The Philosopher's Flight

December 1, 2017
In a world of woman-dominated practical magic, a young man yearns to make a place for himself.Debut novelist Miller offers a wealth of worldbuilding in this deft, nonconformist historical fantasy set during World War I. The novel is set up as a nostalgic account written by Robert Weekes, a field commander in the Free North American Air Cavalry, in 1939, and his prologue introduces us to this alternate reality. Immense power is wielded here by "empirical philosophers," nearly all women. "All of us are empirical philosophers, or sigilrists if you prefer the common term," Weekes says. "And what is empirical philosophy--what is sigilry--except a branch of science that we don't yet fully understand? There's no dark art to it; it's nothing more than the movement of energy to produce a physical effect. The human body provides the power, while the sigil, drawn sometimes with beads of water, sometimes with cornmeal or sand, catalyzes the movement. You can do a thousand useful things: make a plant grow larger and faster; send a message a thousand miles in an instant; fly. If you grew up with it, it's natural. It's right. Why would anyone want life to be otherwise?" In other words, a world where women control the power. It's also a divided world in which "trenchers" fear and hate empirical philosophers and threaten their very lives. When the story begins, Weekes is a Montana farm boy, but he's an ambitious one who yearns to join the Rescue and Evacuation Division of the US Sigilry Corps, fliers capable of incredible feats. After a harrowing wilderness rescue, Weekes earns a place at Radcliffe College, where he bonds with a cadre of formidable women. More importantly, he meets Danielle Hardin, jaded hero of the Battle of Gallipoli, who quickly earns his affections. Because the novel relies heavily on the mechanics of flying, it could have read like a Harry Potter novel all about Quidditch. Instead, Miller offers a nuanced adventure story that mixes romance, gunplay, and social awareness into its steampunk-ish revelry.A fun, fast-paced coming-of-age story laced with magic.

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December 18, 2017
Miller’s imaginative debut reads like an American cousin to Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, filtering 19th and 20th century U.S. history through a scrim of magical science. Women make for better magicians—here called empirical philosophers—than men; they have greater ability to cast spells and fly. When America enters World War I in 1917, 18-year-old Robert Weekes, the son of an empirical philosopher, wants to enlist in the U.S. Sigilry Corps’ flying Rescue and Evacuation Service, the elite of the elite. There’s just one problem, though—the unit doesn’t accept men. Nevertheless, Robert perseveres and is admitted to Radcliffe College, the all-female school for magic, to train for the R&E. There, he falls in love with Danielle Hardin, already a heroine of the Great War in the Dardanelles campaign, who is dedicated to defeating the Trenchers, a radical group that wants to eradicate the empirical philosophers and their magic. Robert must overcome the odds and prove that he has the right magic stuff. Though Robert is a rather flat hero, the history of this alternate world and its magic tech are inventively executed. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners.