An interesting, enjoyable science fiction novel. Lots of action, some good character work. Didn't love it, but did enjoy it.

You’ve kind of heard this story before, or elements of it. Young trainee in a new power, from a sheltered backwater land, gets caught up in a struggle against an implacable tyrannical foe sweeping all comers against it. Young trainee is talented, perhaps more than they know, but the opposition is led by a charismatic and implacably evil head who would stop at nothing to get what they want, including using a doomsday weapon to get the Macguffin first. Magic, battles, intrigue, adventure and full-color glorious epic as forces collide and the fate of a world hangs in the balance. Off the shelf components in some cases, maybe, but infused with a mixture of fun and adventure, such a combination can be darned entertaining.

Skyfarer is the debut novel by Joseph Brassey.

https://skiffyandfanty.com/blogposts/reviews/bookreviews/reviewskyfarerbrassey/

Joseph Brassey's Skyfarer is a delightful throwback to science fantasy of the 1970's and 80's.

Aimee de Laurent is fresh out of the academy where she has studied wizardry (wizarding?). She is now apprentice to one of the best teachers in the entire galaxy, Harkon Bright, and they are about to head out on a very long (years) expedition to explore the galaxy in their skyship.

As they begin, however, Aimee casts the initial spell to set their ship on its journey (Spell-Casting 101, right?) and something goes wrong. Very wrong. Aimee and Harkon end up far away and in the middle of a fight. They are part of a resistance protecting an island planet, New Providence. Attacking the planet are magic-wielding knights. Their leader is the cruel Lord Azrael of the Eternal Order. He is seeking a rare gem, the Axiom Diamond, that could bring great power to Azrael's masters.

It doesn't take long for Aimee and Harkon to recognize the vicious brutality of the Eternal Order and to choose their side. And even though Aimee is only a recent graduate from wizarding school, she and Azrael will face off time and time again through the course of the book. While she will need every ounce of skill and luck to survive ... so will Azrael.

There's a lot of high drama here. This is really fine space opera, and as such, the villains are clearly bad, the good guys, our heroine and her mentor, are clearly good. And the goal that each is looking to obtain is as sparkling clear as a diamond.

Even though the characters and tropes all seem familiar, I really enjoyed this story. Joseph Brassey spins a good yarn and we get sucked in. There are reasons that certain ideas and stock characters become tropes and stock characters ... because they work. Or at least they can work when created from the pen of someone who knows what he's doing.

This is fast and fun and a great way to spend a weekend reading.

Looking for a good book? Skyfarer by Joseph Brassey is a swiftly moving space opera that is a lot of fun to read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

SKYFARER by Joseph Brassey (as an aside, Angry Robot may be one of my new favorite publishers) -- I did a video review if you want to listen to me instead of reading, though this is write-up is meant to compliment that video. With that out of the way...

What book would you run away with and read forever, if it asked you? Have you ever read a book that made you excited about it even after you were finished? Joseph Brassey's Skyfarer is that book for me. If Skyfarer asked me to run away with it, marry it, and never read another book except for it for all eternity... I might very well say yes. The unfortunate part of that would mean I wouldn't get to read the rest of the Drifting Lands series; I don't think I could give up that chance, if the promise of Skyfarer carries through--and I full-well believe it will.

Talking about this book has functioned as a way to talk about and reflect on my own reading life--something that not all books do. It may not serve this function for all readers, but it is difficult for me to untangle the two. Reading Skyfarer was a strong reading experience.

Think about it--I was so enthused about Skyfarer that I sat down and did a video review of the book. I'm not good on camera, I didn't script or outline anything--this means it's a little rambly, it's a little all over, and more than a few thoughts got jumbled or left hanging. I also hate seeing my own reflection, so that was a big deal. This book is a big deal to me. To the point that I worry if I'm being too enthusiastic, too creepy about my love for it. But, I am who I am, right? In any case, this written review is meant to do two things--answer some of my hanging statements and elaborate on places where I wandered down a rabbit hole.

On Mr. Brassey's Work: Skyfarer is his second solo novel and his first set in a world of his own making. I ramble a little bit about the impression I had about it being his debut. And in many ways, it actually is. My impression wasn't far off, but I don't want to misinform anyone.

I lost my train of thought when talking about a cover quote regarding how Skyfarer is set apart from Firefly and the Battle of Helm's Deep; it's unfortunate, but when thinking about connections, it is easy for me to get lost. What I wanted to express in that place was the way Mark Teppo's quote sets Skyfarer into that constellation of speculative fiction giants. Skyfarer isn't Firefly and Brassey isn't Tolkien, but for a reader familiar with both those works, the connections ring true. By setting Skyfarer apart, Teppo's comment creates a tension of comparison and contrast that Skyfarer earns with its character development (which includes spaces, as in the way Serenity is a character in Firefly), the scope of its fight scenes (both small and large), and the world-building that plays out in small spaces of text but express so much.

But these connections are not the only connections this book evoked for me as a reader. The first novel I owned, the first fantasy novel I remember reading that was so distinctly fantasy--probably remembered so strongly because it was physically my first novel I didn't borrow from someone else or check out at the library--was Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first novel in the Dragonlance series. I used books to escape, which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows my history. It was fun to read and engaging in a way that was shiny and new. It left its mark. And so, too, does Skyfarer.

Skyfarer resurrected that original joy in reading for me. It was fun.

As I say in my video review, there is no higher praise that I can give Skyfarer than to say that it evoked deep, forgotten feelings in regard to the experience of reading, and all that entails.

The roots of why I read are deep, and Skyfarer reached them all.

"There's something pristine about this novel." In trying to express how the story came across, the words "pristine, genuine, earnest" all rose up. I still feel that is true. There's something fresh and unsullied about the way Skyfarer is written--but still not a 'first novel'. We forgive a lot in first novels, often. I'll skip naming names--we all know a series of novels where the first books were not up to par with what we expect in the fifth+ novel of a series. If the rest of the Drifting Lands books maintain the standard Skyfarer sets, though? I'd still be happy. I suspect, however, that they will raise the bar more. My inner-reader gets giddy at the notion.

That said, we come to the matter of critique and the things we can say against a fantasy novel, and a topic I touched on and then moved away from pretty quickly in my video review; cliches.

It would be easy to pick at the cliches or telegraphed events in Skyfarer--they happen. They are there. Maybe you only think they are cliches if they are used badly--in which case, there are no cliches in Skyfarer. If you have a chip on your shoulder about prophecies or chosen ones, Skyfarer may not be for you--though I'd argue passionately that you should give it a chance to see it done beautifully. If Brassey were a different kind of artist, if Skyfarer were a sculpture, you would see the familiar forms of the masters, lovingly rendered and put together to create something both new and familiar. Like I say in my review, when you are eating beef stew, you expect there to be beef. When you're reading fantasy, you should expect there to be markers of the genre.

Where Brassey elevates those things is what sets him apart. Perhaps my favorite is one of the main characters, Aimee. She is an apprentice. She is coming onto a ship as a crew member for the first time, entering into the skyfaring life right out of an academy. She is a novice but she's not naive. It seems like a small distinction, but it plays out so strongly in her personality in ways that matter, that set her apart. These things take her away from the cliche of the archetypal "Fool" in ways that impact the story and the experience of reading it. Ways that make her a character I deeply enjoy.

"[She] navigates this space between being new, being untested ... and someone who is savvy about what they do. ... and has confidence and skills that they have coming out of whatever program or experience they've had. I have found that's difficult to find in a book, to find a character who is already so developed when you meet them on the page."

In short--because I could talk about this book for more words than are in the book--Brassey demonstrates skill, as far as I'm concerned, in his craft that I found refreshing and fun. The structure of the story I could see roughly outlined right away, but it didn't make the experience less enjoyable. The characters were surprising in that they did not need to develop with the story (though they do develop and change as the story goes along), but in showing up as whole people right away, even the "newbie" that Aimee represents.

If you have ever loved a fantasy novel and you have missed that feeling of joy because you've been saturated with so much of it, I encourage you to pick up Skyfarer.

A fun read lots of battles, airships, and magic swords. Sure you can see the the Star Wars inspiraton peeking through but I wouldn't cal that a negative.

Finally, I was able to mine a gem in Netgalley. Despite some minor issues, Skyfare didn’t disappoint from beginning to end. The story goes like this: An apprentice sorceress, Aimee de Laurent, just finished school and had a taste of what the real world is by becoming a portal mage for a spaceship named Elysium. As she was learning the ropes, Aimee and the rest of Elysium’s crew crossed paths with an evil, powerful and ruthless mage knight, Lord Azrael, who is on a quest to find the Axiom Diamond by any means possible.

Wow! This was a highly entertaining read. I loved that despite being a standalone (for now, maybe?) and the average number of its pages, Skyfarer managed to paint a world set in the galaxy that is believable and rich in folklore. And the way the author melded science and magic together without confusing me is quiet amazing. Another thing that made me appreciate this book more is that the main characters were full of flaws, each chained to his/her own struggles. Aimee, the overachiever student, is constantly hungry to prove herself so you can just imagine how devastated she is when her first display of magic outside of school went awry. On another hand, Lord Azrael, the angel of death of the Eternal Order has only one objective in mind and has no qualms on getting his hands bloodied. And yet, every time he kills and wreaks havoc, a part of him screams in pain and agony.

The storyline maybe predictable but I enjoyed how it was executed. There’s a perfect balance of action, adventure, suspense, and drama that I just can’t put the book down. I missed this kind of storytelling, straight up science fiction with no frills and nonsensical turns and twists. At the moment, I am still unsure whether I should pray for a sequel or thank the book gods for giving me the opportunity to read a standalone that is blissfully satisfying.

A quest filled with interesting characters. While I found the world building familiar (islands floating in the sky) the story fit the place. There is a lot of sword fighting in the story. The characters are capable of many kinds of magic. The good guys are good but one of the bad guys is not what he seems. This is the first book in a new series and while the plot points are solved here there is a lot that can still happen. I look forward to new adventures with this crew.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I literally have no words to describe this novel. I don’t want to say that it was great, because it was epic. I don’t want to say it was an interesting read, it was captivating. Damn, I don’t even want to say that Joseph Brassey is a brilliant science fiction and fantasy author – he is the author.

To say that this novel has Star Wars-like elements to it, or at least some feeling to it, would be like saying George R.R Martin writes like a high-schooler who had never written a sentence before: you know there’s not a chance in hell anyone would believe it. Brassey writes with a flair I have been yearning to encounter in a story, he hits those sweet spots in your imagination that keep those satisfactory vibes going. His prose, in the field Skyfarer was written in, is purely original and uncontested – at least in all my years of reading books. It is, without a doubt in my mind, a dazzling claim to place Brassey right there among the greats: Isaac Asimov, Alastair Reynolds, Brandon Sanderson, William C. Dietz, Steven Erikson, Ray Bradbury…I can honestly do this all day but you get the point: the guy wrote a story that blew my mind.

Brassey’s characters are rich, admirable, and memorable. A simple concept taken by the writer soon turns into something immensely enjoyable and fun. His dynamic and in-depth world-building is stunning, take the movie Treasure Island and splash those vibrant tones of colour and detail into the ships, the landscape, the skies, and it immediately becomes obvious Brassey takes pride in what he does. You have all the ingredients for a great story: a misplaced antagonist blinded by a veil of lies and make-belief, forced to carry out the bidding of his dark master, haunted by visions of a past he doens’t recognize. A young and naïve protagnist is thrust into a situation she can’t avoid and learns through her mistakes and an innate ability she has to nurture, that she has a part in this fight after all – much to everyone else’s disbelief.

There are a lot of great reviews for this book already, all leading me to believe I would love this book. Indeed I should have, magic in space is something I LOVE. But I couldn't manage to care for what was happening or for the characters and the "bad guy"'s POV was confusing. I've tried on several occasions to read this and never managed more than a few dozen pages at once. I'm sure this is a great book, it seems to be one of these "it's not you it's me" kind of thing here since I don't really have anything specific against it.

First I’d like to thank Angry Robot for giving my an eARC of this book which turned out to be much better than I ever thought. I saw it and thought “Hmm, space fantasy sounds fun – especially with skyships!”. I was expecting something steampunky and fun, but I didn’t expect it to be just as fun as great as it turned out to be.

Several other reviews have described this as being Final Fantasy crossed with various other franchises and I would definitely have to agree. I am a huge fan of Final Fantasy games and I could see a lot in this novel that could have been inspired by various games.

The plot revolves around trying to protect the Axiom diamond to stop the Knights of the Eternal Order getting it. The characters are just fantastic and I had so much fun reading about their adventure that honestly the second book could just be them chilling at a bar talking about life in their world and I’d still love to read it. The worldbuilding is brilliant and is something I hope we get to see more of in future books because I’d love to learn more about the magic systems and about the history of the worlds.

It’s hard to write a good review of this book because the entire time I was reading it, I was just having so much fun and couldn’t put it down, but that meant that I didn’t pay as close attention to things as I usually would when planning on reviewing it. However, I’d say that’s a very good sign given that I enjoyed it too much to focus on how good it was at various things.

I already know several people who I’m going to make read this when it comes out, and I can’t wait on the next book. This is a book that I would very highly recommend and is one that I will happily re-read multiple times. If you enjoy Fantasy or Sci-Fi, I would definitely suggest giving this a chance. It’s a fast and fun read and I just had so much fun reading it.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I've read a few interesting mergers of SF and Fantasy this year -- some that were just that, interesting, some that were good -- a couple that were more than good. Thankfully, Brassey's Skyfarer was in that latter camp. Even in those early chapters where I was still trying to figure out the world, remember which name lined up with what character, and get a handle on the plot, I had a sense that this was going to be one of those books I talked about very positively -- and very often. That sense just only got stronger as the book went on.

I feel like could go on for pages about this book -- but won't let myself (so I can avoid the wrath of Angry Robot and you can actually get something out of reading it yourself -- which you have to go do as soon as it comes out).

So you've got this group called the Eternal Order -- a group committed to death, destruction, power, and plunder. When it comes to numbers, they can't stand up to the civilizations around them, at least when they ally themselves against the Order. But when they (rarely, it seems) can come in with a quick strike against one people they can wreak much havoc. Which is exactly what they do here -- they come in and demand that the rulers of Port Providence hand over the Axiom Diamond, or they will wipe them out -- and it's clear that Lord Azrael, the commander, isn't being hyperbolic. The royal family responds with armed resistance, which has some measure of success, but is primarily fighting losing battles.

Into the midst of this looming genocide comes a wayward spacecraft, the Elysium. The Elysium is a small carrier with more weapons than one should expect (we're initially told this, anyway). The crew has just welcomed an apprentice mage, fresh from the academy, to complete her studies with her mentor/professor. Aimee de Laurent has been pushing herself for years to excel, to be the best -- if there's a sacrifice to be made for her studies, she's made it. All leading up to this day, where her professor, Harkon Bright has taken her as an apprentice on his exploration ship to complete her education. She joins a crew that's been together for years and is eager to find her place within them.

When the Elysium arrives in the middle of this, it doesn't take anything approaching calculus for them to figure out what this particular crew is going to do. There's The Eternal Order on one side, civilians and the remnants of the military on the other. There's a ravaged civilization on one side and the ravagers on the other. There's a group trying to prevent The Eternal Order from getting something they want and there's, well, The Eternal Order. So our band of adventurers tell the remnants of the royal family that they'll hunt down the Axiom and protect it.

This isn't exactly a revolutionary idea for a story -- but man, it doesn't matter. There's a reason everyone and their brother has tried this -- it's a good story. Especially when it's told well. And, I'm here to tell you that Joseph Brassey tells it really well. Not just because of his hybridization of SF and Fantasy, but because he can take a story that everyone's taken a shot at and make it seem fresh, he can deliver the excitement, he can deliver the emotion. There is some horrible stuff depicted -- either in the present or in flashbacks; there's some pretty tragic stuff; and yet this is a fun read -- the pacing, the tone, everything makes this feel like the adventure films and books that I grew up on. You want to read it -- not just to find out what's going to happen next, but because it's written in such a way that you just want to be reading the book, like a having a glass of iced tea on a summer's day.

The characters could uniformly use a little more fleshing out -- which isn't a weakness in the writing. Brassey pretty much points at the places where the reader will more details (especially when it comes to Aimee and Harkon), making us want more than he's giving us. What we're given, though, is enough to make you root for or against them, hope that they survive (or are subjected to painful and humiliating defeat), or simply enjoy the camaraderie. The good news is, that there's more to learn about everyone -- about their past and their present -- and how those shape their future.

You've got magic -- various schools of magic, too, each with its own understanding of what magic is and how it can be used; you've got swords and lasers (and similar kinds of weapons); you've got space ships running of magic (not just hyperspace drives that act like magic); objects and persons of prophecy; beings and intelligences that aren't explicable -- tell me why you wouldn't want to read this? Especially when you throw in epic sword fights, magic duels, and spacecraft action all written by someone who writes like a seasoned pro. Sign me up for the sequel!

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Angry Robot Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

I believe I first saw mention of this book on Twitter with a pitch line like "Final Fantasy meets Star Wars," and that is totally accurate. It's a fun, rapid-pace read with space opera-like elements; for example, the sky-faring vessels don't come across as steampunk-style airships at all, more like Firefly crafts, and they are capable of jumps from city to city. This is where the magic comes in--and wow, is there a lot of sorcery about, in all forms and uses. You have a sorceress in the model of Luke Skywalker, a kind of relatable Mary Sue sort, and your Darth Vader, who is fantastically-written and sympathetic. You even have a Death Star-like super weapon. But are this similarities bad? Nope. I found this to be an utterly cozy read because sure, I could predict some things, but there were surprises aplenty and the whole ride was a blast.

Also, I think this book has one of the best covers I've seen all year, and it's incredibly accurate in its depiction of the characters and mood of the story. Do judge the book by its cover!

I really enjoyed this book! The mages in this story open portals for their Skyships to pass through. Thus allowing them to travel from place to place more quickly. Aimee is an apprentice portalmage whose first portal casting goes awry, and she and the crew of her ship end up somewhere other than where they were supposed to be. They end up right in the middle of a war. While there Aimee and the rest of the crew learn about a mythical relic called the Axiom Diamond that has the power to show its bearer any truth they desire. They set out to find it before the ruthless Lord Azrael and the infamous Knights of the Eternal Order find it and use it to their advantage.

Skyfarer ended up being just about everything I was hoping it would be. It was a fast, fun read and I loved the characters. Aimee and Azrael were my favorites. There are some plot threads that were left hanging and I'm hoping there will be a sequel. I would really love to read more about this world.

Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for a review.