Wings of Creation (Silver Ship) [Hardcover]

Brenda Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Series: Silver Ship | Publication Date: November 10, 2009

Joseph has succeeded in rescuing his sister, Chelo, from a pitched battle on the colony planet Fremont.  Now he and Chelo and the love of his life, Alicia, and all of their extended family, are finally returning home.  Halfway there, a probe intercepts them, sending them new coordinates and a message from Joseph’s enigmatic supporter and teacher, Marcus. 

War is brewing.

Joseph is wanted for escaping to save Chelo.  To stay safe, Joseph must bring his family and friends to the renowned planet of Lopali, where men and women can fly, and peace and freedom abound.  Or do they?  Alicia has always wanted to fly, but the modifications that give humans wings kill as often as they work.

Joseph must learn to actually change humans, to free the fliers of a tyranny that has enslaved them, since their species was born.  If he can do this, the fliers have agreed to help him stop the war.  But it’s not as easy as it seems.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lush landscapes and eerily beautiful quasi-human fliers don't quite compensate for a thin plot and jolting narrative shifts in the breathless sequel to 2008's The Silver Ship and the Sea. Biologically engineered Chelo Lee was cast out of the colony planet Fremont by her family and saved by her brother, Joseph, a pilot and Wind Reader who can create new human beings. She and Joseph now join their extended family on Lopali, which is considering entering a war against Islas, which opposes interference with divine prerogatives. Romantic entanglements hamper Joseph's efforts to help the local sterile fliers to reproduce and outwit rebel fliers' plots, all couched in adolescent cheekiness that dilutes Cooper's antiwar theme. Young adults may find this us-against-the-worlds excursion exciting, but more mature readers will growl with Joseph's dog, Sasha, who's rightly suspicious of oversimplifications. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

Heading home on a spaceship, genetically augmented Joseph, his sister Chelo, and his beloved Alicia, along with their extended “family,” receive warning from Joseph’s mentor, Marcus, that war is looming, and Joseph is wanted by the port authority and the planetary police. Instead of home, they go to the supposedly peaceful planet of Lopali, whose people fly with genetically engineered wings but now have difficulty walking. Joseph is welcomed as the Maker and, with Marcus’ help, must learn to work internal changes in the fliers to enable them to reproduce and be freed from those who have enslaved them. Joseph and company become fraught with danger. They are forced into hiding and to face a battle with fliers who want to maintain the status quo. The sequel to The Silver Ship and the Sea (2007) and Reading the Wind (2008) is intense and increasingly complex. Cooper continues to limn interpersonal relationships in considerable depth, including this time those of some individual fliers. Happily, the ending suggests yet another episode to come. --Sally Estes

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320959
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320957
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brenda Cooper has published fiction in Analog, Asimov's, Strange Horizons, Nature, and in multiple anthologies. She is the author of the Endeavor award winner for 2008: THE SILVER SHIP AND THE SEA, and of the sequel, READING THE WIND. Brenda lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her partner Toni, Toni's daughter Katie, two border collies, and a golden retriever. By day, she is the City of Kirkland's CIO, and at night and in early morning hours, she's a futurist and writer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ., July 11, 2010

By 

Christy Leigh Stewart "Good Mourning Sunshine" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wings of Creation (The Silver Ship) (Hardcover)

A great book with a wonderfully original take on scifi (although I'm biased because I love angel scifi books). The universe is rich and beautiful and believable; and the quality of characters is up to par as well. Cooper did a great job of making everyone personable and realistic. You don't have to work to care about what happens.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining antiwar teen fantasy, November 23, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wings of Creation (Silver Ship) (Hardcover)

Their family abandoned the siblings Joseph and Chelo Lee on Fremont (see The Silver Ship and the Sea), but they soon find themselves unwelcome here also. During a battle on the colony planet, Joseph the Wind Reader pilot saves the life of Chelo.

They and his beloved Alicia join their "new" family on Lopali. However, hostilities have ignited openly with war seemingly imminent between Lopali and Islas. The newcomers soon learn that Lopali is not quite the haven they thought when they first arrived; as everyone wants to fly free including Alicia, but few are allowed. Joseph's mentor Marcus wants him to help the subspecies soar soul and body, but to do so means many will die when the tyrannical state run modifications fail.

This is an entertaining antiwar teen fantasy that grips the audience from the moment the siblings are rejected again. Fans will root for courageous Joseph as he defies the law restricting who can fly to train locals to soar. The romantic subplot between him and Alicia is cute but also detracts from a strong entry in which many people choose to live free to fly or die.

Harriet Klausner