Title: The Surviving Sky
Author: Kritika H. Rao
Genre: Epic Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 528
Release Date: 13 June 2023
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Hello fellow booklovers! Today I'm sharing my review for The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao. An exquisitely detailed and masterfully written debut with a compelling, character driven story that blends Hindu philosophy with environmental issues in this epic dystopian, Sci-Fi Fantasy I couldn’t get enough of!
Synopsis
High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.
Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change.
Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.
Review
I really loved this! It’s such a clever and intricately woven story with a unique, climate based magic system that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The world building—which takes us from a lush, futuristic floating paradise (perfectly captured on the book’s cover) to a chaotically beautiful (and land based) jungle landscape— was soo detailed and wonderfully immersive (though I did finish reading during a heatwave which definitely added to the jungle experience.)
I LOVED the depth we get to explore with our main characters, whose alternating POVs drive the entirety of the plot. Ahilya is quite a wilful and determined character desperate to find any semblance of non-architect history (given all preserved history in this world focuses solely on the architects and their achievements.)
Iravan is also a strong willed character, whose apparent callousness to his wife’s career and his sense of duty to the betterment of the city(often at the expense of Ahilya) is what causes the cracks in his relationship to begin with.
I honestly didn’t think I’d enjoy exploring his POV but, despite his flaws (and not so great, spur of the moment decisions) I found his perspective rather compelling. In fact, despite their quite obvious differences I really liked both Ahilya and Iravan—and hoped that they could find a way to reconcile (or at least communicate at little more.)
I will say that, as someone still fairly new to Sci-fi fiction the complex and cerebral nature of the plot did make me hesitate but I promise, it’s actually quite easy to understand—and if any of the terms do trip you up, there’s a glossary at the back of the book.
Overall, a gripping Sci-Fi Fantasy that explores privilege, class and the inherent human drive to survive; set within a rich and creative, queer normative world I can’t wait to see more of.
Also, a huge thank you to Olivia at Titan Books for the finished copy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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