Part thriller, part romance, part coming-of-age fantasy, The Philosopher's Flight by debut novelist Tom Miller has already set a high bar for any book vying to be the most entertaining novel of 2018.

In this alternate history, the United States has just entered World War I, and the science behind unaided human flight, known as empirical philosophy, is as controversial as ever. Much of that fuss comes from the fact that, with rare exceptions, only women can fly. Anti-philosophy activists, known as Trenchers, are gaining traction, and extremists on both sides have participated in riots, attacks and even assassinations.

Into this whirlwind leaps Robert Weekes, an 18-year-old Montanan who lives with his mother, the legendary Major Emmeline Weekes, philosopher, war hero and vigilante. Robert, one of the few men capable of flight, dreams of following in his mother's footsteps and joining the U.S. Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Service, an elite, women-only group of philosophers who swoop onto battlefields under heavy fire to fly the dead and wounded to safety.

When a daring rescue after a deadly Trencher attack makes him a minor hero, Robert wins a scholarship to Radcliffe College, an all-women's school, to study empirical philosophy. After a chilly welcome, Robert pushes his flying to new—and reckless—levels to win the respect of the Radcliffe women. He improves so rapidly that his absurd dream of Rescue and Evac is within grasp, especially after a sparkling performance at the General's Cup, the annual flying competition showcasing the best of the college philosophers.

His future becomes less certain when he meets and falls for Danielle Hardin, a bitter war veteran disillusioned by her service at Gallipoli. When the outspoken philosopher takes on the Trenchers, she and Robert draw the attention of a fanatical anti-philosophy group, with deadly consequences.

The wild and soaring The Philosopher's Flight is as fun a read as you'll come across. Miller appears to have left room for more at the story's end; let's hope this is the start of a new series.

 

This article was originally published in the February 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

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. (Feb.)