Michael Barnes
In a steampunkesque (it satisfies the punk with the active rebellion to the status quo, but the setting isn’t quite steam - godpunk, ancient alienspunk?) city state of Radezhda where its lore is long ago, five deities visited the city and uplifted the civilization, each providing a different facet for the people farmer, scholar, worker, engineer, warrior. At the heart of Radezhda is the great tower of the Mecha God, stretching up towards the sky. The gods here are visible through five portals hanging above the city for all to see, but only for the “Voice” of each god to reach. At the time of this story for a long time the gods have 'left' to this accessible but difficult to reach 'realm'. This bequeathed technology is not well understood but provides wonders as mechanical wings that allow followers of the mecha god to be the defenders/oppressors of the city. Those withdrawn gods mostly sleep now, leaving their mortal Voices to commune with them alone, and communicate their benevolence (you can see the problems arose with this) and occasionally reaching down on request to judge and smite the wicked in elaborate ceremonies or at least that is what the Mecha god does.
The story is told in two timelines of our protagonist Zenya (not yet Winged Zemolai) born into a cast of the god dedicated to learning and knowledge, she has always dreamed of flying, of being a warrior. told in two timelines. In the second timeline we see Zemolai as a war-weary warrior who left her family and the scholar 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 showing a small dissident act of compassion results in her idol/mentor mother figure Vodaya, (who throughout the story provides the textbook on how to toxicly manipulate someone looks to you) stripping her biomechanical wings, and leaving her. It's when she is found by real revolutionaries who are seeking to stop the authoritarian tyranny that Vodaya has instituted. These are not protesters hanging up signs, this is a movement with cells, goals, and that can and will use violence to achieve their ends.
Two of the strongest themes I found Mill’s debut novel is a story about the controlling abuse and what can happen when you idolise somebody and making that person happy becomes the core of your own happiness.
The other is the discussion about what it means to choose your path, what and how you decide, also the effect the epiphany has on different characters when they realise their gods left them, not because of anything they did or didn't do - they really don't matter to the gods, why do they matter so much to you?
In a steampunkesque (it satisfies the punk with the active rebellion to the status quo, but the setting isn’t quite steam - godpunk, ancient alienspunk?) city state of Radezhda where its lore is long ago, five deities visited the city and uplifted the civilization, each providing a different facet for the people farmer, scholar, worker, engineer, warrior. At the heart of Radezhda is the great tower of the Mecha God, stretching up towards the sky. The gods here are visible through five portals hanging above the city for all to see, but only for the “Voice” of each god to reach. At the time of this story for a long time the gods have 'left' to this accessible but difficult to reach 'realm'. This bequeathed technology is not well understood but provides wonders as mechanical wings that allow followers of the mecha god to be the defenders/oppressors of the city. Those withdrawn gods mostly sleep now, leaving their mortal Voices to commune with them alone, and communicate their benevolence (you can see the problems arose with this) and occasionally reaching down on request to judge and smite the wicked in elaborate ceremonies or at least that is what the Mecha god does.
The story is told in two timelines of our protagonist Zenya (not yet Winged Zemolai) born into a cast of the god dedicated to learning and knowledge, she has always dreamed of flying, of being a warrior. told in two timelines. In the second timeline we see Zemolai as a war-weary warrior who left her family and the scholar 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 showing a small dissident act of compassion results in her idol/mentor mother figure Vodaya, (who throughout the story provides the textbook on how to toxicly manipulate someone looks to you) stripping her biomechanical wings, and leaving her. It's when she is found by real revolutionaries who are seeking to stop the authoritarian tyranny that Vodaya has instituted. These are not protesters hanging up signs, this is a movement with cells, goals, and that can and will use violence to achieve their ends.
Two of the strongest themes I found Mill’s debut novel is a story about the controlling abuse and what can happen when you idolise somebody and making that person happy becomes the core of your own happiness.
The other is the discussion about what it means to choose your path, what and how you decide, also the effect the epiphany has on different characters when they realise their gods left them, not because of anything they did or didn't do - they really don't matter to the gods, why do they matter so much to you?