The Philosopher's War

The Philosopher's War is the second book in Tom Miller's alt-history WW1 timeline novel. Released 16th July by Simon & Schuster, it's 416 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

I reviewed the first installment last year and admit to some trepidation on reading this, the second. I was afraid it couldn't possibly live up to my remembered opinions about the quality and depth of the writing.  I worried needlessly; this book is quite wonderful in its own right and felt to me like a worthy successor to the previous book. I did not re-read the first book in preparation for the second. I had no trouble following the plot or remembering returning characters, so I do think this book could work as a standalone without necessitating a reading of the previous content. I would certainly recommend hunting down the 1st book, it's a wonderful read, but it's not absolutely necessary.

The story follows the further adventures of Robert Canderelli Weekes, son of a very famous family of female fliers in a magical air corps fighting in WW1. In fact, his family are so famous for their sigilry (magic use) that he adopts his father's name as a surname to avoid politicization of his joining the flying corps (elite troops who have hitherto been female only). 

This book could so easily have simply devolved into a morality play about patriarchy and sexism and crossing gender boundaries, and the author resisted that, and the book is stronger for it, in my opinion. There's very little stridency or preachiness in this book. It's a solid, entertaining, good read and I would recommend it heartily to lovers of speculative fiction, adventure fiction, historical fiction, and the like. It would also make a good book club selection or buddy-read.

The author weaves real history with fantasy so skillfully, it's very difficult to winnow out what's real and what isn't; I stopped trying. He's a wonderfully talented author and the fact that his other day job is as a physician in emergency services gives a lot of the book an unusually vivid verisimilitude. Also included in the back of the book are 'excerpts' from other fictive history books which include illustrations (by Michael Gellatly) and back story.

Really well written and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Five stars. I am looking forward to future installments.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.