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whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
5.0
It starts a little slow, but I absolutely adored this novel. It is so much fun and is tightly plotted with excellent action scenes. I loved getting to see the world through the dual points of view and I highly recommend this book. I can't wait for the next! (there was no cliffhanger, though. This thing stands solidly on its own.)
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
4.0
"The Guns Above" is a quick, highly entertaining tale starring an airship. I would call it speculative fiction, since it takes place in an invented milieu, but there is neither magic nor science-fiction devices. Instead there are airship battles plus a little hand-to-hand landside action.
The point of view switches between Josette Dupre, a female airship officer, and Lord Bernat, a lazy, self-centered young aristocrat. The former is very likable, a brave and skilled woman trying to make her way in a sexist world. The latter shouldn't be likable, at least initially, yet somehow Bennis makes him so. Josette and Bernat inevitably clash, but -- spoiler warning -- there is no romance thread and none is needed. The airship and the fast, smart plot carry all before them, buoyed by sharp humor.
For those of a delicate sensibility, I note that there is a stiff butcher's bill. Several scenes cross from high-action fun to a sombre tone as soldiers die.
Four out of five luftgas stars.
P.S. My thanks to Kate Ravenna for recommending this book to me :-)
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
The point of view switches between Josette Dupre, a female airship officer, and Lord Bernat, a lazy, self-centered young aristocrat. The former is very likable, a brave and skilled woman trying to make her way in a sexist world. The latter shouldn't be likable, at least initially, yet somehow Bennis makes him so. Josette and Bernat inevitably clash, but -- spoiler warning -- there is no romance thread and none is needed. The airship and the fast, smart plot carry all before them, buoyed by sharp humor.
For those of a delicate sensibility, I note that there is a stiff butcher's bill. Several scenes cross from high-action fun to a sombre tone as soldiers die.
Four out of five luftgas stars.
P.S. My thanks to Kate Ravenna for recommending this book to me :-)
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
_camk_'s review against another edition
3.0
A good book with a interesting story full of action and good characters...if you can dredge your way through the over description of the airship on a regular basis.
plusrich's review
3.0
This was pleasant and quick.
The author loves airships. I don't know how accurate the info is but it's good enough to suspend disbelief. If you don't want to read about the structure and piloting of airships, you should skip this or skip 20% of the text.
I was more interested in the unfair gender dynamics and what the main character would do to overcome them. The developments there left me dissatisfied.
This was decently executed and not complex.
The author loves airships. I don't know how accurate the info is but it's good enough to suspend disbelief. If you don't want to read about the structure and piloting of airships, you should skip this or skip 20% of the text.
I was more interested in the unfair gender dynamics and what the main character would do to overcome them. The developments there left me dissatisfied.
This was decently executed and not complex.
caitcoy's review against another edition
5.0
The Guns Above is a fast-paced military action adventure following the first female airship captain as she attempts to guide her new ship and crew to glory even as her enemies both foreign and domestic do everything they can to bring her down. After daring actions in battle and a sympathetic press lead to her becoming captain of her own ship, Josette Dupre has to muster a crew capable of respecting a woman in leadership where there have previously been none and deal with the imposition of a foppish aristocrat who's just waiting for his chance to undermine her and provide the ammunition for her superiors to break her down a rank. Not to mention somehow help win the war that her country has been fighting and losing for years. No pressure though.
This was one of the books on my 5 star predictions list that I created for myself earlier this year and it's nice to know that at least one of the books completely hits the mark. The Guns Above is definitely in the military sub-genre of fantasy and features lots of airship battles and more naval/technical terminology than you might be expecting. Even with that, the action scenes are spectacular and I loved all of it.
The action and military elements are balanced with some truly loveable characters, even though Josette herself is very prickly. She's smart, she's capable but she's not always the best with people and it takes a particular crew to gel with her. I really enjoyed that Josette was willing to take risks but also screwed up sometimes and had to make up for it. It made her much more sympathetic as a character and I ended up enjoying the banter between her and the aristocrat even more than I expected.
Overall, while I was expecting to enjoy The Guns Above, I was surprised by just how much I loved it. I do tend to enjoy military fantasy but it was refreshing to have a female lead in a military fantasy who knew exactly how smart and capable she was and never tried to hide it but also wasn't perfect. This is easily a new favorite and I'm curious to check out the sequel.
This was one of the books on my 5 star predictions list that I created for myself earlier this year and it's nice to know that at least one of the books completely hits the mark. The Guns Above is definitely in the military sub-genre of fantasy and features lots of airship battles and more naval/technical terminology than you might be expecting. Even with that, the action scenes are spectacular and I loved all of it.
The action and military elements are balanced with some truly loveable characters, even though Josette herself is very prickly. She's smart, she's capable but she's not always the best with people and it takes a particular crew to gel with her. I really enjoyed that Josette was willing to take risks but also screwed up sometimes and had to make up for it. It made her much more sympathetic as a character and I ended up enjoying the banter between her and the aristocrat even more than I expected.
Overall, while I was expecting to enjoy The Guns Above, I was surprised by just how much I loved it. I do tend to enjoy military fantasy but it was refreshing to have a female lead in a military fantasy who knew exactly how smart and capable she was and never tried to hide it but also wasn't perfect. This is easily a new favorite and I'm curious to check out the sequel.
chromatick's review against another edition
2.0
Zzzzzzzz
This book did not do it for me. It was so boring. I mean there was action, but it wasn't exciting. The characters did absolutely nothing for me. I think there was some world building, but I was falling asleep half the time so maybe I missed that?
I won't be reading any more in this series.
This book did not do it for me. It was so boring. I mean there was action, but it wasn't exciting. The characters did absolutely nothing for me. I think there was some world building, but I was falling asleep half the time so maybe I missed that?
I won't be reading any more in this series.