Tova is a Sami and an airwitch – and like mist Sami
airwitches (and a large amount of Sami in general) she is eventually shipped
off to the war between Novgorod and the Franks, a battle that has claimed
thousands of lives (especially Sami and the magical gytrash) and has raged for
years
She is lucky enough to become part of Ataman Piers’s
Aileron crew – it certainly beats near certain death in the trenches. The
Cossack noble is in disgrace and can only gain back the glory of House Rus by
heroic exploits in battle – but there’s only so far you can push an airwitch
before her magic kills her.
But Tova isn’t one to silently suffer her fate and she quickly earns the respect – and more – of the Russian Ataman.
I can see myself writing a hugely long review about the
culture and oppression of the magic users in this book so am going to try and
write about everything else first before I ramble!
Tova is an excellent protagonist who really reflects the
world she’s in. She knows the system is unjust, that her people are persecuted –
both gytrash and as Sami – and she rebels against it, she resents it – and she
absorbs the ideas of it. She is a wonderfully complex character full of contradictions
as she both resents the society around her yet still absorbs its messages. She
knows she’s treated as a disposable tool, but still dreams of flying the
Aileron, the ultimate fighting machine. She wants things to be different and
sympathises with the idea of rebellion, but also believes it to be pointless.
She opposes the Novgorod imposition on her people, but is still patriotic in resisting
the Franks.
In short, she is both a victim of the system and a
product of it. And she shows it beautifully. She’s also brave, snarky, irrepressible
(perhaps sometimes when she should stay quiet), has a wicked sense of humour,
plenty of irreverence (but also an idea of where to draw the line. Usually) and
is generally great fun. I like her, yes yes I do. I do think there are times
when her grief isn’t properly maintained (Piers often seems to be more upset
than she – but, again, that could be a reflection of her harsh life and his
pampered one).
The relationship between Tova Vanaksya and Piers
Nikolayevich Dashkov also grows interestingly. He regards her with contempt
which very naturally and slowly melts, especially as he is pushed more and more
from his own society by his disgrace and reputation. While Tova generally sees
Piers as more than some untouchable, abstract force, even a man she’d put on a
pedestal as one of the respected Cossacks. I never thought their relationship
would work. It should never have worked. It worked.
The world setting is also an excellent one – the Novgorod
Empire (Piers is of the House of Rus, but this is not, yet Russia). They’re in
a long war with the Franks – it’s devastating and all consuming and fought with
the gytrash magic users. Oppressed and regarded with contempt, they keep this
whole steampunk-esque (if it can be considered steampunk without technology)
world going. It’s a great setting to establish this small crew of aileron
pilots. Though I do think the crew is a trifle under-developed. Anya is fun – a
loyal scion to the House of Rus, desperate for everything to be proper,
desperate for everything to be ordered, desperate to maintain appearances and
discipline – she is part martinet, part comic relief as she tries to do the
equivalent of herding cats. Igor is a fascinating character – she’s big and
tough and an incredibly skilled gunner, loved by her crew – but she has a
terrible past (reminding us that it’s not just gytrash who suffer in this
system) which she deals with by drinking. She’s an alcoholic, she’s, functional
but it’s a problem. She has a lot of pity from the crew, a lot of support and
respect but also a lot of frustration from them. It’s a very good portrayal and
I like her. She also matters because she and Tova get along – which is
essential since Tova clashes with Anya and the only other female character she interacts
with she loathes because of a rather unnecessary Mean Girl side plot.
