The Wingless Boy

Book review
Written by Jay Amory
Gollancz paperback
Release date Out now

When the delicate trade relationship between the Airborns and the Groundlings is put in jeopardy, it’s up to the wingless outcast Az Gabrielson to descend into the mist and investigate...

Flight is an eternally popular theme in fantasy fiction, and Jay Amory’s addition to the vast library on the subject is more impressive than other recent attempts to breathe life into the concept.

The novel (or novels, as this bundles together the previously released The Fledging of Az Gabrielson and Pirates of the Relentless Desert) far outclasses the likes of Faith Hunter’s abysmal Bloodring trilogy and Shane Abbess’s shallow movie Gabriel. Whereas those efforts idolised seraphs, Amory humanises them, making clear from the start that they are merely human – just with an added advantage.

And what an advantage! Amory’s ethereal descriptions of the “world above the clouds” in the opening chapters are wonderful, and he manages to paint the sky cities in an entirely believable light. Sadly, after this promising start, the plot heads down to Earth in more ways than one. Once on the ground, The Fledging of Az Gabrielson becomes lifeless and loses its initial energy. In contrast the second book, Pirates of the Relentless Desert, gains stature and confidence as it progresses, beginning a tad shakily before finding its feet and culminating in an impressive climax.

Although Amory admirably tackles social and political issues of segregation through his imaginative fantasy world, this does result in a lack of character focus, and too often he falls back on obvious stereotypes. Each character plays out their pre-ordained part with few surprises. The ‘common’ accent native to the Groundlings obviously marks them out as lower class in comparison to the articulate Airborns, but as a result the characters feel too familiar and the sense of the fantastical is compromised.

Despite the difficulty in feeling empathy towards many characters, all is not lost. Mordadson (Az’s mentor) and Colin Amblescrut (a dim-witted Groundling) are effectively mysterious and comic respectively, providing brief moments of salvation when the action abates.

Amory’s real skill is in crafting inventive action sequences, and from the high-powered explosion of the Deacon’s Chancel in book one to the epic airship battle in the skies at the end of the second, these scenes are a real pleasure to read. Alice Wybrew