"Lush landscapes and eerily beautiful quasi-human 'fliers' don't quite compensate for a thin plot and jolting narrative shifts in the breathless sequel to 2008's The Silver Ship and the Sea. Biologically engineered Chelo Lee was cast out of the colony planet Fremont by her family and saved by her brother, Joseph, a pilot and 'Wind Reader' who can create new human beings. She and Joseph now join their extended family on Lopali, which is considering entering a war against Islas, which opposes interference with divine prerogatives. Romantic entanglements hamper Joseph's efforts to help the local sterile fliers to reproduce and outwit rebel fliers' plots, all couched in adolescent cheekiness that dilutes Cooper's antiwar theme. Young adults may find this us-against-the-worlds excursion exciting, but more mature readers will growl with Joseph's dog, Sasha, who's rightly suspicious of oversimplifications." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Joseph has succeeded in rescuing his sister, Chelo, from a pitched battle on the colony planet Fremont. Now he and Chelo and the love of his life, Alicia, and all of their extended family, are finally returning home. Halfway there, a probe intercepts them, sending them new coordinates and a message from Joseph's enigmatic supporter and teacher, Marcus.

War is brewing.

Joseph is wanted for escaping to save Chelo. To stay safe, Joseph must bring his family and friends to the renowned planet of Lopali, where men and women can fly, and peace and freedom abound. Or do they? Alicia has always wanted to fly, but the modifications that give humans wings kill as often as they work.

Joseph must learn to actually change humans, to free the fliers of a tyranny that has enslaved them, since their species was born. If he can do this, the fliers have agreed to help him stop the war. But it's not as easy as it seems.