Publishers Weekly
01/18/2021
Beneath the veneer of understated English-village realism lies a mind-bending reality in this slow-moving sci-fi fable from Whiteley (Skein Island). Years ago, Jem abandoned her baby for a 10-year contract to plaster the newly discovered planet Qita with propaganda posters. Now she’s back home in the Western Protectorate, a walled-off region of England that has chosen to return to a pre-industrial life, where she and her Qitan partner, Isley, run a popular inn. Jem and Fosse, her now-teenage son, both seethe with resentment and alienation; meanwhile, an unauthorized Qitan visitor sparks a chain reaction of uncanny physical ailments among the people of the Western Protectorate, and the strange symptoms cast the Qitans’ peaceful surrender to humans in a new light. Much of the novel is bogged down by dreary characters and overly vague worldbuilding, but as Whiteley builds to the climax, her trademark subtle surrealism shines. Literary sci-fi readers with a taste for family drama will enjoy this molasses-slow, deeply weird story of missed chances, invasion, and assimilation. Agent: Max Edwards, Aevitas Creative Management. (Mar.)
The British Fantasy Society
"A beautifully realised story, with achingly engaging prose." — The British Fantasy Society
Locus Magazine
"A book to take solace in."
From the Publisher
"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
SciFiNow - Bert Peterson
"A unique work of literary and speculative excellence." — SciFiNow
The Nerd Daily - Kibby Robinson
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
The Guardian
Its triumph lies in the way Whiteley uses the metaphor to examine the tortured process of love and attachment.” — The Guardian
The FT - James Lovegrove
"Whiteley explores questions of identification, attachment and belonging, tying everything together in a wonderfully surreal and weirdly uplifting denouement." — The FT
Starburst Magazine - Fred McNamara
"Whiteley takes the reader on a cryptic journey of trust, identity and knowing your place in the world." — Starburst Magazine
The Times - Simon Ings
"When it comes to misdirection, Aliya Whiteley is the very devil." — The Times
The Barnes and Noble SF&F Blog
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 Guardian - Lisa Tuttle
“Skyward Inn feels like an instant classic of the genre.” — The Guardian
Libri Draconis
"There are some books that are simply beautiful. And Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley is one of those." — Libri Draconis
The Fantasy Hive - Jonathan Thornton
"A vital contribution to modern speculative fiction and a novel to be read and reread and pondered at length.” — The Fantasy Hive
Dark Matter Magazine - Alexander Pyles
"Skyward Inn is a quietly disarming and beautiful book that masterfully blends literary conventions with science fiction." — Dark Matter Magazine
The Bibliophile Chronicles
"A moving and thought provoking tale, completely unlike anything I’ve read before." — The Bibliophile Chronicles
LA Times - Noah Berlatsky
"Rarely has a writer who is not Philip K. Dick had so much fun building a world only to take it apart." — LA Times
The Times
The Times SF Book of the Month
SFX - Will Salmon
"A melancholy and compellingly weird tale of identity in crisis." — SFX
Chris Beckett
"Clever and touching: a book of cosmic scope but with real characters and a human heart."
The Bibliophile Chronicles?
"A moving and thought provoking tale, completely unlike anything I’ve read before."
G. V. Anderson
Visceral and unsettling - I loved it
Helen Marshall
"A powerful and surprising examination of colonialism and its unintended consequences. Highly recommended."
SFX Magazine
"A melancholy and compellingly weird tale of identity in crisis."
The Guardian on The Loosening Skin
Its triumph lies in the way Whiteley uses the metaphor to examine the tortured process of love and attachment.”
Marion Womack
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.”
The Fantasy Hive
“A vital contribution to modern speculative fiction and a novel to be read and reread and pondered at length.”
LA Times
"Rarely has a writer who is not Philip K. Dick had so much fun building a world only to take it apart."
Financial Times
"Whiteley explores questions of identification, attachment and belonging, tying everything together in a wonderfully surreal and weirdly uplifting denouement."
Barnes and Noble SF&F Blog
Whiteley has a penchant for describing the disturbing... a surreal and disquieting post-apocalyptic consideration of the roles we place ourselves in.”
Adam Nevill
"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."
The Nerd Daily
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.
Nina Allen
"Whiteley [is] one of the most original and provocative voices in contemporary science fiction."
Adrian Tchaikovsky
"Intense and consuming writing, constantly challenging expectations."
Starburst Magazine?
"Whiteley takes the reader on a cryptic journey of trust, identity and knowing your place in the world."
