I loved this book much more than the first one. Throwing the Philosphers into the war situation made the work they did so much more interesting rather than just in an academic setting. Robert Weekes if finally being sent to the front as the first male Rescue & Evacuation (R&E) flier. The women he meets become his family, and he is thrust into so many crazy situations. He loses friends, teammates, and soldiers, but he learns the meaning of "no many behind."

The climax of the book is a crazy idea that his friends from back in Boston participate in. It was nice to revist some of the characters from the other book, especially everyone's favorite hapless male Philsopher Freddie Unger.

I enjoyed this book.

Tom Miller has once again captured the exciting alternate history, action adventure, fantasy world of magic, metaphysics, and war. The author creates an authentic feel with the battles and weaponry of World War I, and the gender/cultural shifts of the time with a twist— a male struggling for equality in a world of women.

The action is non-stop, the characters are strong, the emotions and motives at work ring true. But it all grinds to an unnecessary halt like a temporary cease fire when the author pauses for a sex scene. In this second book it felt forced, didn’t contribute to the narrative, and was out of step with the rest of the book.

These are such incredible books - Miller's imaginative recasting of history into a female-centric world in which women rule the branch of the magical armed forces is brilliant. I don't normally read war stories - and this is, above all else, a story about the brutality of World War I - and I had a tough time with the heavy emphasis on the warfare. But Miller does such an incredible job bringing his world and his characters to life, that I found myself engaged almost despite myself. If I enjoyed the first in this marvelous series (The Philosopher's Flight) more because it focused more intently on the characters and establishing the altered reality of their world, I enjoyed this one for its continued development of those aspects of the series. Robert is still very young, despite the years of life experience he tacked on during the war, and the drop quotes at the start of the chapters hint at the continued role he and his compatriots play in the legal and political battles over the role of the Philosophical Corps. I hope those were allusions to many more stories to come, and truly cannot wait to see where Miller goes with this series next...

Another great novel by Tom Miller. I just love the details he adds to every novel. Everything is so imaginative and we'll thought out. He combines just the right amount of fantasy and history for this story to be compelling. I loved the idea of a male philosopher in a predominantly female field and the struggles Robert went through to be seen as a equal amongst his female compatriots. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre this is not a series you want to pass over.

Note: I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on Goodreads -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2527029544

Tom Miller’s debut novel “The Philosopher’s Flight” was, for me, one of the surprise debut novels of 2018. The premise — a male “philosopher” trying to join an elite corps of flying battlefield rescue workers during World War I in a magical field dominated by women — was a novel twist on the Harry Potter-esque magical school genre

When we last left Robert Weekes, he had achieved the seemingly impossible: he had applied for and been accepted by the Rescue and Evacuation Unit, the all-female wartime corps of philosophers charged with evacuating the wounded on the front lines of the Great War. This was done after making a name for himself not only as the fastest male flier in generations (possibly ever) but by his heroic actions during a violent incident in Boston involving an anti-philosophical terrorist group.

Where the first novel dealt with Robert’s journey from Montana adolescent through his education at Radcliffe College in Boston, The Philosopher’s War is as expected very much a war story. Our dear Boober, cognizant of his mother being a prior wartime hero, adopted the surname of his father, Canderelli, and faces the daunting challenge of joining a military wartime unit at the bottom as a lowly Sigilwoman Third Class. He is immediately thrust into a troop of Corpswomen with the ignominy of not only being a fresh-faced flier in a grueling war, but also the only Sigilwoman in the entire conflict to have differing sexual organs. This flips the standard gender tropes in what is, to me, a very interesting way.

Robert must not only learn the ropes flying missions with the R&E but must also find a way to integrate himself into a system full of women who do not trust him and look at him with suspicion. We have learned from the previous novel that not only is the magic in this world dominated by women practitioners, but they are much, MUCH better at it — even as the best male philosopher, Robert’s abilities are probably equal to an average female philosopher, much less the elite women in the conflict.

Along the way, Robert finds himself embroiled in a mounting uprising within the American and allied armed forces that promises to end the war decisively and quickly, but would involve what is essentially a mutiny against several major wartime generals. As the only male philosopher in the Corps, Robert is critically needed — for some reason — in order to bring this plan to fruition, but is pushed in a different direction out of love to Dar, the war hero he fell in love with in the first novel and whom is embroiled in a political conflict of her own back home.

There is a lot to like in this novel. Miller’s prose is succinct and well-written, and this novel proceeds at what feels like a break-neck pace that is hard to put down. His female characters are interesting, and harken to the cast of “characters” that you would expect in any wartime novel set in, say, Vietnam. The depictions of life in Robert’s Corps unit are interesting, as is the gradual way in which he is able to trust and be trusted by the women who surround him and nurture him. There is laughter, and loss, and a lot of pathos, which is to be expected.

The magical system is well fleshed out, but I found it at times confusing — this novel in particular dives deep into the branch of magic known as “smoke carving,” which is critical to the main plot but sometimes feels as opaque as the cloud of poisoned magical gas that features heavily in the back half of the novel. I suspect it would become clearer to me upon a re-read, but at times I found myself just throwing up my hands and going with it, because there was nothing else to do with the detailed descriptions of wartime maneuvers.

The love story fell a bit flat to me — Robert and Dar’s relationship quickly becomes complicated (especially as Robert bonds with the women in his unit), and while there is resolution by the end of the novel it feels rushed and shoved to the periphery of the action. Without spoiling, part of this resolution at the very end of the novel also seems to come out of left field.

While I have no doubt that future novels could be set in Tom Miller’s alternate history world, The Philosopher’s War very much feels like it could the end of Robert Canderelli Weeke’s story. The snippets at the beginnings of chapters suggest events in the moderate to distant future and imply that there could be options for expanding the tale in, say, World War II-era Europe, but this novel ties things up in what feels like a neat little bow. I hope I’m wrong — I’ve enjoyed reading this duology and look forward to what Miller comes up with next.

This is a fantastic quick read! I love the alternate history timeline mixed with events that really happened with an element of magic. I was a huge fan of the first book and I highly recommend you read The Philosophers fight before reading this one. This book was an incredible adventure to journey through!

This world is so beautifully developed and it's people so amazingly relatable. Despite the fantasy that is sigilry and the R&E division, I just didn't want the story to end. Robert is a remarkable character, behaving like I would like think we all would strive to. I cant recommend this series strongly enough. But read slowly. Savor the story because you will be sad when it is over.

War is always stupid and tragic, but I've always thought of World War I as particularly stupid and tragic, possibly because both of my grandmothers lost brothers in it. I wouldn't normally read a book set in WWI, as a result, but I enjoyed the first book in this series so much that I couldn't pass it by. (It was the best book I read in 2017.)

This one didn't disappoint. Here we have Robert Weekes again, 19 years old, sole male flyer in the Rescue and Evacuation Corps (in a world where women have more powerful magic, and drawing sigils in corn powder mixed with sand enables people to fly). He has to contend not only with the hazing and prejudice he suffers as an anomalous interloper, but also with the horrors of war, and with a plan to involve him in a mutiny to prevent the war being won through biological warfare that will kill millions. He has to constantly choose between his lover and his comrades, his duty and his conscience. It comes close to tearing him apart before the end.

I will say, it's a very American view of WWI; the Americans win the war, and the British and Commonwealth (and French) troops go mostly or entirely unmentioned.

One thing I did appreciate, however, was that the morally correct but legally dubious actions of the central characters gain them official displeasure, censure, and punishment (though not as much as early hints led me to expect), and that it's based in large part on powerful men's dislike of the existence of powerful women. The religious extremists who were such a key part of the first book are only briefly referred to in this one, but there's always the awareness that if they handle matters badly, the conspirators will not only draw down dire consequences on themselves, but on others like them.

A coming of age in a terrible set of circumstances, with strong and varied action sequences that mean something emotionally rather than just being there for decoration, and constant inner conflict to match the outer conflict that fuels and drives it. It's wonderfully written, too, and I look forward eagerly to the next in the series.

I received a pre-publication copy from Netgalley for review.

I didn't realize that The Philosopher's War is a second book. I think reading the first would have helped my understanding. It's a fast entertaining read. The history of the world is different, and it's definitely got a steampunk vibe. There's action and drama and enough to keep you reading until the end. The characters are smart and engaging. A good read overall. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

FABULOUS! I absolutely loved this alternative history! Magic, great characters, jealousy, valor. All the makings of a great story! I highly recommend this book.

This was a fun book with good characters and plot. I enjoyed the feeling of being in the time period, along with the humor and action sequences. Keep up the great work! I missed the first book so I'm circling back to read that one quickly.