Thoughts On: Fables of the Flying City

Fables of the Flying City

By:  Jared Axelrod

Genre:  Steampunk

Episode:  1 of 33, Book One: Ashe of the Air

Format:  Podcast; 30:55 minutes

Synopsis:
In which we meet our heroine, the honesty of the Provost is questioned, a private is made, a pilot is discovered, the elements of shooting is described, and a barrel finds itself in a dangerous predicament.

My Thoughts and Summary:
These seem to be quick episodes, so I'm going to do 3 or 4 episodes in a review.

Ashe sees the planes catch fire in the sky and crash.  She is the only one not to run and hide, yet still wants to fly.  Ashe has the recruitment letter she pulled off the board, for a second luteniet in the AAG, Ampersams Aerial Guard.  There is no previous experience necessary, and she wants it.  The position is to be incharge of shooting bombs and of maps.  The Captain gives Ashe a trial, to fly around the barrel twice and scar it three times, and she will make it in and have dinner in the officers mess.

This is the very first episode of Fables of the Flying City, which is recorded at Balticon 2010.  We hear from Jared Axelrod before hand explaining his thoughts on the story line and the philosophey behind it, what's to come and questions about the graphic novel.  This is a prequel for the graphic novel to come out.  You do not need to listen to these episodes to understand the graphic novel, but it will give you some background heading into it.  The length of this episode looks long, but it's really not that long, remember we are introduced to Jared at Balticon so there are other things talked about.

We meet Tolban Rinks, a pilot that says he has experience and joining as well...only to find his experience is with a helicopter not a plane....  Captain is sarcastic and thinks Tobian and Ashe will be a terrible pair, and is he surprised with what he gets.

I love that Ashe reminds herself and says: this is not how she dies, but how she lives.  And the way Ashe scars the barrel three times made me laugh.  The girl's got smarts and spunk.  Meeting Ashe we see her creative manner along with her determination.

I'm curious to listen to more episodes and see what we have here.

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Episode:  2 of 33, Book One: Ashe of the Air

Format:  Podcast; 18:13 minutes

Synopsis:
In which we see the consequences of recklessness, our heroine stands tall, an acrobat is revealed, a tall woman despences disciplinary measures, tattoos are shown, and for a brief moment, an angel is seen.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Tolban gets disciplined for not landing immediately when the ship broke.  Ashe stands up mentioning the test was of will and ambition but still she put her pilot and herself in danger with a damaged plane and takes the lashings for it.  She is escorted by Mari to Sgt. Slanger.  Sgt Slanger calls Ashe a made one for her actions with the barrel, and pulling it off as well.  We see some curious scars and tattoos on Ashe as she takes her lashing with stride.  Then walking away Ashe has a weak moment where an angel shines through, but it doesn't last long.

We meet more new characters in this episode.  I kind of like Mari and Sgt. Slanger.  It's neat to hear what others think of Ashe's stunt too.  But this episode caught my attention with Ashe.  I'm very very curious about the scars on her back, as they appear to be from previous lashings, and the geometric tattoos down her arms.  This episode had me focused on Ashe and what her history might be.  Dang is that girl strong and determined!

We also get about 6 minutes of explanation about the first episode at Balticon, since we weren't there to see.

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Episode: 3 of 33, Book One: Ashe of the Air

Format:  Podcast, 8:45 minutes

Synopsis:
In which a new voice is heard, the joys and downfalls of Sultansport is revealed, a heart is mused upon, and a writer travels up.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Hanner Gatling tells her tale.  Hanner puts out the Journal in Sultansport.  This tale is of her ready to cut out her heart then there is a crash of her and her man on a boat on the river.  She lives and heads to Amperstam.

There is a new voice to the reading, Jennifer Summerfield, and she does a lovely job.  We meet Hanner Gatling here.  I'm not sure who Hanner is at this point or what effect she will have on Ashe.



If you would like to Listen to the stories about Ashe, you can find Fables of the Flying City free on the site for Fables of the Flying City: http://www.fablesoftheflyingcity.com/  There are links to iTunes and RSS feed.  You can also see the list of episodes in their order on Jared Axelrod's site.


If you are curious about the Graphic Novel, it is now available!  The Battle of Blood and Ink by Jared Axelrod and Steve Walker.  You can view a sample of the first 20 pages on Tor's site.