seem to fall into a classic twin character dynamic, one is impulsive (Bree) and one is reserved (Kael) but as the story goes on, it does a good job of introducing challenge unto the characters. The never act out of character but they go through challenges that require them to reevaluate themselves and adjust their reactions. 

The story also helps. In spite of the characters possibly falling into the category of Young Adult, considering that age of the characters. It does not feel like a standard YA story though, it is actually quite adult and the twins find themselves in situations that are quite dark. It could be theorized that in standard YA stories, we already know that the world we are in is screwed, either by inference from the story or just told by the summary itself. Here, the revelations come more gradually. It is apparent early on, that the Theotech’s maintain and authoritarian government but it make’s sense considering the scarcity of the current civilization. As the story progresses, we start to see the corruption and outright violence that threads through this civilization and the effects it has on the twins are quite personal.

Finally, there is the action. Flying is actually a something that is tragically absent from science-fiction and fantasy. Space and land battles are plentiful, but high-flying combat? Quite rare. Bookworm does not where the author did his research but wherever it was, it paid off. The battle scenes are exciting, fierce and surprisingly grounded (no pun intended) in spite of the fantasy setting. The climatic scene is a particularly white-knuckled and the reader will find themselves at the edge of their seat the whole time. No matter how gut-wrenching it can get. That only serves to make it even more compelling. 

Final Verdict: Skyborn spends a little time taxiing on the runway at first, it soon manages to take off and fly through albeit familiar skies but take the reader on a thrilling journey through them nonetheless. 

Rating: Four Angel Wings out of Five

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