Air Vol. 2: Flying Machine [Paperback]

G. Willow Wilson (Author), M.K. Perker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2009 | Series: Air (Book 2)

Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a change in our flight plan. You may have heard of a group called the Etesian Front -- vigilantes dedicated to taking the skies back from terrorism. Sounds like a noble cause, right? But there's more to them than meets the eye. They're after someone I know. Someone who is either an average frequent flier -- or a terrorist. And he's got a secret. Something that will change the way we fly -- and the way we see technology -- forever.

To find him, we've altered course. We're en route to a country that doesn't exist on any maps. Only one person knows how to get us there: me. My name is Blythe, and I'll be your stewardess today. So buckle your seatbelts -- this will be the flight of your life.

In this second volume, Blythe's mysterious rescuer reveals the truth behind one of the most shocking disappearances in aviation history - a secret tied to the origin of hyperprax flight. As the race to find the device begins, Blythe must master her skills as a hyperpract. But her fear of heights may get the better of her. Blythe has traveled through a country that doesn't exist to a dimension of lost things to search for the stranger she's fallen in love with -- a man who may or may not be a terrorist. Now, they will
be reunited in the strangest way possible: Trapped in 10-year-old Zayn's body, Blythe will relive his life. The things she'll learn will shock her, and perhaps forever alter her course...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An ancient device is discovered that enables people to fly using mental control. The main character, Blythe, a flight attendant afraid of heights, has an exceptional predisposition to use this device. With the help of Amelia Earhart, alive because of an accident with the device in the 1930s, Blythe attempts to find a similar device lost by her potentially terrorist lover, Zayn, and of course the fate of the world is at stake. During this search, Blythe enters Zayn's memories and relives them from his childhood until the device goes missing. This divergence wobbles between being a random detour through angsty teenage years and an examination of trust and understanding between people. As Blythe navigates through Zayn's memories and flies a plane with her mind, these fantastical elements would benefit from some understatement; instead, everything is philosophized to the max. Fresh ideas lay an intriguing foundation for the book, but that scenario sometimes gets overwhelmed by the metaphysics. (Oct.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (October 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401224830
• ISBN-13: 978-1401224837
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in 1982, G. Willow Wilson began her writing career at 17 as a music and DJ critic for Boston's Weekly Dig. After moving to Egypt in 2003, Willow's articles and essays on Islam and the Middle East appeared in publications including the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times, and Glamour. A lifelong fan of comics and graphic novels, Willow's first ongoing comic book series, AIR, was nominated for an Eisner Award. Her memoir, The Butterfly Mosque, the story of her conversion to Islam and life in Egypt, was named Best Book of 2010 by the Seattle Times. Her first novel, Alif the Unseen, debuts in 2012.

She enjoys British films, cooking, and World of Warcraft, and holds a purple belt in kajukenbo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting Vertigo piece., December 30, 2009

By 

Sean Curley (Charlottetown, PE, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Air Vol. 2: Flying Machine (Paperback)

My reaction to reading the first collection of "Air" was rather akin to Homer Simpson's response to "Twin Peaks": 'Brilliant...I have no idea what is going on.' The beginning of G. Willow Wilson's new Vertigo series (which, as this trade paperback notes, was nominated for the Best New Series Eisner Award) was fascinating but rather confusing, dropping you (much like the main character) into a strange sci-fi/fantasy setting with a number of seemingly competing plots going on. "Flying Machines", the second trade paperback, picks up where that series left off, and is a considerable improvement in terms of understanding, as the nature of the world starts to attain a certain amount of coherence. Some spoilers follow.

"Air" is the story of Blythe, a flight attendant who finds herself in the middle of a strange conspiracy involving Aztec mysticism, global capitalism, and the future of airplane propulsion. "Flying Machines" picks up where "Letters from Lost Countries" left off, with Blythe getting acquainted with the apparently-alive Amelia Earhart. Yes, it's a strange book. Earhart and her colleague supply some much-needed exposition about the nature of what has been transpiring in the preceding storyline, and give the plot a bit more direction, though the array of players involved apart from them can still be a bit on the vague side. The other ongoing thread here is the character of Zayn, Blythe's sometime-love interest whose life, previously mysterious, gets further development here, in a few unexpected ways. Wilson delivers a well-written Arab character, and handles his contact with western culture well. The collection concludes with a standalone one-shot set in Aztec Mexico circa AD 1000 (yes, it's a strange book) that provides some foreshadowing of future stories.

I can honestly say that I've not read anything that is really like "Air", which takes some doing these days. Individual elements bring other things to mind, such as the discussion of Blythe's power being derived from the interpretation of the primal symbols; these sorts of discussions about words and imagining calls that Vertigo staple, "The Sandman", to mind. The historical conspiracy elements recall everything from "Lost" to "The Da Vinci Code" (though much better than the latter). All of this is well-illustrated by artist M. K. Perker.

The aggressively odd tone will probably strike some people as offputting, but it's worth a look if you like Vertigo titles that stray from the norm.

4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky and fun - Sadly not as good as the first one., March 22, 2010

By 

WonderBunny (Cookies, Books and Bikes) (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Air Vol. 2: Flying Machine (Paperback)

This is the second collection of stories about Blythe, who was introduced in Air: Letters from Lost Countries. I don't want to give to much away so I am not going to do a summary of the story or even an introduction.

I liked this but it last the weird, quirky fun of the other book. I am not really sure why it felt that way for me but I didn't love this like I did the first one. It was good but the sweetness of the previous collection was missing. Blythe is still searching for Zayn and trying to figure out what to do with all that she has learned since meeting him. This book gives a little more background then the previous book so if not knowing the back story, bothered you, you'll enjoy this addition. I think I liked the mystery, so this one - while good, was a little disappointing.