“We are of stardust
Forged and formed from the heavens
Universe made flesh”
Teen fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships and sky cities, where chosen ones have the ability to bring paper to life and work as Crafters - people who hunt wild paper spirits called shikigami. Inspired by Asian culture and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.
Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami - wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess.
But are these creatures just powerful slaves for the Crafters and the empire, or are they beings with their own souls - and yet another thing to be subjugated by the powerful Emperor and his Princess?
Rebel Skies teaser poster
“Brother did not die
Our people do not know death
We are eternal
And I will see you again
Though you wear another name”
Kurara and her shipmates have escaped the grasp of the princess, whose wish to control and command them as her own human shikigami would be a fate worse than death. Travelling through the forests and across the seas of Mikoshima, they finally the Grand Stream, where their old airship – and old enemies – await.
Both parties seek the greatest shikigami of all: Suzaku, a paper phoenix. But will it be saved – or destroyed?
“You once said to me
Don’t hurt yourself in wishing
For a better world
But then what shall I do with
These hands, these eyes, this bruised heart?”
The third and final book in a pacy, lyrical and vivid fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and powerful paper spirits.
Kurara and her friends have found the key to releasing shikigami from their bonds and granting them eternal freedom – if they can unlock its power. The answer lies in Kurara’s homeplace, deep in the mountains of Mikoshima. But can the crew reach it before the imperial forces catch up with them, or their own internal battles break them apart for ever?
Excellent world-building, a dramatic and pacy plot, and an array of deep and believable characters – explored through multiple perspectives – make for a thrilling final instalment in this masterful fantasy adventure.
Media Reviews
In elegant, graceful prose, Ann Sei Lin whisks us off on a tale of eerie magic and high adventure, in which friendships are undying and nothing is as it seems. Featuring a vivid mythology, spectacular battles, and an endlessly surprising heroine, Rebel Skies is as intricate, beautiful and startling as one of the paper spirits Kurara brings to life.
― Jonathan Stroud
A magical debut that reads like a Ghibli film, brimming with imagination, action and heart. Kurara is just the kind of bright, determined heroine that has you rooting for her from page one, and I loved following her as she grew in strength whilst learning to wield her powerful paper magic in the face of terrifying origami creatures, cumulous whales, burning sky-cities and treacherous secrets that threaten to tear apart life as she knows it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so immersed in a fantasy world.
- Natasha Ngan
An intricately constructed ode to papercraft and Japanese culture. I fell in love with this world of airships, cumulous whales and floating cities. Pure magic.
-Lauren James
An extraordinary world... The descriptions are vivid, the action scenes breath-taking, the twists perfectly executed, with a cast of characters I’d follow to any flying city!
― Annabel Steadman