The Princes of the Air

by John M. Ford

From the personal collection of author John M. Ford. Like new condition except for page coloring from age.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1982

About the author

John Milo "Mike" Ford was a science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer and poet.

Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.

Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.

Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...

Reviews

[Tsedai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princes of the Air is a science fiction space opera about three grifters who long for a better life. They use their wiles to swindle unsuspecting citizens while dreaming of the day they will be able to fly away from their miserable life on Riyah Zain. Orden Obeck has sold himself into educational slavery - there is only one legal way off the planet for him, and that is proving himself to be one of the top diplomatic students at the university. His friends David Koleman and Theodore Cranach Valerian Norne have other options, but they are far too expensive without using their wiles to procure a little... assistance. Besides, if they are going to run off on a crazy adventure, they are going to run off together. They all dream of exploring far off worlds in the name of the Queen, and providing her their unique services. The novel follows the adventures of Obeck, Koleman, and Norne as they work to achieve their goals and have a far grander adventure than any of them ever imagined.

The novel is seemingly made up of several disparate sections, which really only come together in the end. It is sort of interesting to compare to many more recent novels, where characters are followed almost reality-tv style through every minutiae of their lives. The book touches on a lot of the thematic tropes common to science fiction - oppressed classes, the nature of governments, and the trials and tribulations of growing up - all without actively making the novel feel like it is about any of these things. It touches on topics like depression and PTSD as well, which serves to make the main characters feel all the more human. They may be the princes of the air, but they aren't untouchable.

The Princes of the Air is the sort of book that made me question weather I was intelligent enough to read it as I was reading it. I was constantly pondering if I had really picked up all the clues that Ford was laying down. In contrast to so many of today's works of science fiction, which read almost as if you were watching them on a screen, Ford's novel leaves almost as much unsaid as he states directly. This skill is used in all of the writing throughout the novel, but is especially evident in his sections of dialogue. I have been called out for improperly using this terminology already, but the only real way I can think to explain this is to say that Ford is a master of using negative space - the reader has to read between the lines that are between the lines to really understand the complexity of what is happening as the story progresses. The book appears to be an un-intimidating 250 page pulp from the 80s, but it took me more effort to read through it than I've had to expend on epic tomes five times its length. I wasn't really grabbed by the story and swept along (at least, not until the ending), but I was never bored either. This book required effort to power through, but in a good way. The reader has to put in a good deal of effort to keep up with the characters in the story. Well after having finished the book my brain is going back and forth between events and coming up with conclusions along the lines of "Wait, but that means he.... whoa." I feel I really need to re-read it now that I've finished it so that I can better see all the beautiful bits of plot and foreshadowing that are woven into the story. Perhaps not right away, but eventually - probably after reading more of Ford's other works.

I would highly recommend this novel to any sci-fi junkies out there. Its got the usual bit of cool technology - spaceships, robots, etc. - but it also has an interesting mix of heist story, buddy comedy, "wizard school," and hero's odyssey thrown in to the mix. For non-genre fans, it might be a bit of a struggle getting used to the world and Ford's prose simultaneously, though I think it is well worth the effort. All in all this book was a fun intellectual challenge, with a very satisfying conclusion.

[Todd Smutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most readers want to read a book once, and be able to understand it easily, straight through, on the first read - and that's understandable. This early, smallish-in-length offering of the incredible John Milhouse Ford, however, while containing passages which are easy to glide through and appreciate and be entertained, does not entirely satisfy such a glib skim. There is so much more going on beneath the surface in almost all of Ford's works, in both scene and character, and this novel is no exception. One may have to stop and read a sentence or an entire paragraph again, maybe twice, to fully appreciate what it's saying. But that only enriches the appreciation of it. Ford's mastery of prose and language is strictly unparalleled by any other writer, especially in today's fast-paced, tabloid-depth literary culture. His writing is not just writing, it's art in linguistic motion and structure. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a writer like the late, great John M. Ford... and "The Princes of the Air" is a rich, colorful, and exemplary work.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still processing this one, and it may take a second read to sort it out. Very lean and somewhat confusing space-opera, with some disconcerting jump-cuts. 3.5 stars, rounded up. I'm planning a re-read sometime this year (2022).

The review to read is Tsedai's, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Leif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could the hidden maestro himself, John M. Ford, produce anything less than a masterpiece?

The answer is yes, and it is this book. There are too many complexities hidden in its pages, and a rush to move the plot forward in the model of a Gene Wolfe novel - many hidden references, events occurring without reference but eventuating in significant developments, etc - but without the length of exposition that Wolfe provides to allow the entirety of the narrative concept its full revelation.

That said, this book is a work of the master, and it is deeply compelling, with a handful of fascinating characters, a plot straight from the "space opera conspiracy" drawer, and a really fascinating take on world-building. There are bishops and queens and pirates and pilots; there are secrets, interrogations, battles, and amid it all dense psychology. It's not in the business of consistency, but it takes you, the reader, on a heck of a ride. There is no end of plot twists. And - happily - unlike other novels of Ford's, there are recognized elements of the book in a beginning, a middle, and an end.

While it is definitely rushed, The Princes of the Air is a ride worth taking. I recommend you read once you've encountered Ford at his best in some of his other books.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

John M. Ford is a unique writer: no book he wrote sounds like any of the others, but each is a strong piece of fiction. The Princes of the Air is a novel of three friends who work and connive their way out of poverty and into the great events of their times. The characterizations are vivid, the world-building intriguing, and the plot flows to a taught climax. It is an adventure.

The novel required a lot of tolerance for ambiguity: much of this world is not told, there are gaps of many years in the story so you have to reset and relearn where things stand now, and some of the characters remain ambiguous, because they are not understood by the protagonist. These are not weaknesses, but they do make the book a more challenging read. But that's part of what I loved about it: Ford was one of the writers that made me work to grasp what was going on -- and the effort was always well worth it.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

3.5/5 (Good)

"John M. Ford (1957-2006) is one of those authors I’ve read a lot about but never sat down and read. As if often my strategy, I decided to explore around the edges a bit before reading his best-known novels Web of Angels (1980) and The Dragon Waiting (1983). I settled on his second novel The Princes of the Air (1982)….

The first layer of The Princes of the Air reads as a traditional space opera. Three young men from rough poverty-filled pasts–Orden Obeck, David Kondor/Koleman, and Theodor Thorn/Norne–aspire to serve the Queen [...]"

[ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A John M Ford'd space adventure, so well written it's new again. A political thriller, a Shakespearean drama, a buddy comedy, a standard SF adventure. Looks unassuming enough on the outside, but I'm not intelligent enough to understand everything inside. Ford transmuted every genre he wrote in to gold. It's so smart it's almost a subversive. But its genuine John doing what he so clearly loved. Show me an SF author today doing it as well.

[Frank Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read lands a 3/5. There’s a lot to enjoy about this book, but I maybe wasn’t giving it the attention it deserved or maybe I read The Scholars of Night too recently because the misdirects and subtleties of the narrative were largely lost on me. And I’m not entirely sure these characters are as fully realized as in more powerful works by Ford like Dragon or Aspects or Weightless. I will revisit this one, one day, but for now I can not remark with praise upon this one.

[Garry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the most traditional of Ford's work. It's basic space opera with sparse world-building that says so much. Yes, certain motives are a bit oblique, but the answers are there in the spaces between. I return to this every ten years or so to be reminded that good literature shows us how souls are shaped by their experiences.

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a John M. Ford novel, which means it's beautifully written, but there are parts where I had no idea what was happening. It was about a large-picture political change but mostly seen through the eyes of one person who was mostly on the periphery. So -- as another reviewer said -- lots of negative space being used to shape the story.

[Cheryl]

on a hopepunk list

[Brian Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

John M Ford does space opera. and being Joh M Ford does it extremely well.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ford's writing is often too sustainedly oblique for me, so that the constant effort of inference and decoding feels exhausting.

[Azz Lunatic]

The Princes of the Air by John M. Ford (1991)

[Macha]

3 and a half stars.