By Sea and Sky by Antoine Bandele

Title: By Sea and Sky: An Esowon Story
Series: The Sky Pirate Chronicles #1
Author: Antoine Bandele
Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 414
Links: Goodreads, Amazon  *Available on Kindle Unlimited*

Summary

After her husband contracts an incurable disease, Zala and Jelani are forced to take desperate measures: becoming pirates. But joining Captain Kobi’s crew doesn’t guarantee they will get the potion Jelani needs and as everyone knows, pirates don’t live long anyway. With a captain who is more interested in riches than his crew, Zala knows it’s only a matter of time before something goes wrong.

Review

As soon as I saw the words “pirates” and “fantasy’ used to describe the same book, I knew I had to pick up By Sea and Sky. I was delighted when Bandele delivered distinct cultures and characters in his work. It would not have been a true pirate story without a mess of nations, characters, and cultures.

I loved the characters in this story. Even though there were many to keep track of, I never had trouble remembering them. I loved that each character had their own personality and impact on the story. It’s not often that I come across such a wide range of backstories and motivations in a group of characters that aren’t necessarily on the same side. Looking back, I’m actually surprised I wasn’t overwhelmed by the number of important characters. I think Bandele did a great job of making some people immediately important and letting you learn about others later.

I was especially surprised by the two POVs Bandele choose to write his story from. Zala is the primary main character, and the second POV is from her enemy, Karim. I expected to hate Karim and root against him, but that was far from the truth! I sympathized with his desire to claim his rightful position as captain. While he was the “bad guy” of this story, I suspect his role will become more complex as the series continues.

The most prominent part of By Sea and Sky was the action, which fell flat for me. The story starts with a fight scene, and there are continuous conflict and action until about halfway through the book. This might appeal to some readers, but I found the extended fights tedious. I didn’t know or care about the characters so it didn’t matter what happened. To me, it felt like the story didn’t really start until almost halfway through the book–but it was worth the wait.

I rate By Sea and Sky 3 out of 5 stars. Bandele created an intriguing world, but I wish the first portion of the book was shorter. I recommend By Sea and Sky to anyone who likes lots of action and adventure in their fantasy.

May your days be full of magic and dragons,

Peyton