Two young falconers must fight for their lives and their humanity.
“A brilliantly crafted high fantasy.” —The New York Times Book Review
In Gold Wings Rising, the final installment of Alex London's Skybound Saga, Kylee and Brysen must fight for their lives and their humanity. Book 1 was a Today Show Book Club Pick!
The war on the ground has ended, but the war with the sky has just begun. After the Siege of the Six Villages, the ghost eagles have trapped Uztaris on both sides of the conflict. The villagers and Kartami alike hide in caves, huddled in terror as they await nightly attacks. Kylee aims to plunge her arrows into each and every ghost eagle; in her mind, killing the birds is the only way to unshackle the city’s chains. But Brysen has other plans.
While the humans fly familiar circles around each other, the ghost eagles create schemes far greater and more terrible than either Kylee or Brysen could have imagined. Now, the tug-of-war between love and power begins to fray, threatening bonds of siblinghood and humanity alike.
On Sale 09/01/2020
“A brilliantly crafted high fantasy.” —The New York Times Book Review
In Gold Wings Rising, the final installment of Alex London's Skybound Saga, Kylee and Brysen must fight for their lives and their humanity. Book 1 was a Today Show Book Club Pick!
The war on the ground has ended, but the war with the sky has just begun. After the Siege of the Six Villages, the ghost eagles have trapped Uztaris on both sides of the conflict. The villagers and Kartami alike hide in caves, huddled in terror as they await nightly attacks. Kylee aims to plunge her arrows into each and every ghost eagle; in her mind, killing the birds is the only way to unshackle the city’s chains. But Brysen has other plans.
While the humans fly familiar circles around each other, the ghost eagles create schemes far greater and more terrible than either Kylee or Brysen could have imagined. Now, the tug-of-war between love and power begins to fray, threatening bonds of siblinghood and humanity alike.
On Sale 09/01/2020
The two will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides . . .
★ “Stakes soar in this sequel to Black Wings Beating . . . a YA Game of Thrones.” - Kirkus Reviews, starred review
The soaring saga continues in RED SKIES FALLING, the highly-anticipated and thrilling sequel to BLACK WINGS BEATING by Alex London.
Kylee is ensconced in the Sky Castle, training with Mem Uku to master the Hollow Tongue and the Ghost Eagle. But political intrigue abounds and court drama seems to seep through the castle's stones like blood from a broken feather. Meanwhile, Brysen is still in the Six Villages, preparing for an attack by the Kartami. The Villages have become Uztar's first line of defense, and refugees are flooding in from the plains. But their arrival lays bare the villagers' darkest instincts. As Brysen navigates the growing turmoil, he must also grapple with a newfound gift, a burgeoning crush on a mysterious boy, and a shocking betrayal.
The two will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides. But the Ghost Eagle has its own plans.
Available in paperback 09/01/2020
★ “Stakes soar in this sequel to Black Wings Beating . . . a YA Game of Thrones.” - Kirkus Reviews, starred review
The soaring saga continues in RED SKIES FALLING, the highly-anticipated and thrilling sequel to BLACK WINGS BEATING by Alex London.
Kylee is ensconced in the Sky Castle, training with Mem Uku to master the Hollow Tongue and the Ghost Eagle. But political intrigue abounds and court drama seems to seep through the castle's stones like blood from a broken feather. Meanwhile, Brysen is still in the Six Villages, preparing for an attack by the Kartami. The Villages have become Uztar's first line of defense, and refugees are flooding in from the plains. But their arrival lays bare the villagers' darkest instincts. As Brysen navigates the growing turmoil, he must also grapple with a newfound gift, a burgeoning crush on a mysterious boy, and a shocking betrayal.
The two will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides. But the Ghost Eagle has its own plans.
Available in paperback 09/01/2020
They’ll rise together or fall alone.
*An NBC Today Show Book Club Pick!*
*A Seventeen Magazine Best YA Book of 2018!*
*A Kirkus Best YA Fantasy Book of the Year*
*A We Need Diverse Books 2018 Must-Read*
The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists.
Brysen strives to be a great falconer—while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She’s nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe.
Together the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer. Brysen goes for the boy he loves and the glory he's long craved, and Kylee to atone for her past and to protect her brother's future. But both are hunted by those who seek one thing: power.
In this first young-adult fantasy novel in a trilogy, Alex London launches a soaring saga about the memories that haunt us, the histories that hunt us, and the bonds of blood between us.
*An NBC Today Show Book Club Pick!*
*A Seventeen Magazine Best YA Book of 2018!*
*A Kirkus Best YA Fantasy Book of the Year*
*A We Need Diverse Books 2018 Must-Read*
The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists.
Brysen strives to be a great falconer—while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She’s nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe.
Together the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer. Brysen goes for the boy he loves and the glory he's long craved, and Kylee to atone for her past and to protect her brother's future. But both are hunted by those who seek one thing: power.
In this first young-adult fantasy novel in a trilogy, Alex London launches a soaring saga about the memories that haunt us, the histories that hunt us, and the bonds of blood between us.
Alex London is the beloved author of the middle-grade series, Tides of War, Dog Tags, and The Wild Ones. His young-adult novel Proxy, was an ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and was included in their 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults List, the Texas Lone Star Reading List, and the TAYSHAS Reading List selection, among many other state reading lists. He lives in Philadelphia. @ca_london
"Black Wings Beating takes the fantasy genre to soaring new heights with its epic thrills, heart-punching romance, and a marvel of a hero." —ADAM SILVERA, New York Times–bestselling author of They Both Die at the End "Prepare to be riveted." —KENDARE BLAKE, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns "Stunning and arresting; a must-read." —DHONIELLE CLAYTON, New York Times–bestselling author of The Belles and the Tiny Pretty Things series “Hypnotic and immersive from start to finish . . . [B]uilt on themes
of power, loyalty, and survival in a meticulously crafted world, helmed by
two siblings fighting for the things they love—on the ground and in the
sky. This book is a captivating, gut-wrenching knockout.” —MACKENZI LEE, New York Times–bestselling author of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
"[London] gives us a brilliantly crafted high fantasy about a society in which survival depends on falconry; even bird haters will be spellbound . . . Black Wings Beating is its own wondrous thing." —The New York Times Book Review
"Black Wings Beating gives us irresistible, complex characters in a propulsive, adventure-filled story, pulling off the rare trick of leaving its readers satisfied but undeniably excited for a second volume." —NBC's TODAY Show
