With three months from publication, THE WINGS UPON HER BACK by Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Sturgeon Award winner Samantha Mills is already getting positive attention as evident by the Publishers Weekly starred review, notice in Kathryn’s Book Review and Other Thoughts, and listed as a 2024 most anticipated book by Andrew Liptak at Transfer Orbit.

THE WINGS UPON HER BACK is currently available for preorder from Tachyon and all finer booksellers.

Mills debuts with an intricate and intriguing science fantasy set in the divided city of Radezhda. Five sects each serve one of five gods who sleep behind portals floating high above the land. After a brutal civil war, the mecha sect, a group of human warriors with their nerves wired into mechanical wings that allow them to fly, reigns supreme, led by power-hungry Winged Vodaya. After Vodaya’s closest confidant, Winged Zemolai, returns home tired and aching from a month of border patrol, she makes what is perhaps the worst mistake of her life: letting a spy go free. Cast out of the sect and left to die on the streets of Radezhda, Zemolai is miraculously saved by another sect, forcing her to decide whether to beg Vodaya’s forgiveness or betray her people. Toggling between two timelines, Mills juxtaposes Zemolai’s adult regrets and childhood hopes to devastating effect. Much like the winged warriors it follows, the story begins on the ground and takes flight as the characters attempt higher stakes battles and plans, eventually achieving a complete aerial view of Zemolai’s life and the full history of Radezhda. This cathartic adventure will stay with readers long after the final page.

Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

It had a great overall tale of redemption and the use of science-fantasy elements to the story. The characters worked with what I wanted from this story and glad I was able to read this. Samantha Mills writes a great tale and can’t wait for more from the author.

Kathryn’s Book Review and Other Thoughts

Last year, Samantha Mills scored a number of awards for her story for Uncanny Magazine, “Rabbit Test.” This year, she’s publishing her debut novel, THE WINGS UPON HER BACK, in which humanity has been trying to figure out why five slumbering gods below the city of Radezhda turned their backs on humanity, sparking war between sects.

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