Publisher's Weekly Review
Foster's tantalizing debut novella provides intriguing glimpses of a well-constructed world, but a trite conclusion undermines the rest of the story's potential. In a coastal fantasy land where trade winds are essential, the Windspeakers who control the weather have been attacked by the raiding Dragon Ships, and the icon that is the source of their power has been stolen. Only one survivor remains from a raid on the school: Shina, an untrained Windspeaker, who takes passage on the first northbound ship she can find. The gruff captain and her small crew were simply looking for a paying passenger, but soon they find themselves at the tip of a literal and metaphorical storm, as Shina drives them forward to recover the stolen icon and bring the wind power back to her cutthroat society. The matriarchal society is the basis for a unique take on a piratical world, leaving the reader wanting more adventure when the abrupt ending fails to satisfy. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Foster's debut novella follows the intersecting stories of apprentice Windspeaker Shina and cynical sea-captain Tazir against the evocative backdrop of a fantasy archipelago. Of the two narratives, Shina's dominates, with her recurring nightmares of the slaughter of her fellow Windspeakers by the dragon ships and her struggle to retrieve a sacred idol essential to controlling all Windspeakers' turbulent powers being the most compelling sections. By contrast, Tazir's narrative, with its focus on her relationships with her crew members and Shina, feels less developed, perhaps due to the shortness of the novella. Foster's world, populated primarily by people of color (with the exception of villains analogous to Vikings), may remind readers of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea. However, the differences in prose style and the use of visceral devices, such as the Windspeakers' stone eyes, keep the story from seeming derivative. All in all, this is a solid first effort in the genre and of interest to both general fantasy readers and those looking for more diverse fantasy settings.--Keep, Alan Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Tazir, captain of the Giggling Goat, needs a paying passenger if she and her crew are going to be able to afford to lay in supplies. While potential travelers who turn up in shady dockside bars usually have secrets, Tazir can tell Shina has more than most. Still, money is money. It is only when -Shina's nightmares kick in and she shows signs of being able to control the weather that Tazir and the crew realize this girl is more trouble than they expected. A Windspeaker running loose outside of a temple is a danger to everyone around her, but if Shina can save their ship from the raiding Dragon Ships, it will be worth keeping her aboard. VERDICT This slim novella by the coauthor of the "Servants of Fate" series packs a lot of story in its pages. Tazir joins the swelling ranks of piratical seagoing women in recent fantasy (see Lila from V.E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows and Ross from Jacey Bedford's Winterwood, both reviewed in this column). Tor.com adds yet another appealing novella to its lineup, which continues to show the great potential for shorter works of sf/fantasy.-MM © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.