DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator Kate Reading’s steady voice powers this exciting airship adventure. Auxiliary Lieutenant Josette Dupre receives a dubious promotion, becoming the first female captain of Garnia’s Air Signal Corps. Reading portrays Dupre’s subtle humor and steely strength as she tests her assigned ship, crew, and Lord Bernat, a man better suited to leisure. The aristocratic tones and languid pace Reading gives him reflect motives drenched in self-interest and secrets. The antagonistic relationship between Dupre and Bernat provides humorous moments as well. Reading also captures everyday life amid nations constantly at war, adrenaline-filled skirmishes and battles, and mind-numbing bureaucracy. When Dupre discovers enemy activity, she enlists the aid of unlikely allies and a well-characterized crew, many of whom remain leery of women serving in the military. J.R.T. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
03/13/2017
Napoleonic military fiction gets a steampunk spin in this debut novel of battling airships and an embattled captain. Josette Dupre, who’s been made the first female commander in the Garnian Royal Aerial Signal Corps thanks to her heroic wartime action, is handed a “revolutionary” new design (which is to say, a dangerous untested prototype) by a senior general who wants to get rid of her. With her well-trained crew, including the general’s snitching nephew, Dupre improves the design, uncovers a second-front invasion by the enemy, wins over the spy, and makes a spectacular last-stand defense of her homeland. Bennis writes a pleasing mix of banter (“Hoping to leave a good-looking corpse?” “I couldn’t avoid it if I wanted to”) and gritty battle scenes, combining both the adrenaline rush of combat and its horrifying results, and never indulging in too-sudden social victories that might cheapen the long struggle against embedded prejudice. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (May)
From the Publisher
Steampunky navy-in-the-air military tale full of sass and terrific characters. Great storytelling. Loved it.” —Patricia Briggs
“Marvelous, witty, gory AF, action-packed steampunk with exquisite attention to detail. Bennis's writing is incredible, her vocabulary impressive, and she honest to God made me believe you could build an airship from spare parts.”—New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Ann Aguirre
“The Guns Above is a sharp, witty Ruritanian adventure full of flintlock rifles, plumed shakos, brass buttons... and airships! Taking place in an alternate mid-nineteenth-century Europe where dirigibles ply the smoky air over battlefields and women have been grudgingly admitted to the air corps,The Guns Above takes a clear-eyed, even cynical view of the 'glories' of war, complete with blood, shit, shattered limbs, and petty squabbles among the nobility. The aerial combat is gut-clenchingly realistic, the two viewpoint characters are well-drawn and as different as can be, and the action never stops. Hard women learn compassion, soft men learn bravery, and the fate of a nation depends on one rickety airship and its stalwart crew. A winner!” —David D. Levine, author of Arabella of Mars
“An engaging gunpowder adventure with a helping of witty Noel Coward dialogue and a touch of Joseph Heller.” —Tina Connolly, Nebula Award-nominated author of Ironskin
“Wonderfully adventurous and laudably detailed. Bennis paints airship battles so clearly you'd swear they were from memory.” —Becky Chambers, author of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
“Most airships seem to be powered by handwaving, but Bennis builds hers out of solid, believable detail. You couldn't pay me enough to go up in one of those flying death-traps, but I never question for an instant why Josette does, and I'm cheering for her every step of the way.“—Marie Brennan, author of A Natural History of Dragons
“Buckle in. The crew of the Mistral will take readers on adventures they won’t soon forget.” —Pip Ballantine, author of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series
“Hold on to your goggles, Bennis' The Guns Above is a nonstop ride.” —Suzanne Lazear, author of The Aether Chronicles Series
“A fast-paced military fantasy, full of colourful characters and quirky humour that had me laughing throughout. Every fan of airships should read this.” —Marc Turner, author of Dragon Hunters
“Bennis's prose is wry and explosive!” —Lawrence Schoen, author of Barsk
“Entertaining from start to finish, laced with brash banter and characters full of grit, muscle, and heart.”—Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of Ascension
“Bennis writes a pleasing mix of banter and gritty battle scenes, combining both the adrenaline rush of combat and its horrifying results, and never indulging in too-sudden social victories that might cheapen the long struggle against embedded prejudice.” —Publishers Weekly
“An exciting new world that will attract steampunk fans of all ages and leave them hoping for more.” —Booklist
“An inventive military fantasy that will grab readers at the first page. Delightful, memorable characters make up Bennis’ debut, along with her concise, amusing storytelling. Without a doubt, Bennis’ latest is a highly entertaining read.”—RT Book Reviews, four stars
“A fun blend of flintlock rifles, airships, military exercises, and wry commentary on both gender politics and 'military intelligence.' There’s enough whip-smart dialogue to make any reader laugh outloud, and readers who are mechanically inclined will love the detailed descriptions of gears, flight tests, and ballast.” —Fantasy Literature
“Delightfully dry whistle-past-the-graveyard humour, a soupçon of sarcasm, and an approach to military action that reminds me of nothing so much as Forrester’s Hornblower or Cornwell’s Sharpe novels—but with airships and female officers....The Guns Above is an immensely entertaining, fast-paced adventure.” —Liz Bourke, Tor.com
"Airships, kick-ass women, and military fiction with a hint of fantasy… I mean, really, what more could you want?" —Nerdophile
“Although The Guns Above may be author Robyn Bennis’ first published novel, it certainly reads as though she’s found her voice— and a great story to boot.” —Culturess
Library Journal
★ 05/15/2017
Josette Dupre thought it was bad that she crashed the airship she had taken control of during battle. It became worse: she was lauded as a hero and handed the Corps's newest command, the chasseur Mistral. Saddled with a "revolutionary new design," aka an untested death machine, and a crew who find it hard to believe a woman is capable of being in charge, Josette really does not need an ensign to monitor her. The young, powdered, and perfumed Lord Bernat, who had been commissioned by his family into the military, now must scrutinize Josette's every action for deficiency. Bernat and Josette verbally spar and cross swords, but the reality of war steps in when the enemy makes a move that threatens the Mistral and the rest of the Corps. VERDICT This military steampunky fantasy debut, filled with quick action, witty dialog, and appealing characters, will bring joy to fans of Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" series.—KC
DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator Kate Reading’s steady voice powers this exciting airship adventure. Auxiliary Lieutenant Josette Dupre receives a dubious promotion, becoming the first female captain of Garnia’s Air Signal Corps. Reading portrays Dupre’s subtle humor and steely strength as she tests her assigned ship, crew, and Lord Bernat, a man better suited to leisure. The aristocratic tones and languid pace Reading gives him reflect motives drenched in self-interest and secrets. The antagonistic relationship between Dupre and Bernat provides humorous moments as well. Reading also captures everyday life amid nations constantly at war, adrenaline-filled skirmishes and battles, and mind-numbing bureaucracy. When Dupre discovers enemy activity, she enlists the aid of unlikely allies and a well-characterized crew, many of whom remain leery of women serving in the military. J.R.T. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
