I Can’t Wait For…Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For is Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin!
Rebel Skies (Rebel Skies, #1) by Ann Sei Lin Representation: Asian-coded world + cast
Published on: 5th May 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads
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Teen fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships and sky cities, where chosen ones have the ability to bring paper to life and work as Crafters - people who hunt wild paper spirits called shikigami. Inspired by Asian culture and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.
Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami - wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess.
But are these creatures just powerful slaves for the Crafters and the empire, or are they beings with their own souls - and yet another thing to be subjugated by the powerful Emperor and his Princess?
I’m just in absolute love with EVERYTHING about this premise! Any kind of paper-based magic always gets my attention, but this is the first time I’ve seen a whole world built up around the concept! Creatures of living paper??? With souls of their own??? (Come on, the way the question is framed in the blurb? We know shikigami have souls!) And skyships! I wonder if they’re made of paper too? I’m just dying to learn all about this world, and the people who live in it!
Early reviewers have also mentioned sky-CITIES as well as skyships, which, HI, WHO DOES NOT LOVE FLOATING CITIES??? And apparently mega Studio Ghibli vibes abound! Could this possibly tick any more of my boxes?!
When I first heard about Rebel Skies, I thought it was a standalone. And that would have been wonderful! But I’m extra-excited that it’s the start of the series – that means getting to see so much more of the world Lin has created, and I hope she shows it off extravagantly. And while I suspect the series is likely to follow the overthrow-the-empire template, that doesn’t make it predictable – there are a thousand ways to play that out, and in a setting of paper magic and SKY CITIES, it’s not going to look like anything I’ve seen before.
WHICH IS ALWAYS DELIGHTFUL.
Also, I am a shamelessly shallow creature, and that cover is just stunning. No two ways about it.
Is Rebel Skies on your tbr? I think it should be!
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