2022 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Book (nominee)
2021 British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel (nominee)
ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD FINALIST 2022
Drink down the brew and dream of a better Earth.
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?
Genre: Science Fiction
Drink down the brew and dream of a better Earth.
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?
Genre: Science Fiction
Praise for this book
"Whiteley [is] one of the most original and provocative voices in contemporary science fiction." - Nina Allan
"Visceral and unsettling - I loved it." - G V Anderson
"Clever and touching: a book of cosmic scope but with real characters and a human heart." - Chris Beckett
"A powerful and surprising examination of colonialism and its unintended consequences. Highly recommended." - Helen Marshall
"A story of the future that is an appeal to the present. The best kind of science fiction. A novel of its time, confronting current and terrible misjudgements with which humanity assures its own demise. All made startling by a typical Whiteley strangeness." - Adam L G Nevill
"Intense and consuming writing, constantly challenging expectations." - Adrian Tchaikovsky
"The absolute best kind of philosophical SF, & indisputable inheritor of Le Guin. Aliya Whiteley forces us to confront difficult ideas, but they are important, and will become even more so. Exactly what SF should do." - Marian Womack
"Visceral and unsettling - I loved it." - G V Anderson
"Clever and touching: a book of cosmic scope but with real characters and a human heart." - Chris Beckett
"A powerful and surprising examination of colonialism and its unintended consequences. Highly recommended." - Helen Marshall
"A story of the future that is an appeal to the present. The best kind of science fiction. A novel of its time, confronting current and terrible misjudgements with which humanity assures its own demise. All made startling by a typical Whiteley strangeness." - Adam L G Nevill
"Intense and consuming writing, constantly challenging expectations." - Adrian Tchaikovsky
"The absolute best kind of philosophical SF, & indisputable inheritor of Le Guin. Aliya Whiteley forces us to confront difficult ideas, but they are important, and will become even more so. Exactly what SF should do." - Marian Womack
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