Science Fiction

Skyward Inn

Skyward Inn

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  • Create Date：2021-05-02 11:51:29
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Aliya Whiteley
  • ISBN：1781088829
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Summary

Skyward Inn， within the high walls of the Western Protectorate， is a place of safety， where people come together to tell stories of the time before the war with Qita。 But safety from what？

Qita surrendered without complaint when Earth invaded; Innkeepers Jem and Isley， veterans from either side， have regrets but few scars。 Their peace is disturbed when a visitor known to Isley comes to the Inn asking for help， bringing reminders of an unnerving past and triggering an uncertain future。

Did humanity really win the war？

A thoughtful， literary novel about conflict， identity and community; a fresh new perspective in speculative fiction from critically-acclaimed writer Aliya Whiteley。 Jamaica Inn by way of Jeff Vandermeer， Ursula Le Guin， Angela Carter and Michel Faber， Skyward Inn is a beautiful story of belonging， identity and regret。

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Reviews

Deborah ，

I love Aliya Whiteley - her novella The Beauty is one of my all-time favorites。 This book however just never got going for me and I DNF'ed at the 20% mark， and I feel terrible about it。 I feel that this is potentially a me issue， however， and would recommend this to someone who likes literary fiction and wants to take a dip into speculative sci-fi， as the author is undoubtedly talented。 Perhaps the story condensed into a novella （to minimise the musing） could have kept my attention but at this p I love Aliya Whiteley - her novella The Beauty is one of my all-time favorites。 This book however just never got going for me and I DNF'ed at the 20% mark， and I feel terrible about it。 I feel that this is potentially a me issue， however， and would recommend this to someone who likes literary fiction and wants to take a dip into speculative sci-fi， as the author is undoubtedly talented。 Perhaps the story condensed into a novella （to minimise the musing） could have kept my attention but at this point I am bored and underwhelmed。 。。。more

Alana ，

There's a lot of strong suits to this book， though I will warn the reader it can get slow。 It's a creative and interesting approach to the sci-fi genre that meshes fantasy and some issues we see in non-fantasy worlds as well。 Would I read it again？ eh， I don't think so， but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the reader all things considered。 There's a lot of strong suits to this book， though I will warn the reader it can get slow。 It's a creative and interesting approach to the sci-fi genre that meshes fantasy and some issues we see in non-fantasy worlds as well。 Would I read it again？ eh， I don't think so， but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the reader all things considered。 。。。more

Alteredego ，

Having been an avid reader of science fiction for nearly fifty years， I’m always on the look out for something new， interesting， surprising。 Aliya Whiteley certainly does that with Skyward Inn。 It starts off as a piece of military， or at least post-military SF， but then morphs into something where time， physical being and identity are fluid。 By the end it sits somewhere between body horror and Stanislav Lem’s Solaris。 Jem （Jemima， although her gender isn’t initially crystal clear） is a veteran o Having been an avid reader of science fiction for nearly fifty years， I’m always on the look out for something new， interesting， surprising。 Aliya Whiteley certainly does that with Skyward Inn。 It starts off as a piece of military， or at least post-military SF， but then morphs into something where time， physical being and identity are fluid。 By the end it sits somewhere between body horror and Stanislav Lem’s Solaris。 Jem （Jemima， although her gender isn’t initially crystal clear） is a veteran of the invasion of Qita by earth。 Her partner， from a business and emotional， though not， as becomes clear， sexual， perspective， is the alien Ishley。 They run the Skyward Inn in what used to be Devon， but is now the Western Protectorate， having “Dexited” from Britain and indeed to rest of the world。Also living nearby are Jem’s semi estranged brother， Dom， and her wholly estranged son， Fosse， who hasn't forgiven her for leaving him to join the invasion of Qita。 At the start of the novel， we see a peaceful， pastoral world where Ishley is accepted into the rural community， having been given special dispensation to stay on earth， he makes himself popular by importing the potent Jarrowbrew。This idyllic， mildly xenophobic world is disturbed when firstly a second Qitan lands near the inn and Jem and Ishley hide her in the cellar， and secondly three mysterious and unnerving strangers take up residence in a farm where Fosse likes to bunk off school。Jem， Fosse and Dom bring three different perspectives to a story of colonialism。 The British exploitation of India would seem to to provide some of the foundations of the book。 For Jem， this is the story of a soldier who played a part in the conquest， coming to terms with her role， and trying to find piece with her former enemy。 Dom is the little Englander who is happy to benefit from the fruits of colonialism， as long as he has nothing to do with the Qitans themselves。 Fosse is a boy trying to find adulthood in a world created by his parents。As the book travels to its end it becomes increasingly surreal as time becomes irregular and non-linear， as the real truth about the invasion of Qitan becomes clear and as personal boundaries become increasingly blurred。 The denouement is an interestingly ambiguous one which could be seen as supporting the position of both xenophobes and enthusiastic internationalists。Ultimately， author Aliya Whiteley’s main achievement is in the creation of genuinely alien aliens。 These are not Star Trek style humans with ridged foreheads。 They are genuinely weird and surprising to both their human conquerers and to the reader。 。。。more

Ashwini Abhyankar ，

3。5 starsRTC

Kim ，

What did I just read？ It was engrossing， fantastical， flowed well， and felt mildly unfulfilling。 But I have no idea what the metaphor was。 I mean I have ideas， but I’m probably wrong。 This is not a feeling I enjoy being left with when finishing a story。 All I can picture is that episode of Doctor Who with poor Ursula。 My copy was provided by NetGalley for review

Ergative Absolutive ，

This aimed for reflective and meditative， but instead only managed boring。 Half credit for the ingenious nature of the Problem， but the book took the easy way out。 Good plotting introduces an ingenious problem， but then also has people come up with and implement a solution。 Or perhaps it introduces an ingenious problem， and people come up with a solution， but societal pressures or power relations or personal shenanigans prevent the solution from being implemented and the problem wins。 Or perhaps This aimed for reflective and meditative， but instead only managed boring。 Half credit for the ingenious nature of the Problem， but the book took the easy way out。 Good plotting introduces an ingenious problem， but then also has people come up with and implement a solution。 Or perhaps it introduces an ingenious problem， and people come up with a solution， but societal pressures or power relations or personal shenanigans prevent the solution from being implemented and the problem wins。 Or perhaps it introduces an ingenious problem， and people try to come up with a solution， but can't， and despite their best efforts， the problem still wins。 Or perhaps it introduces an ingenious problem， and people focus on that problem and fail to recognize the larger real problem that lurks somewhere else。 All of these involve plot！ Agency！ Action！ Something！But this book did none of those things。 It introduced an ingenious problem， which no one recognized as a problem （being too busy meditating and reflecting and feeling feelings）， and so no one does anything， and then the problem wins。 No plot。 Boring。Also Fosse was a creepy little monster， and I didn't enjoy having to spend time in his mind while he tries to come to terms with how haaaaaard it is to be a sixteen year old boy with mommy issues。 。。。more

Annarella ，

Well written and full of potential， unfortunately i found it confusing and too slow。Not my cup of tea。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine

Jasmine Smith ，

Pretty good， great cover！

Sarah ，

Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for this ARC！This novel is a literary science fiction， set some time in the future when aliens walk among us。 It is brimming with ideas， but overall， I unfortunately found that these ideas were let down by the execution of the novel。 It's quite busy， with many characters and elements to the story， and there was little in this that drew me to it or engaged me。 The writing， characters， plot， and structural choices all seemed to be there to serve the author's ideas， Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for this ARC！This novel is a literary science fiction， set some time in the future when aliens walk among us。 It is brimming with ideas， but overall， I unfortunately found that these ideas were let down by the execution of the novel。 It's quite busy， with many characters and elements to the story， and there was little in this that drew me to it or engaged me。 The writing， characters， plot， and structural choices all seemed to be there to serve the author's ideas， rather than create a coherent and cohesive story。 I am fully prepared to concede that this novel just went straight over my head， but in general I was left bewildered by this。 。。。more

Wakizashi ，

Review to come。。。

Miranda Debenham ，

If Annihilation and Xenogenesis were one book， it would be this。 Deeply weird， uncanny sci-fi that starts with the creeping sense that there are more blanks than truths in this world， and ends with full-on body horror。 It's very， very good at what it's doing， but I'm not sure it's exactly for me。 If Annihilation and Xenogenesis were one book， it would be this。 Deeply weird， uncanny sci-fi that starts with the creeping sense that there are more blanks than truths in this world， and ends with full-on body horror。 It's very， very good at what it's doing， but I'm not sure it's exactly for me。 。。。more

Kit ，

Beautifully written and very strange。

Peter Doherty ，

I really like this wonderful metaphysical treatise on humanity via Area X。 Is it better to be human， individual and flawed？ Or part of something more tuned to something humankind seemingly cares less and less for？A deeply thoughtful novel that， for me， ignites my fury and shame of what we do to each other and the environment both individually and as a species and begs so many questions about where this planet and it’s inhabitants are heading。 However， I personally still pull for the individual a I really like this wonderful metaphysical treatise on humanity via Area X。 Is it better to be human， individual and flawed？ Or part of something more tuned to something humankind seemingly cares less and less for？A deeply thoughtful novel that， for me， ignites my fury and shame of what we do to each other and the environment both individually and as a species and begs so many questions about where this planet and it’s inhabitants are heading。 However， I personally still pull for the individual and the excitement of life and all it contains - although I don’t know whether this makes me simply a dreamer or just plain stupid。 。。。more

John Mannion ，

Thomas Hardy's Return to the Native meets Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation。 Thomas Hardy's Return to the Native meets Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation。 。。。more

Caomhghain ，

A disappointing read。 The initial setting in the West Country was good but the book gradually deteriorated into a sludgy， pointless story。

Ed Morland ，

This is an odd SF novel， and notably enjoyably so in that it doesn't fall into many of the usual tropes/ruts of the genre。 Describing it is hard， it's I suppose a first contact novel in essence， though also one about growing up in an isolated rural community and while maybe not a Brexit novel there are parallels which are hard to ignore。 What it is is meditative， dreamlike， profoundly creepy at times and a read I'll be thinking about for a while。 This is an odd SF novel， and notably enjoyably so in that it doesn't fall into many of the usual tropes/ruts of the genre。 Describing it is hard， it's I suppose a first contact novel in essence， though also one about growing up in an isolated rural community and while maybe not a Brexit novel there are parallels which are hard to ignore。 What it is is meditative， dreamlike， profoundly creepy at times and a read I'll be thinking about for a while。 。。。more

Stan Dunn ，

The Skyward Inn is about a pub in the Western Protectorate （set in England）， where Jem and Isley serve a drink called the Brew， which comes from Qita， the nation that they had the war with， and from which Isley hails。 Jem and Isley are from different sides of the war， but neither has any regrets or scars from the war。 In the end， people come together in the Skyward Inn to tell stories of the times before the war with Qita。Jem was away for 10 years and returned to run the Inn， and she has with he The Skyward Inn is about a pub in the Western Protectorate （set in England）， where Jem and Isley serve a drink called the Brew， which comes from Qita， the nation that they had the war with， and from which Isley hails。 Jem and Isley are from different sides of the war， but neither has any regrets or scars from the war。 In the end， people come together in the Skyward Inn to tell stories of the times before the war with Qita。Jem was away for 10 years and returned to run the Inn， and she has with her a son named Foss， but we don't know much about his parentage。 What was patently clear in the novel was that Foss goes off on his own， but it was not clear exactly why he left。 I wanted to like this book， but I couldn't。 I really tried hard。 There is great world building bu slow development of what is going on， which made is difficult to stay with。 I found it very slow to read。 I committed to read the book until I finished。 And， well， I'm glad that I did， but I have to say that I really don't understand what the point was。 I recently read。 Though the unfolding of the story was just too slow for me， it might be okay for others。 The fact that it tries to explore themes of identity relationships （especially with Jem and Foss） could make this truly wonderful， however， it unfolded too slow for me。 I was very disappointed in the book and I can't recommend this highly。I would like to thank the author， Solaris Publishers and NetGalley for the copy。 I am voluntarily leaving this review。 。。。more

Wonderlake ，

Wtf

Renee Hall ，

I was drawn right in to this story！ An enjoyable story written well。 Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to enjoy the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback！

Dea Spears ，

Really enjoyed this book！ Great job！ If you have some great stories like this one， You can publish your work on NovelStar Mobile App。

Ryan Lawler ，

A far future sci-fi， two species existing in the same space with humans the dominant species。 A divide between those who embrace the future and those who strive for the old ways。 And an Inn for people to meet， get drunk， and share stories。Not sure if I would recommend this book。 Was it well written？ Yes。 Was it thought provoking？ Yes。 Was it weird？ Yes。 Did the weirdness take away from the rest of the book？ Maybe。 Did I like the characters？ No。 Could I at least empathise with the characters？ No。 A far future sci-fi， two species existing in the same space with humans the dominant species。 A divide between those who embrace the future and those who strive for the old ways。 And an Inn for people to meet， get drunk， and share stories。Not sure if I would recommend this book。 Was it well written？ Yes。 Was it thought provoking？ Yes。 Was it weird？ Yes。 Did the weirdness take away from the rest of the book？ Maybe。 Did I like the characters？ No。 Could I at least empathise with the characters？ No。 Am I glad I read it？ I think so？ 。。。more

Katherine ，

There was a lot I enjoyed about Skyward Inn， but ultimately this was a bit too surreal and philosophical for me。 I'm left with a lot of questions after finishing this book， so I will probably be thinking about it over the next few weeks。 Perhaps I will change my opinion of it too。 There was a lot I enjoyed about Skyward Inn， but ultimately this was a bit too surreal and philosophical for me。 I'm left with a lot of questions after finishing this book， so I will probably be thinking about it over the next few weeks。 Perhaps I will change my opinion of it too。 。。。more

Barbara ，

This is an incredibly hard book to review because I'm really not at all sure what actually happened。 The writing is beautiful but the plot has fried my brain and I just don't know what to think。 It starts gently - slightly confusingly - but gently nonetheless。 We're in the Western Protectorate - south west England as it would be today - where the people have set up their own society and withdrawn from the rest of the UK （maybe the rest of the world）。 Well that sounds pretty understandable。 There This is an incredibly hard book to review because I'm really not at all sure what actually happened。 The writing is beautiful but the plot has fried my brain and I just don't know what to think。 It starts gently - slightly confusingly - but gently nonetheless。 We're in the Western Protectorate - south west England as it would be today - where the people have set up their own society and withdrawn from the rest of the UK （maybe the rest of the world）。 Well that sounds pretty understandable。 There's a disease going around and they're not letting outsiders in - or rather only in controlled ways。 Oh， and the main protagonist's boyfriend comes from another planet。 And his friend has come to stay。Yes， that's all a bit flippant but my brain is trying to handle some bizarre stuff right now。 Themes around colonisation， discrimination， parenthood， society， Parish Council Meetings， and portals to another world are all a bit too much to handle。It's a very long time since I went anywhere near Sci Fi （unless you can count Margaret Atwood and her dystopian novels） and this is not what I was expecting。 The style is very 'literary' and then suddenly everybody's melting and the world's gone bonkers。 Something tells me this would be a great book if I actually 'got' it a bit more。 。。。more

Lindsay ，

**I received a free digital copy of this work from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**To be entirely honest， I'm not sure how I feel about this book。 As I read， I became more and more confused。 It seemed as though every answer I came across spawned twelve more questions。 The story itself was interesting and multi-faceted， however， the way it was conveyed came across as a bit disjointed。 A book referenced in the synopsis was "Jamaica Inn"， so the only thing that I can surmise is that rea **I received a free digital copy of this work from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**To be entirely honest， I'm not sure how I feel about this book。 As I read， I became more and more confused。 It seemed as though every answer I came across spawned twelve more questions。 The story itself was interesting and multi-faceted， however， the way it was conveyed came across as a bit disjointed。 A book referenced in the synopsis was "Jamaica Inn"， so the only thing that I can surmise is that reading that book was some sort of prerequisite for understanding the way this book flowed。 That being said， I have not read "Jamaica Inn，" so I can't confirm if that is indeed the case。 All I can say for certain is that this is either a very confusing book by nature， or I am simply not the right sort of reader to understand its nuances。 Not the worst thing I've ever read， but by far the most confusing。 。。。more

Aoife ，

I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。On the coast of what used to be Devon sits a small inn called Skyward Inn。 It's a place where people come to relax and share stories and it's run by a human woman called Jem， and a not-so-human Isley。 Jem and Isley have a close relationship， and Jem feels more comfortable with Isley than her own family - including her son Fosse who lives nearby with his uncle。 But as strange things start happening， and strang I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。On the coast of what used to be Devon sits a small inn called Skyward Inn。 It's a place where people come to relax and share stories and it's run by a human woman called Jem， and a not-so-human Isley。 Jem and Isley have a close relationship， and Jem feels more comfortable with Isley than her own family - including her son Fosse who lives nearby with his uncle。 But as strange things start happening， and strangers appear on the shores， Jem finds herself reaching out to Fosse and connecting with him in a way she never did before。This book was just。。。not what I thought it was going to be， to be honest， and maybe because of this I really struggled with it and I don't think I enjoyed it at all。 I know this book is being compared a little bit to the Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers， and while there are some similarities such as the slower pace， the easy exploration of space without guns and bloodshed but I also think it's very different in lots of other ways and may not suit readers who prefer Becky Chamber's storytelling。I was confused for a good portion of the book trying to figure out what was going on， and I honestly， can't say for certain I 100% knew what had happened by the time I finished it。 The story and writing just didn't gel with me at all， and I felt myself very disconnected to the story and part of this may have just been disappointment when I realised early on， the style of writing was not what I expected it to be。 I've read a good bit of science fiction now and sometimes the stories stick with you， and sometimes they don't and this was just the case of a don't。 。。。more

BobNotBob ，

Good。 Weird， but good。。。

Rebecca Bowyer ，

'What are those？' while pointing at Fosse's shoes。'Shoes，' he said， very clearly， as if talking to a young child。'I thought they were regulation standard military Coalition issued walking apparel，' it said。It was strange how being more precise with language could move everyone further away from a mutual level of understanding。 This is a seriously weird， in the true sense of the word， dream-like short novel。 At just 157 pages， Aliya Whiteley's Skyward Inn is the sort of book your university litera 'What are those？' while pointing at Fosse's shoes。'Shoes，' he said， very clearly， as if talking to a young child。'I thought they were regulation standard military Coalition issued walking apparel，' it said。It was strange how being more precise with language could move everyone further away from a mutual level of understanding。 This is a seriously weird， in the true sense of the word， dream-like short novel。 At just 157 pages， Aliya Whiteley's Skyward Inn is the sort of book your university literature professors warn you of - "Beware the short book"。 Dense with meaning and meandering through time and place， the only thing that anchors it is Skyward Inn。 Which， in itself， turns out not to be quite as it seemed either。The Kissing Gate opened up a couple of decades ago， a sort of Stargate portal connecting the sky over Swansea （U。K。） to Qita， a planet far away， with life forms that are a little like us， but also not at all like us。Using the payout from a 10-year contract on Qita， Jem （human） her friend Isley （Qitan） opened the Skyward Inn， a pub in a small village。 The Western Protectorate has cut themselves off from the rest of the U。K。， rejecting modern technology - and the Qitans （except Isley） - and choosing the live in simple farming communities。Jem and Isley serve up diluted Jarrowbrew， a Qitan speciality， to the locals。 After closing each night， Isley serves pure Jarrowbrew to Jem。 He enjoys listening to her stories of her time on Qita; stories which are pulled into sharp focus by the Jarrowbrew。When another Qitan is found in the Western Protectorate， the Skyward Inn provides shelter。 But her arrival and the slow advance of the quarantines will change everything forever。This is the kind of novel you probably need to read several times， talk to others about， and write serious essays on， in order to truly appreciate it fully。I really enjoyed it because it presented such a very different possibility of what life beyond our world might be like。 At the same time it presents food for thought about our Earth-bound lives， particularly in our times。 What does 'war' look like？ Is colonisation only a physical defeat， or can it be more， or less， or just different？If you enjoy Claire G。 Coleman's novels you'll love Skyward Inn。I'll leave you with this quote， which I think is relevant to us all:But then it occurred to him that it had only seemed easy from the outside， not knowing how it was achieved。 He simply hadn't understood that aspect of the guide's life， along with so much else of it。 。。。more

Chloe Russell ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Aliya Whiteley is one my my fave living authors tbqh。 I have a book hangover after reading this and am not sure what I’ll read next！ It will be on my mind for a long while。 After a year in the world of COVID-19， the conflicting themes of needing to be separate but also aching for connection are so relatable。 You can feel both at once。 PTSD？ Trauma？ Leave me alone but don’t forget about me？SPOILERS:I was struck by the “otherness” of the aliens in this book。 Skyward Inn gave me shades of Dawn by O Aliya Whiteley is one my my fave living authors tbqh。 I have a book hangover after reading this and am not sure what I’ll read next！ It will be on my mind for a long while。 After a year in the world of COVID-19， the conflicting themes of needing to be separate but also aching for connection are so relatable。 You can feel both at once。 PTSD？ Trauma？ Leave me alone but don’t forget about me？SPOILERS:I was struck by the “otherness” of the aliens in this book。 Skyward Inn gave me shades of Dawn by Octavia Butler in the characterization of the Qita people。 Like the Oankali， they are so utterly alien， not bad or good- just doing their thing to survive （not necessarily congruous with humanity though！）If you’ve read both， you’ll find more similarities， but I don’t want to go too wild with spoilers。 Read Dawn！ 。。。more

Kortni ，

Actual Rating: 3。5/5 starsThank you to Rebellion Publishing for the ARC to review！Rating this book was extremely difficult。This book had me feeling all over the place。 I have had a few days to reflect and hopefully I can put my thoughts together。Basically， I think the overall plot and the ideas presented in this book are 5 star worthy。 The ideas of loneliness， broken families， and the exploration of human connection were all intriguing。 In addition to these themes， there is an undercurrent of co Actual Rating: 3。5/5 starsThank you to Rebellion Publishing for the ARC to review！Rating this book was extremely difficult。This book had me feeling all over the place。 I have had a few days to reflect and hopefully I can put my thoughts together。Basically， I think the overall plot and the ideas presented in this book are 5 star worthy。 The ideas of loneliness， broken families， and the exploration of human connection were all intriguing。 In addition to these themes， there is an undercurrent of colonialism commentary that really uhhhh sneaks up on you and escalates quickly。 I really enjoyed the twist at the end， when things got weird。。。I think it could have been even weirder， more over-the-top for me， but I was satisfied with how the end came together。Character wise， I felt a tad off about them， for the most part。 Interactions were portrayed strangely and didn't always feel natural， which could have been the point。 Lots of things made this book feel off-kilter， especially when reading from Jem's point of view。 But I did really enjoy Fosse's POV a lot more。 His thoughts and feelings felt organic to me and I especially liked the direction of his story in the end。While I found the ideas to be 5-star worthy， I found that the presentation and execution did not sit as well with me。 I don't think the longer chapter format helped this book， nor did the non-linear timeline。 Perhaps with more division between POV shifts and section breaks， the non-linear format would have worked better for me。 Formatting also lessened my connection to the story， a specific example of this would be the recounting of previous events through about 5 pages of bullet points。 It actually made me feel very disconnected from the story and that character。Overall， I think this type of strange literary science-fiction is a genre I want to explore more of！ I am happy to have read Skyward Inn because it was honestly unlike anything I have read before， which made it very hard to rate。 This might be a book I revisit after I explore more weird fiction in order to better appreciate the details！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Skyward Inn

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Skyward Inn&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Skyward Inn&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0