I do genuinely hope to read this one soon but I know it won't be for a while so as usual I will update with my goodreads review.

My review is in the November December issue of Analog Magazine, available on line now and in the print edition this month. Here is the link:
https://www.analogsf.com/current-issue/the-reference-library/

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book was *epic*. While it took me until after it archived to read it, when I finally got around to it I was amazed that I hadn’t read it earlier. What a fantastic delve into religious extremism and the divine and what i means to rebel agains authoritarian governments? And with the setting? And the worldbuilding? Ugh! *chefs kiss* truly impeccable. I will say however the hook dragged around the final third which made it hard to complete.

4.5 stars - Smart, layered and excellently written

Samantha Mills is mostly known for her short fiction, "The Wings Upon Her Back" is her debut novel. The premise sounded intriguing and I was very curious how it would unfold and what kind of world the novel is set in.

The story is told in two timelines but always from the perspective of Zemolai (nicknamed Zenya while she is still young). She grows up in the city-state of Radezhda with a religion that is divided into 5 sects, each of which is devoted to one God. What is special in this case is the fact that these gods are actually living beings that used to interact with the people of Radezhda but stopped doing so generations ago and instead went to sleep. It is still possible for the high clerics of the sects to visit the gods through portals but they cannot get any support, advice, no nothing.

In this world that leads to much speculation and of course also conflict. Whose fault is it that the people of Radedzhda are not being loved by their gods any longer? What can be done to wake the gods again? Is it a matter of not being pious enough?

And as things go when religion gives individuals plenty of power to wield... there are those who are quite willing to use that power for their own means.

One of the sects is those of the mecha, basically the police force in this society - just with a lack of control from the outside as there is no functioning governement. And when young Zenya enters the mecha sect she is so very motivated and her leader Vodaya is the one to take her under her (literal) wings. Vodaya is a prototype of a charismatic, self-righteous and abusive personality and Zenya never has a chance. It is quite chilling to see how easily she gets manipulated into absolute, unquestioning commitment and how abusive her relationship with Vodaya actually is.

The other timeline follows adult Zemolai, after decades of serving in the mecha sect and events that end up making her question her absolute commitment and the trustworthiness of Vodaya. 

The progress of the plot is well balanced and chapter by chapter leads us deeper into the fascist structures and the manipulations and mindsets that make them possible. 

The writing here is the absolute star of the show, it's just so good! Actually, I was not quite in the mood for such a dark and gritty story but the writing ended up pulling me in - sharply observed and spot on.

The only thing I really wished to find out more about was whatever the deal with the gods was. Who were they, where did they come from? So, I was kind of left just as unsatisfied as the people of Radezhda, which is kind of fitting I guess.

In any case though, if you like your sci fi with a dark and smart flavour with plenty of grit and not so comfortable insights into the dynamics of power, you are going to like this one. Absolutely recommended!

I have received an advance review copy from Tachyon via NetGalley and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

The Wings Upon Her Back reminds me of the advice the great philosophers, the Talking Heads, give us when they sing “watch out! You might get what you’re after.” The story follows the life of Zenya, who, as a young girl dreams of one day taking flight as one of the guardians of the land. In her world, there are five sleeping gods and the people have aligned themselves and their work with those gods. Zenya is born into the scholar sect, worshipers of the scholar god, but upon the death of her mother, she decides that her calling is with the mecha god and sect, basically the security guards for all sects. The novel follows her training and life as a mecha as well as the rift it causes in her family.
The novel was a decent fantasy story. Readers who enjoy the politics of rival groups will enjoy it. It did move a bit slowly for me, probably because I’m not a big fan of inter- and inner- group intrigue. Zenya is a likable character, perhaps a bit naive at times, but still a strong female lead. Overall an enjoyable and sometimes inspiring read.

Author Samantha Mills examines how someone whose good intentions can be compromised and twisted, and even radicalized by a charismatic leader of a flawed system. How this can lead to committing acts of great harm and violence, and to a willful blindness to the authoritarian system one has bought into. Mills deals with these weighty things through the life of Zemolai, who has spent decades of her life as a Winged.

The Winged are powerful, granted intricate, metal wings which are fused to their body via implants and multiple surgeries. Only some are made into Wings, as this is technology granted by the gods. The Winged use their wings to patrol the borders against enemies, but more importantly, the Winged enforce the rigid laws maintaining the differences amongst their class-based society.

Zemolai starts as the idealistic Zenya, who never quite fits in with her scholar family, and longs to join the Winged. She is granted the opportunity to join, leaving her caste and family behind, and she works incredibly hard to impress Vodaya, her mentor and the second in command of the Winged.

Author Mills switches back and forth between Zenya's sacrificing everything, including her morals, to excel so she can get her wings, and the older, hardened and bitter Zemolai, who has discovered Vodaya's duplicity. When Zemolai is expelled from the Winged, and stripped of her hard-won metal wings, she must figure out whether her faith meant anything, and what all her sacrifices really gave her, and what will she do to get them back.

Zemolai is deeply flawed, focused only on the acquisition of wings and then on doing whatever she can to keep them, and later regain them. Despite every good intention she had, Zemolai, through her laser focus on flying, lost her connections to her family and to her ethics, constantly excusing every terrible thing she did to earn Vodaya's praise, including committing brutal acts against their own people. Mills doesn't excuse Zenya/Zemolai from her responsibility for her actions and leaves her by the novel's end to figure out how to make different choices to rebuild, rather than just destroy.

It's hard to read about someone who has willingly cast aside all her ethics and doubts to throw in with monsters. But then, this novel is about how seductive power is, and how a supposedly good leader, who is actually deeply flawed, manipulative and self-centred can entice one through a combination of bullying and praise. It's not hard to see parallels between this novel and various real world, narcissistic, duplicitous political figures with malevolent intent who can draw huge crowds full of loyalty and hate.

Though a pretty dark and tragic book, this was deeply engaging.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Tachyon Publications for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This book surprised me with its depth. On the surface I was expecting a fantasy story, but what I wasn't expecting was a fantasy story which had themes of oppression, grooming, brainwashing and recovery. It was done well in two timelines, one running forward from the MC Zenya's childhood through her induction into the mechanically-modified winged warrior sect, and the other as a fully-fledged warrior, Zemolai, who has fallen from grace only to be 'rescued' by the very people her sect had been seeking to oppress. What follows is her slow realisation that the leader she had idolised had groomed and manipulated her. It is very well done and you feel the inner turmoil as new knowledge fights against her memories. Highly recommend.

4.5/5.0 Stars

THE WINGS UPON HER BACK – by Samantha Mills

“All victorious warriors share these common principles: belief and commitment.” Vodaya stood so close that Zenya could feel her breath. “Belief in their god. Commitment to their commander. Belief in moral authority. Commitment to discipline.”

‘On the night that Winged Zemolai fell from grace, a cold wind was blowing from the east. She would remember that wind later—the wind of her last flight—and in her memory she would ascribe an extra chill to the air, animalistic and biting.’

After reading the above excerpts you may think Zenya and Zemolai are two different characters in this book—underneath the surface—you would be correct.

This heartbreaking coming-of-age story is told in two alternating timelines as viewed through one lens—Zenya as a child and as an adult, Winged Zemolai Warrior.

If you are looking for a slow-burn Fantasy, Sci-Fi, with a smidge of Horror, then I recommend reading THE WINGS UPON HER BACK. Thank you, NetGalley and Tachyon Publications LLC, for providing me with an eBook at the request of an honest review.

The Wings Upon Her Back follows Zemolai/Zenya in a futuristic yet fantasy world of five gods of different skill sets. The story has two different timelines following the same girl, one where she is striving to become a Winged warrior, and the other where she has her wings taken away. It is a story of a girl who is hardened by her faith to become a blind follower, who then takes (or is forced to take) her blindfold off.

The concept, both of the world and of the story, are really well done. One major complaint is that (at least in the digital ARC) it is not always clear which timeline is which, and so I would read a chapter for quite a few pages before realizing it was not the same timeline as I was thinking. I think the secondary characters were not as well developed as they could be. I did not understand why the scholars were doing what they were doing, and I got tired of Zemolai's crankiness *real fast.* I also felt like the world building could have been a bit more explained, as I was a bit confused about what was going on where, and if some of the separations of people were by choice or force.

Overall, I think this was well done, but I think it could have been improved upon.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications

In The Wings Upon Her Back by Nebula, Sturgeon, and Locus Award-winning Samantha Mills, Winged Zemolai, a winged warrior in servitude to a warrior god makes a mistake. She is tired, her bones ache as much as her soul; her life of soldiering sits upon her like a heavy blanket. And that one poor decision tears her away from her life and from the leader she idolises.

The Wings Upon her Back is told in two timelines. In the first, Zenya (not yet Winged Zemolai) is born into the scholar god sect, one of five sects the people of her hermit-nation have divided themselves into to follow the increasingly absent teachings of the five gods who watch over them. In the second timeline we see Zemolai as a war-weary warrior who left her family and the scolar sect to obtain her wings and fight in the sky. Her body is falling apart, she is sick of the fighting but knows nothing else and sees no other value in herself, and who, in a moment of weakness (from a zealotry perspective) makes a decision that irreparably changes her life.

Across these two timelines, her progression through training as Zenya (to become Winged Zemolai) with her mentor and leader, when juxtaposed against the person she becomes in the events after the mistake which upends her life, is an excellently grown story. It slowly reveals how Zenya became this world-weary warrior while also exploring the inner turmoil of the people of her city driven by infighting between the leaders of the sects.

While the commentary on isolationist governments (probably some of our democratic ones, too) and religious zealotry is a fun read, The Wings Upon Her Back is really a story about the abuse between two people, and what can happen when you idolise somebody and making that person happy becomes the core of your your own happiness. I think that most of us have been there at some point in our lives, in some form or other—in our relationships with a friend, a boss, a partner—and when memories of those times in my life come to mind while reading, those scenes in the book really hit home.

I also really liked the way the author gave an insight towards the end as to why Zemolai’s leader is who they are—what drove them to this point. It showcases how this behaviour can be generational trauma that just keeps being passed down from leader to leader, poor decisions compounding as each leader is too afraid to try another way. And while Zemolai and the bolt baby’s decisions–as they grew their understanding of each other–didn’t always land with me in the moment, I think the author took me on a really enjoyable ride through her world.

Zemolai is a character style that I love more the older I get—that kind of ageing warrior with a cupboard of bad decisions locked away, the sounds of the door breaking open almost masked by the sounds of crunching hip and knee joints—and that certainly helped in my enjoyment of the book. I think if you’re a grimdark fan and that kind of character appeals to you as well, then this novel is going to tick quite a few boxes for you, too.

Fast, fun, and set in a brilliant science fantasy world, The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills is one of those really good books that reaches into your own life experience to draw upon memories that drive your emotional reaction to the story.

The Wings Upon Her Back is a gorgeous novel that forces you to think about the world from a different lens.

Told in two timelines set twenty years apart, we follow Zemolai as she grapples with the choices that she makes in good faith coming back to firmly disillusion her. Leaving her scholarly family behind, Zemolai trains to be a mecha--a warrior with mechanical wings -- charged with protecting the citizens of Radzedha. She is mentored by Vodaya, a charismatic mecha leader who brooks no opposition or independent thought.

This is a wrenching, beautifully written tale of understanding and growth, and loss of faith. It is about learning the hardest lessons from your choices, and understanding how those choices shape you. It is also about learning that you do, indeed, have choices, even when you don't think that you do, or you lack enough information to make good choices.

This is a book about learning resilience the hard way. It's not emotionally easy, but the characters are compelling, and the worldbuilding is interesting and engaging. Highly recommended.

Mills has created a unique world where the gods that gave people technology, innovation, knowledge and strength, have retreated. Only accessible through portals into their realm, the people must trust the voice of each sect to deliver the god's wisdom to its followers. Zenya is a follower of the mecha god - the protector. The mecha god gifted her warriors metal wings, allowing them to protect their city and the surrounding territories, but the other sects are struggling against the oppressive rule of the winged, and rebellion is one wrong move away.
When Zenya returns from a long patrol away from the city, she discovers contraband in a worker's things. Instead of punishing him, or sending him away to be interrogated, she shows him mercy. This decision sets off a chain of events that change Zenya's life.
This story is timely. In a world where we are fed information by algorithms, where media spin toes the line of outright lying and where charisma alone is enough to place someone in a position of power, we need to question what we're told and examine our beliefs. Zenya has been indoctrinated into her sect, and she believes they are doing what's best for everyone - they must be. Otherwise, she's wasted her life.
Watching Zenya strip back her memories and examine her beliefs in light of new information is touching. She fights the whole way through - as any of us would when our beliefs are challenged - but eventually, all she has is a choice: change, or stay the same.
The Wings upon her back is a unique fantasy story that anyone interested in indoctrination and deprogramming should dig into.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I'm not sure if it's fantasy or speculative fiction, I don't think I care because i loved the storytelling and it made me think while enjoyed a well plotted story and fleshed out characters.
Cannot wait to read other books by this author
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was decent but not a favorite. I liked the world building but also felt like it was dragging a bit from the style of the flashbacks. Too much detail of the past. Will look for more from this author in the future though.

Wow! What an epic read!

Worldbuilding, characters, plot, themes pacing - all outstanding in this debut novel! This is definitely an author to watch!

One woman, two turning points in her life. As a child Zenya dreams only of joining the Winged, elite flying warriors who protect her city and serve the mecha god who's Voice is a stern but seductive fighter herself. As a battle scarred veteran of 26 years of endless fighting Winged Zemolai has given everything to her god but is stripped of everything that gave her purpose after one moment of misguided mercy. Will the child choose the ill fated path that takes her to the sky but away from everyone and everything she loves? Will the woman find the strength to open her eyes to truth and forge a life where she chooses what to believe for herself?

This is a beautiful, harsh examination of the dangers of blind faith and the ultimate power of redemption. That Samantha Mills should write a book of such stunning, blistering beauty as a debut novel is nothing short of amazing. She is one to watch.

This book is a five star read! I went into it like I do all fantasy books - a little skeptical to see if the world building would be good and it was so engrossing, I felt annoyed every time I had to put the book down.

The writing is superb, I love the way every story line had an end - nothing was forgotten, and you really get the dichotomy from Zemolai of wanting to be a dutiful warrior and worshipper, while also wanting to seek the truth and not following with blind faith.

This book was amazing and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. I’ll be following this author as well because I so enjoyed their writing.

The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills

I first encountered Samantha Mills when her story, Rabbit Test, was nominated for a Hugo Award. I loved that story so much - it was incredibly well written and was number one on my ballot. (Regardless of what we later learned about how the 2023 Hugo nomination was hijacked, that story was amazing and it will always be a Hugo winner in my mind.)

After reading that story, I was excited when I found out that Ms. Mills had a first novel coming out, and I was even more excited when NetGalley and the publisher gave me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book starts when the protagonist, a member of a fascist warrior caste, goes easy on someone in possession of forbidden material, after which she is caught, her bio mechanical wings are stripped from her, and she is cast down. She then ends up connected with a bunch of young dissidents committed to bringing about positive change through violence.

The book alternates between this present time frame and the past, explaining how the protagonist left her scholar household to join the warrior caste.

The entire story is set in a city state organized by a caste system in which each of the five groups worships one of five gods that may or may not be alien visitors in suspended animation.

The world building is intriguing and tell you just enough to leave you wanting more.

The split narrative didn’t work for me exactly as intended - I loved the past timeframe so much that the present time frame felt boring and shallow by comparison. But maybe that’s just me.

In any event, I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to read more from Samantha Mills in the future!