Welcome friend! Are there books that you read months or years apart that made you think of each other? I discovered a new favorite book this year : The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills! One of the reasons I adored it is how much it reminded me of Strange the Dreamer. They are completely different plots and though I will go into some similarities later int his post, let’s focus on The Wings Upon Her Back first:
Samantha Mills | Goodreads
A loyal warrior in a crisis of faith must fight to regain her place and begin her life again while questioning the events of her past. This gripping science-fantasy novel from a Nebula and Locus Award-winning debut author is a complex, action-packed exploration of the costs of zealous faith, brutal war, and unquestioning loyalty.
Five gods lie mysteriously sleeping above the city of Radezhda. Five gods who once bestowed great technologies and wisdom, each inspiring the devotion of their own sect. When the gods turned away from humanity, their followers built towers to the heavens to find out why. But when no answer was given, the collective grief of the sects turned to desperation, and eventually to war.
Zenya was a teenager when she ran away from home to join the mechanically-modified warrior sect. She was determined to earn mechanized wings and protect the people and city she loved. Under the strict tutelage of a mercurial, charismatic leader, Zenya became Winged Zemolai.
But after twenty-six years of service, Zemolai is disillusioned with her role as an enforcer in an increasingly fascist state. After one tragic act of mercy, she is cast out, and loses everything she worked for. As Zemolai fights for her life, she begins to understand the true nature of her sect, her leader, and the gods themselves.
Content notes include violence, emotional abuse, physical abuse, drug use, suicidal thoughts, torture, addiction, withdrawal, death, self harm.
The Wings Upon Her Back – Review
The Wings Upon Her Back is a beautiful story. It offers commentary on a wide variety of topics including abuse, religion, love, revival, disillusion. It’s one of those stories that the more I got into it, the more I felt that every reading would be unique and I need to come back. This is the review of the first time I read The Wings Upon Her Back.
In this book, there are two perspectives, one is from Zemolia, the Winged, the other is from when she was younger and used to be Zenya. The story begins with Zemolia being stripped of her wings. She has fallen, dismissed from the sect that she worked so hard to be a part of. She is in pain but this fall almost feels like a relief. I was caught up in the pain of someone who wished she had turned away long ago but in all the years of her training, looking up to her teacher with reverence, she was isolated and didn’t have anywhere to go. Until she made a mistake that cost her her wings and a group of rebels abducted her.
In the past, Zenya belonged to the Scholar Sect. She worked hard to enter the Warrior Sect and get her Wings. The world of The Wings Upon Her Back is rich with the history of gods and their rituals and practices. Little is known about how the gods came to be but the city of Radezhda was chosen by them as their home. The story has many such pieces of history interwoven between Zenya’s chapters.
I loved Zenya. After leaving her family, she embraced her Warrior Sect and became one of the best Winged. But that came at a cost. When the Sects started fighting, she had to face losses that her young mind could not properly grieve. She strived for a balance between her scholarship and warriorship but it was impossible. At every step, she had to take a side and it made her into the leader and person that I met in the present time. The rebels challenged her and made her see the truth she had been trying to hide from.
This was a very emotional book for me. I was frustrated with the rebels, awestruck by the gods, transported to the world and my heart was a wreck by the events. The writing was immersive and I finished this book quickly. It was the end of April then and I am so proud to finally share about this book! I will write more when I read it a second time. 🙂
Many thanks to the publisher for a digital review copy of this book for an honest review. Add The Wings Upon Her Back to your Goodreads and check back tomorrow when I chat with Samantha Mills about this amazing story.
Read on for Strange the Dreamer…
The Wings Upon Her Back reminds me of one of my favorite books, Strange the Dreamer. Whether you have been following the blog since I read it in 2020, the discussions with Erynn are worth the read. Strange the Dreamer is also a story about gods and the city of Weep but while it had the innocence of a dreamer and confronts the consequence of atrocities that took place in the past, The Wings Upon Her Back is a story of growing up, finding a place for oneself under a system of organized religion but then losing it and having to find oneself again.
When I reach for Strange the Dreamer next time, and that time is coming as favorites should be read every 5 years, I will be reminded of Zenya and will want to return to The Wings Upon Her Back. Isn’t that the best with books? One story leads you to another or back to one you loved?
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