A River from the Sky

Natural Engines #2

by Ai Jiang

From the Nebula and Bram Stoker Award®-winning author comes the lyrical and moving science-fantasy follow-up to A Palace Near the Wind, as Lufeng and her sister Sangshu fight to protect their culture and their world. For readers of Nghi Vo, Amal El-Mohtar and Kritika H. Rao.

Fleeing from the bone palace and crashing into the waters below its steep walls, Lufeng and her siblings reach Gear, with its huge deadly water wheels, where their sister Sangshu is waiting for them. In the chaos of the enormous waves, within moments they're snatched away and taken into rebel territory, where they learn more of the deadly experiments Zinc has wreaked upon the people.

Loyal to Copper now, Sangshu herself is a victim of Zinc's experiments. Desperate to find her family, she races through Gear to Engine, ruthless Zinc's industrial heartland, where she burns with a desire to fix her own mistakes and those of others and find a way to save her world.

This powerful, beautifully told novella explores the bonds of family, the pain of leaving all you have known behind, and the terrible price of our industrial future.

Genres: Fantasy

Kindle Edition

Expected publication April 21, 2026

About the author

Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte, Nebula, Bram Stoker Award winner, Hugo, Astounding, Locus, Aurora, and BFSA Award finalist, and an immigrant from Changle, Fujian currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. Her work can be found in F&SF, The Dark, The Masters Review, among others. She is the recipient of Odyssey Workshop's 2022 Fresh Voices Scholarship.

Reviews

[jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0
adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
A beautiful sequel to A Palace Near the Wind, Ai Jiang continues to weave science fiction and fantasy in A River from the Sky. The qualms I had for the first book was definitely addressed in the second, as there was definitely a more structured flow. While it was definitely slower, it was still able to showcase the many years of resentment and despair built up by the cogs and those under Zinc's regime. It's short enough to finish in one sitting, but the beautiful prose and colorful world made me want to savor each and every page. That being said, I really wished that this was longer — I needed more time to really delve deeper into each character and their backgrounds. I wished that we had more time to see Sangshu's alchemy in action, wished that we bore witness to Zinc's descent into paranoia instead of hearing it secondhand. While the Wind Walkers might be fleeting, the story didn't have to be.


Big thanks to the publisher for providing me this ARC via NetGalley. This does not in any shape or form influence my review on this book.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This conclusion to the Natural Engines duology is exactly what I craved from the first book, which is the full blossoming and payoff of the story.

Bleak and hopeful at once, A River From the Sky is a philosophical tragedy that contemplates the reality and impact of industrialism, colonialism, and their expected endgames of cultural genocide and eugenics. Told via a cast of fantastical element-based characters, this story doesn’t claim to have the answers to the world’s woes, only a quiet observation of them.

In particular, this book examines the impact of colonialism on the diaspora, and demonstrates how culture and tradition can be twisted and re-made even by those who are indigenous to it but working with the scraps that imperialism left them.

As with the first book, you can expect evocative prose and tragic, flawed characters. Within that tragedy is always the spark of hope and rebirth, however, which is the point of it all in the end.
This would be an excellent choice for book clubs, young reader groups, and OWN voices-focused reading. Ideal for fans of books like The Little Prince, for a similar melancholy and philosophical read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for generously providing me with a copy. All opinions are my own.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Ai Jiang and NetGalley for gifting me with a copy of this ARC.



A River from the Sky is the 2nd novella in the Natural Engines duology. After being sent as a reluctant bride to a human king in order to find out what has happened to her sisters, Lufeng discovers a plot to destroy her homeland and further subjugate her people, the Feng/ Wind Walkers. Book two follows the immediate aftermath of her attempt to escape the place with her siblings, only to have to confront her sister, Sangshu, now alchemized beyond recognition and on her own path to seekout Lufeng.

This book confronts identity, tension between natural vs industrial society, and family and cultural bonds, especially how society demands we contort ourselves to ‘fit in’.

Jiang’s prose continues to be lush and inspirational and her fantasy worldbuilding has a fairy tale-like quality to it. I highly recommend reading the books together for the full effect.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A River from the Sky continues the enchanting science fantasy story Ai Jiang set up in A Palace Near the Wind in the same lyrical, wonderfully multilayered manner of the first installment. I enjoyed A Palace Near the Wind, but can confidently say I loved A River from the Sky as it took the lyrical style and world-building to even further lengths. While sometimes a bit complicated to understand, needing and deserving close reading, this novella weaves a beautiful story and shows Jiang's unique literary voice very well. I will be coming back to this title after release for sure, for a second, closer reading so for now I feel I do not have my thought about it quite in order yet but I can say I wholeheartedly recommend it (as well as the first installment of the Natural Engines duology, in case you have yet to read it)!

Thank you, Titan Books and NetGalley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views expressed are my own.

[FablesUnderMoonlight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of A River from the Sky by Ai Jiang through NetGalley, provided by Titan Books.Thank you to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read it early.

This book felt unlike anything else I’ve read. Ai Jiang’s writing is incredibly lyrical and poetic, and reading it felt a little like drifting through a memory or a piece of folklore. The language is beautiful, but also quiet in a way that makes you slow down and really sit with it.

It’s the kind of story that leaves you feeling introspective. Beneath the dreamlike atmosphere are themes of grief, family, and identity. How much of yourself can you change and still be someone you recognise? I found it a thoughtful and haunting read.

[Victoria Viper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks Netgalley and the author for this Arc.
A great sequel to a palace near the wind.
This author really know how to write, she is so creative and fresh.
Sadly I do wish these books were more long because since they being so short and everything happens so fast it's easy to get a little lost. It's such a rich and imaginative world that is a pitty it's not exploited and explained more. I wish there was more about the people, about the language about the places...
I liked the first book better than this one.
Probably because I liked Lufeng as a protagonist more, even tho she is also in this one.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*** This was a lyrical and atmospheric continuation of the first novella with a satisfying conclusion. I loved the prose and the world it was set in. With the beautiful writing, I wouldn’t have minded staying in this world longer. The overarching themes of of identity and family/cultural bonds really hit home. I cannot wait to see what this author does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan for an ARC for an honest review.