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On Swift Wings: The Travails of Cygnus by [Brett Wiens]

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Brett Wiens

On Swift Wings: The Travails of Cygnus Kindle Edition

by Brett Wiens (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A plane crash survivor must find his way home via islands of immortals, sorcerers, giants, Lilliputians, and much more.

Double Winner of the 2020 Reader Views Literary Awards - Humor/Satire, Canada West Region
Readers' Favorite 2020 Book Award Finalist - Literary Fiction
Indies Today Book of the Year - 2020 Finalist

When flight 1726 crashed into the ocean, and I found myself alone on the ocean, I had no idea of the fantastic adventures that lay before me. I was desperate only to find my way home to my family and the world that I called home.

The sole survivor of that ill-fated trans-oceanic flight; I was thrust into places not recorded or experienced in these past three hundred years. Surviving on my paltry wits alone I encountered mysterious islands occupied by human-enslaving horses, immortals, sorcerers, necromancers, giants, and even miniature human civilizations.

As the well-informed reader will surely know, my story has been told through many diverse lenses, but only this account will suffice to describe and elucidate upon my experiences of these places. On Swift Wings is the full, true, and complete accounting of my fantastic adventure.

On Swift Wings is an action and humour-packed satirical adventure fantasy, rich in vivid detail, following the style of Jonathan Swift.

Readers of all ages are sure to love this award winning novel by debut author Brett Wiens.
Read On Swift Wings today and explore these fantastic worlds!

Reading age

12 - 18 years
Print length

386 pages
Language

English
Publication date

July 1, 2019
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a must-read for anyone looking for a good adventure." - Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
"A unique and wonderfully detailed literary fantasy novel." - IndieReader
"A stunning satirical debut novel" - Paige Lovitt for Reader Views
"On Swift Wings is a satirical work that delivers a fascinating tale as Wiens breathes new life into the world of Gulliver's Travels through Cygnus's adventures. Intelligent writing that evokes commentary and conversation." - Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite
"Brett Wiens is a master storyteller and this novel, the work of a rich imagination, is littered with humor. A spellbinding and delightful read." - Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite
The book is filled with detailed descriptions and the author puts great effort into creating vivid settings for his unique scenes - Malcolm P - Amazon.com
This is a fantastic modern version of Gulliver's Travels! The update was very well done. It wasn't just the same story set in current times; it was a similar story that reflects it's origins, and also how the world has changed to become where it is today. The story is told with humour and intelligence - a truly enjoyable read! - Snowflake - Amazon.ca
The descriptions of the unknown lands were very vivid. I can still picture some of the scenes in my mind very clearly, days after completing the book. The beings that were encountered were also described in detail. The reader is able to feel a sense of each society as a whole, as well as get to know some individuals in that land. - Snowflake for OnlineBookClub.org
On Swift Wings: The Travails of Cygnus is a fabulous retelling of Gulliver's Travels that is embellished with the trappings of 21st century living. The account is narrated by the initially guileless Cygnus in a detached and comically analytic manner. The writing style with its formal language brilliantly recalls a more refined time in human history. The humor is subtle and pervasive, making the book enjoyable for adults and children of any age. A fitting compliment to Jonathan Swift, On Swift Wings is a wonderful adventure laden with deep meaning and complex characters, a worthy tribute to a classic book some 300 years in the making. - Nicki Flowers for Indies Today

From the Author

On Swift Wings is my debut satirical novel. It is based on the classical story of Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels. I undertook the work at first for the pure fun of putting my thoughts to paper, but as I got going I felt like I was writing something meaningful that I wanted to share with the world.It all started when I read the original story to my son before he was a year old. I started thinking that while it was a good story, there are some pretty dated parts, particularly three-hundred year old satire. The thought experiments are still very interesting to me, and I started writing thoughts about what a modern person might do or think when confronted by similar challenges and issues.To really make the story my own, I evolved all of the islands forward three hundred years as I felt would have been elicited by their interactions with Gulliver. Islands that viewed that character as a laudable or enviable figure would have striven much harder for greatness, while those that were ambiguous or hostile would have likely evolved very little.The main character of On Swift Wings is a modern character, with a modern perspective of the world. In a nod to Jonathan Swift, I wrote the story in the same voice and style of his original work. The reader need not have read Gulliver's Travels to enjoy this book, but there are a few bits that hark back to that story.I am working on a second book that intersects with this one. I'm enjoying watching the reviews come in through various sites on the internet. I love the feedback and the conversations that are being raised. Thank you for considering reading On Swift Wings! --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Cygnus regained consciousness, the sole survivor of flight 1726, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.His predicament would lead to an epic adventure as he navigates treacherous seas and unknown shores. Cygnus is marooned on an unknown island populated by a contemptuous race of horses that enslaves a tribe of feral humans. A draconian decision leads to fantastic encounters with the immortals of Loogenage, the sorcerers and necromancers of Glubdubdrib, the anti-intellectuals of Balnibarbi, the giants of Brobadingog, and the tiny emulous nations of Blafusecho, Sinrovia, and Lilliput. His diverse experiences gift him with enlightenment and culminate in a heart-wrenching conclusion.
On Swift Wings is a modern satirical fantasy adventure that lampoons contemporary life and dogma in a wonderfully sardonic allegorical style. Swathed in stunningly painted worlds, it is a study of current society that contains within it both the truth and hope that we so desperately need.
"A must-read for anyone looking for a good adventure." - Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite"A unique and wonderfully detailed literary fantasy novel." - IndieReader"A fantastic modern version of Gulliver's Travels! - Snowflake for OnlineBookClub"A stunning satirical debut novel" - Paige Lovitt for Reader Views
2020 Reader Views Literary Award Winner - Satire2020 Reader Views Literary Award Winner - Canada West 2020 Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist - Literary Fiction --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Brett M. Wiens was born, raised, and continues to reside in Calgary, Alberta with his wife and two children. He attended the University of Calgary where he received his bachelor's degree in Geography and a masters of Geographic Information Systems.He has traveled to four continents and is constantly learning new languages from French to Spanish, Latin, Italian, and a little American Sign Language. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07T1JTKHL
Publisher ‏ : ‎ BW Literature; 3rd edition (July 1, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3851 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 386 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #3,278,422 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,990 in Travel Adventure Fiction
- #2,281 in Humorous Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #2,371 in Literary Satire Fiction

Customer Reviews:
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Brett Wiens

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Brett Wiens is an award winning author from Calgary, Canada. He writes fantasy/adventure novels with a satirical lens on the world. His writing is founded on a keen interest in geography and languages. His work takes inspiration from classical writers like Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy and others.

His first novel, On Swift Wings, was begun while reading to his baby boy before his first birthday. He would read classic novels like Gulliver's Travels and realized that the content wasn't as relevant to today's society as it had been when it was written. He started writing On Swift Wings as a thought experiment in how those islands might have evolved having interacted with the eponymous character of the original work, and how a modern character might interact with those new lands.

Fascinated with geography, history, politics, and economics, the book became a personal Petri dish to experiment and explore curious new worlds, places, and interactions, while taking sometimes subtle, and other times more overt swipes at modern society, much as Mr. Swift did in his work.

Brett Wiens was born in Calgary, Canada in 1981. He has a bachelor's degree in Geography and a masters degree in Geographic Information Systems. He has won awards for his anti-racism poem, "Just One Little Rock."

His second novel is currently in development.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5

10 global ratings

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4 star		31%
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1 star		22%

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Jessica

An enjoyable read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 19, 2020

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To be completely honest, I did not read through the entire blurb before purchasing this book. I downloaded it to my Kindle, and upon opening it, my little reading machine automatically forwarded me to the preface. So I was actually a few chapters into part one before I realized that this was a retelling of 'Gulliver's Travels'. (It was kind of amusing, really.)
I feel that retellings have to be done well in order to merit the act of telling a story over again. Particularly classics; if there isn't anything new to add why bother, and at the same time readers and fans of the originals want enough of the core story to be present and characters to be at least somewhat recognizable.
I think that this adaptation was done well.
My favorite bit was Part 3 into Part 4, with the introduction of sorcerers and teleportation through the fabric of time. Science fiction elements being introduced into what is a classic satire/fantasy story is an interesting twist. This too is something that has been done before, but takes a certain amount of cleverness to pull off. I think that in this case it was successfully handled.

One person found this helpful

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RinnyC

If you love satire, you'll love this book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

What a fun read. It's been a while since I read satire, but this book made me remember why I love it so much. Written like a futuristic Gulliver's Travels, this book takes a satirical look at our evolutionary-stagnant political system. The book reads like an adventure story as well, so it could be entirely possible to ignore the satire or even miss it if that's more your cup of tea. The scenes and characters are descriptively written, and there are enough meat and potatoes in the book to get swept up in the story, however, i found the subtle satirical comments and observations incredibly smartly written. Overall a really satisfying read.

One person found this helpful

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Unusual book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

This was an unusual story! Cygnus, our narrator, survives a plane crash and lands in a remote, unknown island filled with unusual creatures. It's satire, apparently, but I actually didn't get the satire part (this could be because I have never read Gulliver's Travels). This felt like an adventure tale to me with a narrator filled with some dry wit. I thought this was adventurous, fun, and extremely unusual. I also loved the brief summary of what the chapter would include at the beginning. I definitely recommend this unusual book!

One person found this helpful

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Malcolm P

Great read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 15, 2020

On Swift Wings is an ambitious modern retelling of Gulliver’s Travels. Having not read Gulliver’s Travels and only having a “pop culture” knowledge of it, I was concerned that I would not understand the story. I needn’t have worried and I enjoyed the story very much. I’m confident that if you are familiar with Gulliver’s Travels that you will get even more out of this story. The author clearly did his research about historical figures. One chapter is all about being able to speak to the dead and it is fascinating to read the author’s take on how these individuals would answer questions about their time on earth. The book is filled with detailed descriptions and the author puts great effort into creating vivid settings for his unique scenes. This novel is certainly not a “beach read” but it is well worth your time and effort!

One person found this helpful

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Regina J Holland

Horrible

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 9, 2020

Needs Too much improvement

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Taylor Berezowski

Great read!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 11, 2020

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A really clever and thought-provoking novel that mixes a dry satirical humour with fantasy.
Beautifully painted scenes and locales that really stick with you.
Some parts of the story had me in tears, others gave me goosebumps. The island of the Loogenage was a wonderful short-story adventure in itself.

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