By Sea & Sky

This book had been on my radar for a while, so I leapt at the chance to try out the audiobook and I'm glad that I did as I felt that the narrator really brought the story to life.

The book is fantastic, I was sold as soon as Pirates were mentioned and this is one of the most entertaining pirate romps that I've read in a while. That this book draws it's inspiration from West Indie/Swahili/Arabian, and that makes for a new, refreshing world, and I adored the world-building here and was instantly absorbed an would have happily spent many more hours in this world. The characters weren't quite as developed I felt, although Zala was incredible and I love books with strong female characters, and she stood out not just for her presence and personality, but because she was so wonderfully real and human. She made mistakes, had setbacks and kept going, was swayed by her emotions and her head, and I just couldn't get enough of her as a character.
This was a fun book that kept me on my toes, and had a wonderful blend of action and quieter moments, and I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a non-western based fantasy, and anyone who loves Pirates and wants an entertaining, refreshing take on them. I will certainly be checking out the author's other work.

By Sea & Sky was fast-paced, action-packed, and overall an enjoyable read. Where I think the book excelled was in the development of not just the main characters, but most of the supporting cast as well. They were all fighting for something, though their ways about doing so often varied. This, to me, made for an interesting and compelling story. Zala, the main protagonist, was one determined and unyielding woman. She was not going to allow anything or anyone interfere with her mission to find her husband, Jelani.

Admittedly, I found myself most intrigued by the parts of the book that were slowed down and explored the characters' individual and group dynamics. I believe I would have equally enjoyed the plot if I better understood the world By Sea & Sky took place in. It was not until nearly halfway through the book that I had a better grasp of the scene and the circumstances that led to Zala and her crew to be in the predicament they were in. I fully recognize, however, that my initial confusion may have been impacted by my infrequent reading of fantasy books and lack of familiarity with this level of world-building. It also appears as though there are several books that precedes this that are also set in this world. Although By Sky and Sea is the first in this specific series.

Regardless of this factor, this book was engrossing. I was so excited to immerse myself in a "pirate fantasy inspired by the West Indies, The Swahili Coast, and Arabia". As a Black reader, one with roots in the Caribbean, it was nice to see some familiar themes and mythos.

Now, focusing on to the audiobook itself. The narrator, John Rogers, did a wonderful job. There were so many characters who he had to voice and I think he did an incredible job differentiating. Additionally, there were sound effects at the beginning of each chapter (and sometimes in the middle of a chapter), that added to the ambiance and overall listening experience. Personally, I would have loved to see this as a full-cast production, with more sound effects, because the entire time I listened, I was picturing this as a movie. And I truly believe this would adapt well from page to screen. The only issue I had was that at times, my audio would cut out (forcing me to force close the app and start over) and the sound would sporadically come out echoey. I tried to listen on several devices as a result, but was met with the same issue. I am assuming that I unluckily received a copy with quality issues,

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook copy and allowing me the opportunity to review this book.

Writing a premise for this book seems difficult as the one provided by the publishers seems to give away a big part of the story. I’ll try my best to come up with my own. Zala is a pirate. Her and her husband are pirates by necessity as they need money and resources to brew a remedy for an affliction her husband has. When the ship is attack, Zala’s life is thrown into the biggest upheaval ever and she’ll need to use her wits to get her husband, her friends, and herself out alive. Karim is the second-in-command on the first even naval airship. Their mission? To test out the ship by hunting pirates. He knows he can do a better job than his captain, but has to sit back and watch as more and more bad decisions are made. Can he help the ship and crew complete its mission?

This book captured my attention and it did so fast. I’ve never been a huge fan of pirate stuff but I love me some airships so I decided to give this a shot. I’m glad I did. This book could have easily been sucked into a downward spiral of pirate tropes and Jack Sparrow rip-offs, but author Antoine Bandele knew what he was doing. The original premise for this book says that it’s “inspired by the West Indies, The Swahili Coast, and Arabia,” and these inspirations are easy to see. The greatest part is that Bandele may have taken inspiration, but he’s made his story and the world it takes place in, his own.

Zala is a great main character but there were times where she frustrated me. It seemed like she didn’t know how life on a pirate ship should work. Maybe, just maybe, don’t continuously question the captain and disobey orders. That could be mutiny. The good news was that each time Zala did something dumb or made a mistake, she was either called out for it, or it didn’t go well and she had to learn from her mistakes. A main character that’s not perfect AND learns from their mistakes? What more could I ask for? I could ask for Karim. A character who has a little in common with Zala (They’re both exceptionally smart, smarter than their captains and want to prove so,) but is more than just a passing thought. Karim and his story was just as fleshed out as Zala’s so we get two stories that intertwine at certain points but can each carry the story when their apart.

Bandele did a fantastic job with this story. He created wonderful characters and put them in a colorful world. I never felt overwhelmed with information like some books can do when they infodump everything you need to know at the beginning and hope you remember. The knowledge came fluidly as the story progressed. My only gripe is that I still don’t know much about how the magic works and I would gladly have read (or listened to) a slightly longer book if I got a better grasp at how it works, but that was really the only down side. Well, that and the pirate songs were a bit cringy.

I experienced as an audiobook and the narrator, John Rogers, did a great job. Each characters voice was unique and the accents were fantastic.

By Sky and Sea is fun and I can’t wait for the next book. I received this audiobook as an Advanced Listening Copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed just sitting back and listening to Zala and Karim's tale. And I liked that the story immediately opens with some action. I immediately felt like I was on the ship in the middle of battle. In the audio version it's easy to picture what's happening because you hear the crowd yelling and swords clashing. Pirate novels usually aren't my things but this was very entertaining. The world building was pretty strong. There's a lot of African/Caribbean mythology that's weaved in effortlessly.

4.25 stars.

By Sea and Sky is an enjoyable read that has some amazing characters that you are rooting for. The story follows a group of pirates who have to save some of their own as well as chasing a new weapon.

Zala is a great lead character, and I loved reading about her. She is well written and was leaping off the page from the beginning. I also enjoyed reading from the point of view of the rest of the cast, however Zala was easily my favourite.

In terms of plotting, I think this is where the story falls a little. It is an action packed start, but since we have no real connection with the characters, I think some of the tension is lost - we are meant to be rooting for these characters without any real reason other than they are the main characters. However, this is not the case once we get to know them a bit better and so the action scenes have a lot more oomph and tension later in the story. Although I was gripped for 98% of the book, there are places in the middle where it loses its way and get a bit bogged down. Although I fell out of the story in these parts, I was still drawn straight back in.

One final comment is the world building - whilst a great mix of modern technology with older elements (swords instead of guns, airships and pirate ships) I do think that some of the explanation was lacking and this may create issues in later instalments as to the characters and what can be achieved in the world. That being said it is still a brilliant read.

A great cast of characters and an intriguing plot makes for a brilliant and exhilarating story. Of course we have the cliff hanger at the end which means I will most likely be getting the sequel (although this is a trilogy!)

Many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for sending me a copy of the audiobook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Having very few sword skills or the gift of magic does not keep the heroic Zala from finding a way to save her husband. She will navigate the seas, move heaven and earth to find a way to keep him alive, but when she ventures out of everything she's known, she discovers she's far more amazing than she imagined.
This is a great story of a woman pushing her boundaries of comfort and finding her strength on multiple levels.
Beautiful cover and vivid descriptions.

*I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

YA fantasy is a flooded genre which, thankfully, still manages to produce some ripping good yarns. By Sea and Sky is no exception, offering a fresh take on old tropes by taking traditional pirates to the sky.

The story centres around young Zala, who is still learning pirate ways. She’s often fallible but grows and learns from her mistakes while trying to find her place in this world and save her husband. On the other side of the story is naval officer Karim, struggling to accept his Captain’s decisions in the first-ever naval airship.

The characters are well realised and the action is plentiful, “inspired by the West Indies, The Swahili Coast, and Arabia” for added interest. Author Antoine Bandele keeps the characters and situations believable, while introducing us to his fantastic world of flying ships and good vs bad swashbuckling adventures.

Narrator John Rogers is superb. I often struggle to accept a narrator who has a different gender to the main character, but Rogers’ characterisations and general reading are all stellar. He brings every page to life and every character into our hearts. He makes us care, loathe and despair over their perils and victories.

By Sea & Sky is set in a world already established by the author, but this is the first in a new stand-alone series that does not require any previous knowledge of early books set in this magnificent land of Esowon. While targeted at young readers, any lover of the fantasy genre or good old fashioned swashbuckling adventures should find themselves thoroughly immersed in this adventure.

This is a great audiobook, complete with multiple character perspectives and identifying sound effects to let the reader know when the story is in the sky, on the sea, or on the shore. The names are more middle eastern and the cultures are interesting to learn about as the story progresses. This is a great beginning to what clearly must become more than a single book.