Skyward Inn
Skyward Inn book cover

Skyward Inn

Hardcover – March 16, 2021

by
Price
$18.82
Format
Hardcover
Pages
300
Publisher
Solaris
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1781088821
Dimensions
5.56 x 1.1 x 8.69 inches
Weight
15.8 ounces

Description

“Its triumph lies in the way Whiteley uses the metaphor to examine the tortured process of love and attachment.” -- The Guardian ― The Guardian “A murky delirium of sinuous language and unnerving storytelling that will delight both experienced genre fanatics and literary fiction lovers alike.” ― Kirkus “Whiteley has a penchant for describing the disturbing… a surreal and disquieting post-apocalyptic consideration of the roles we place ourselves in.” -- The Barnes and Noble SF&F Blog ― The Barnes and Noble SF&F Blog "A story of the future that is an appeal to the present. The best kind of science fiction. A novel of its time, confronting current and terrible misjudgements with which humanity assures its own demise. All made startling by a typical Whiteley strangeness." -- Adam Nevill, author of The Reddening and Wyrd and Other Derelictions "Whiteley [is] one of the most original and provocative voices in contemporary science fiction." -- Nina Allen, author of The Rift “Visceral and unsettling - I loved it” -- G. V. Anderson, award-winning speculative fiction author"Intense and consuming writing, constantly challenging expectations." -- Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of Children of Time “The absolute best kind of philosophical SF, & indisputable inheritor of Le Guin. Aliya Whiteley forces us to confront difficult ideas, but they are important, and will become even more so. Exactly what SF should do.” -- Marion Womack, author of The Golden Key "Clever and touching: a book of cosmic scope but with real characters and a human heart." -- Chris Beckett, author of the award-winning Dark Eden series"A powerful and surprising examination of colonialism and its unintended consequences. Highly recommended." -- Helen Marshall, author of The Migration “ Skyward Inn is an experience. Whiteley is a strong voice in speculative fiction and readers will be delighted and unsettled by her novels for years to come.” -- The Nerd Daily -- Kibby Robinson ― The Nerd Daily "Whiteley takes the reader on a cryptic journey of trust, identity and knowing your place in the world." -- Starburst Magazine -- Fred McNamara ― Starburst Magazine "A moving and thought provoking tale, completely unlike anything I’ve read before." -- The Bibliophile Chronicles ― The Bibliophile Chronicles "There are some books that are simply beautiful. And Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley is one of those." -- Libri Draconis ― Libri Draconis "Whiteley's trademark subtle surrealism shines." -- Publishers Weekly ― Publishers Weekly "A melancholy and compellingly weird tale of identity in crisis." -- SFX -- Will Salmon ― SFX “ Skyward Inn feels like an instant classic of the genre.” -- The Guardian -- Lisa Tuttle ― The Guardian "A beautifully realised story, with achingly engaging prose." -- The British Fantasy Society ― The British Fantasy Society "Rarely has a writer who is not Philip K. Dick had so much fun building a world only to take it apart." -- LA Times -- Noah Berlatsky ― LA Times "A vital contribution to modern speculative fiction and a novel to be read and reread and pondered at length.” -- The Fantasy Hive -- Jonathan Thornton ― The Fantasy Hive "A unique work of literary and speculative excellence." -- SciFiNow -- Bert Peterson ― SciFiNow "When it comes to misdirection, Aliya Whiteley is the very devil." -- The Times -- Simon Ings ― The Times The Times SF Book of the Month ― The Times "Whiteley explores questions of identification, attachment and belonging, tying everything together in a wonderfully surreal and weirdly uplifting denouement." -- The FT -- James Lovegrove ― The FT "Skyward Inn is a quietly disarming and beautiful book that masterfully blends literary conventions with science fiction." -- Dark Matter Magazine -- Alexander Pyles ― Dark Matter Magazine "A book to take solace in." ― Locus Magazine Aliya Whiteley is one of the most exciting talents in the UK. The author of four books of speculative fiction, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlisted The Loosening Skin . Her novels have been shortlisted for many awards, including the Clarke Award, the Shirley Jackson Award and the James Tiptree Jr. Award. She lives in Sussex with her husband and teenage daughter.

Features & Highlights

  • A thoughtful, literary novel about conflict, identity and community, after Earth makes contact with the seemingly harmless planet Qita.
  • ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD FINALIST 2022
  • Drink down the brew and dream of a better Earth.
  • Skyward Inn, within the high walls of the Western Protectorate, is a place of safety, where people come together to tell stories of the time before the war with Qita.But safety from what? Qita surrendered without complaint when Earth invaded; Innkeepers Jem and Isley, veterans from either side, have regrets but few scars.Their peace is disturbed when a visitor known to Isley comes to the Inn asking for help, bringing reminders of an unnerving past and triggering an uncertain future.Did humanity really win the war?
  • This is
  • Jamaica Inn
  • by way of Jeff Vandermeer, Ursula Le Guin, Angela Carter and Michel Faber, a beautiful story of belonging, identity and regret.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(72)
★★★★
20%
(48)
★★★
15%
(36)
★★
7%
(17)
★
28%
(68)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Anthropological Sci Fi

Welcome to the Skyward Inn ... not just a pub but really a meeting hall for locals to commiserate while imbibing the "alien brew" . The brew actually is addictive and warps time and space for its user. The pub is located in the Western Protectorate, an area that has succeeded from England and prefers to live without modern technology. The proprietors are Jem and Isley, an alien from Qita. Jem returned from the Quitan encounter with her "soul mate" Isley in tow. She abandoned her son Fosse to be raised by her brother, while she explored the stars with the "invading" Earth contingency. Rather than conquer the Qitans, they apparently reached an accord to share the resource-rich world. Even though Jem and her son Fosse now share the same small area they remain distant and aloof .... apparently this is the prevailing emotion of a large swath of the locals. A foreboding uneasiness and uncertainty pervades the narrative. In the background, there is talk of an expanding plague that leads to ever increasing size and necessity for quarantines.
Whiteley proves to astound with her masterful and lyrical prose. However, the pacing is extremely languid and is magnified due to lack of character development and growth. Although multiple themes (friendship, relationships, colonization, and coexistence ) are explored this is certainly not a compelling page-turner. Perhaps future novels will benefit from brisker pacing and richer character development.
3 people found this helpful
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Philosophical, Dystopian Sci-Fi

“Skyward Inn” by Aliya Whitely. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: SciFi/Dystopian. Location: Southwest England and the planet Qita. Time: Future. Note: This book appeals to lovers of philosophical, literary, slow-paced SciFi. If you don’t enjoy those, this may not be the book for you.-
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In a dystopian future, Earth (controlled by The Coalition) is connected to the planet Qita by a space gate. But the Western Protectorate (located in what was once the Devon countryside) has kept itself separate to preserve the old ways. The Skyward Inn is where Protectorate residents come to relax. Run by Jem (a human who served on Qita) and Isley (a Qitan), they offer the time and space-altering Qitan Jarrowbrew.-
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Author Whitely uses elegantly sparse language to tell the story from two somewhat surreal perspectives- Jem, the former space traveler, and Fosse, the unhappy, isolated son she abandoned. As an unknown disease spreads across the worlds, the author sucks us in with questions of love and attachment, individuality vs. community, belonging vs. conflict.-
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Expect the first half to develop slowly. As the disease spreads, the narrative speeds up. Don’t expect answers, the residents of Earth and Qita are not ready for clearly defined answers. For me, it was an amazing book, the kind one wants to talk about with like-minded friends. It’s not an easy read because it is full of sadness and regrets. It’s 5 stars from me and I’ll keep thinking about it for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.🌵📚👩🏼‍🦳
1 people found this helpful
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Trippy and Slippery SciFi - Keep an Open Mind

Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley is a really trippy science fiction novel about the aftermath of a war on another planet, called Qita. The Inn serves as a gathering place for residents: a place where they can imbibe and connect with others; that is, until a new face disturbs the peace.

I have to say, Skyward Inn is one of the trippiest books I have ever read. I may just be dense, but I was probably halfway through the book before I realized where the story was heading. And I am not complaining about that fact, as I attribute it to Whiteley’s phenomenal writing that the author was able to keep me in the dark for so long. I do not want to say too much about the plot, because it is something you want to EXPERIENCE. I just really loved the writing style. Even when I was not sure about the narrative track, I was still engaged with the plot. It is really atmospheric, as one might expect a story about an inn on another planet to be. The author sets the stage by using very moody language that is really tonal. The way the story unfolds slowly, deliberately grabbing ahold of the reader piece by piece is a phenomenal approach. I really appreciated the measured manner in which the book was written.

Weirdly, the individual characters were not very important to me. And I am okay with that, for the most part. Due to the way the plot develops, I think that was purposeful on the part of the author, at least later in the book. The beginning does rely on Jem to carry the load a little, which I did not think was all that successful. There is a lot of talk about her relationship with Isley, but it is really unclear what happened and why that is important for a long time. So, focusing on this in the beginning was not really impactful for me, as a reader; and, to be honest, it did not matter to me in the end. Again, I am not sure if this is purposeful or not on the author’s part. If Whiteley was trying to unfold relationships the way the author did the plot, I would say it was a miss. If the plan was always to have the characters be secondary to the narrative, then I tip my hat to the author. I like to think it was the latter, because that is how I experienced the book. Others may not feel the same.

In the end, I really enjoyed reading Skyward Inn. Its slow-paced story that gently revealed itself may seem underwhelming at first, but the direction of of the plot took the narrative to a surprising and satisfying place. This book is not for everyone, though. If you are looking for a book that does not fit into any tropes or boxes and are willing to keep an open mind, I recommend it.

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