And men, of course, do not normally pick fights with birds. … They certainly did not do so formally—standing with fists raised and loudly challenging those birds to battle over ownership of piles of trash.
This man, though, was doing precisely that.
Children of the Flying City by Jason Sheehan is, to put it simply, a mixed bag. I had to buy it after laying eyes on that cover (I mean, just look at it). But the brilliant visual and literary artistry conflicts with dark content to make an awesome reading experience that I don’t recommend. I’ll explain why in this review.
Table of Contents
Plot
Brought to the flying city of Highgate when he was only five years old, orphan Milo Quick has never known another home. Now almost thirteen, Milo survives one daredevil grift at a time, relying only on his wit, speed, and best friends Jules and Dagda.
A massive armada has surrounded Highgate’s crumbling armaments. Because behind locked doors—in opulent parlors and pneumatic forests and a master toymaker’s workshop—the once-great flying city protects a powerful secret, hidden away for centuries. A secret that’s about to ignite a war. One small airship, the Halcyon, has slipped through the ominous blockade on a mission to collect Milo—and the rich bounty on his head—before the fighting begins. But the members of the Halcyon’s misfit crew aren’t the only ones chasing Milo Quick.
True friendship is worth any risk in this clever, heart-racing adventure from award-winning author and journalist Jason Sheehan. Sheehan weaves together wry narration and multiple points of view to craft a richly imagined tale that is dangerous and surprising, wondrous and joyful.
from Amazon
The plot sucked me in from the first page. With intense action and vivid descriptions, I stood right next to Milo and his friends as they roamed The Flying City. And as it progresses, it peeled back more and more layers of mystery to reveal a secret at the heart of the city.
At times, everything halts to give encyclopedic information about the world. Specifically, right before an important event at the midpoint, one entire chapter is dedicated to explaining and describing the place the characters are about to visit. This may bore some readers, but I found it fascinating. The world was half the reason I picked it up.
This story is many things, but it is, contrary to the blurb, not wondrous and joyful. As the author brings together multiple story threads into a tapestry, it reveals a dark and gritty picture. A well-crafted piece, yes, but a bloody one. But I’m getting ahead of myself—more on that later.
Characters
Sheehan explores the heads of many characters in this book. Instead of sticking with a singular point of view, or even two or three, he follows nearly everyone. Protagonists and antagonists get chapters from their perspective.
Just like the plot, the characters are crafted well. They’re realistic and sympathetic, and I enjoyed their dynamics with each other.
The problem arises in that the protagonists and antagonists are nearly indistinguishable. There is no good versus evil. It’s just evil versus slightly less evil. Every character is a web of morally gray actions. Growing up on the streets, Milo is just as willing to beat the daylights out of someone as his enemies are. Meanwhile, a man who’s murdered dozens of children is something of a hero for being fiercely protective of Milo.
People are complicated, I get it. No human is purely good or evil, and a group of kids living on the street certainly won’t be the most virtuous bunch around. But the story seems to thrive on this, where every character is a liar, thief, murderer, or all of the above.
Theme & Content Warnings
The only positive attribute the book models is friendship. Milo and his friends will fight and die for each other—though, of course, the fighting usually occurs because they were caught stealing from someone.
For a book aimed at young readers, I found a surprising amount of language. One crude word for a person’s bottom is part of a location name and is used probably a dozen times. Beyond that, moderate profanity is used twice, and characters say “gods” as a curse word occasionally.
As I mentioned before, the book is rather dark and violent. Characters are shot, beaten to death, stabbed, bludgeoned, blinded, shoved off the edge of The Flying City, and blown up with cannons. Some of these killings are in self-defense, others are fueled by revenge, and others are war, but they are everywhere. The final battle, in particular, seems to mention blood with every other sentence.
Fortunately, the violence is not glorified or described, only stated as fact. But at times, I grew uncomfortable with just how cold the killers were.
These things, in addition to the general lack of moral restraint, lead to a heavy read. It felt more like a war movie than a children’s book in certain parts.
Overall
Children of the Flying City is a masterfully-written book. Clever prose, a gripping plot, a fascinating world, and realistic characters all make for one of the most immersive, enjoyable books I’ve ever read (and it still has one of my favorite covers of all time). The conclusion had me reading until the wee hours of the morning. But as the emotional investment wore off, I questioned just how much the story lacked in morals.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this book. During the few hours I spent with these characters, they negatively influenced my mind. So let this be a tale of woe to both writers and readers alike—beauty in craft does not overrule ugliness in theme.
If you want to read a story with airships that’s not filled with death and despair, check out my released-weekly novella Before the Fire Burns. You’ll get a story full of adventure and battles coupled with strong Christian themes.
Thanks for reading!
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