Sigilry, drawing exact figures in specific, sometimes rare substances to produce specific effects, is an art in which more women than men have abilities and have stronger abilities. Robert has been raised in Montana by his veteran mother and sisters and wants nothing more than he wants to fly in the Rescue and Evac branch of the military. But no man has done so. This is very much a story of a person fighting to do something customarily restricted to a different gender, with complications of being targeted by an external hate group, and internal (to sigilists) extremists. As a read it is bumpy and episodic, the characters often collections of characteristics rather than believable individuals. It's competent, but not exciting and the inventiveness somehow doesn't convey any real sense of magic. ( )

I love books about alternate history. But The Philosopher's Flight is something more....a combination of fantasy, sci-fi, alternate history...and pure magic.

The Basics: Certain symbols, called sigils, can be used to focus power. That power can be used for mundane things like making plants grow larger, curing illness or even flying, but also for more destructive actions like killing 40,000 enemy soldiers in one battle during the Civil War. Although some men can wield the power, women are much more talented at being Empirical Philosophers and using sigils. Most counties in the United States have a resident philosopher to help with emergencies. Maj. Emmaline Weekes is a county philosopher in Montana in 1917. Her son Robert helps by ordering supplies, cooking and being support for his mother. America is entering the Great War in Europe. President Wilson has just announced a declaration of war against The German Empire. Robert;s dream is to fly Rescue & Evac, but women are much more talented at flying than men. The elite unit has never accepted a man into their ranks. After a emergency rescue following an attack by Trenchers, a group of vigilantes against sygilists, Robert proves that a male just might be able to make it in R & E. When he's accepted into college to become a philosopher, he realizes his dream might just come true!

OMG! I love this book!! The mix of real history with the fantasy of sigils and philosophers! Such a creative and awesome story! The book is filled with action and excitement -- trencher attacks, rescues, training and war -- and kept my attention from beginning to end. Reverse sexism adds an interesting angle to the plot as well. Robert goes through a lot being a male in college studying philosophy and wanting to join R&E when they don't accept males.

The Philosopher's Flight is Tom Miller's debut novel. I loved the story and his writing style. I will definitely be reading more by this author!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

The premise of this book could end up gimmicky or unfortunate, but Miller deftly avoided gimmicks and wrote a story that is both compelling and thoughtful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and wish there were more coming set in this world with these characters. I want to know more about just about all of the characters--backstory, frontstory, whatever! ( )

I usually don't read coming of age stories like this unless it has something compelling. What makes this one different is the way the author incorporated a pseudo-scientific fantasy premise into the story. He does a terrific job of weaving this premise throughout the historic background of the story as well as the main story itself. ( )

Robert “Boober” Weekes has a problem. He’s male and wants to be a corpswoman. Easier dreamed than done. The Philosopher’s Flight by Tom Miller is set in 1917 in an alternate universe where women, gifted with a powerful affinity for sigilry, have become the stronger sex. Sigilry stems from the science of empirical philosophy, the study of how to manipulate elements into glyphs, and in so doing, facilitate the execution of a variety of magical acts, from hovering to communicating across hundreds of miles to even dissolving all the bones in the human body. While men can study the subject, women have the ability to put it into practice. Robert, born into a family of powerful women, can perform sigilry, if weakly in comparison to his mother and sisters, but has high hopes that one day he will be recruited into the most elite unit of the Corps, Rescue and Evac. Upon his unexpected acceptance into Radcliffe, a predominantly female university, he must overcome a variety of impossible hurdles on the path to achieving the recognition he deserves.

Aside from the outlier of a prologue which felt more like a history lesson than an introduction to a fantasy novel, the story is separated into three parts: Robert’s time in Montana working as a clerk for his mother, Robert’s first few months at Radcliffe, and finally, Robert’s last few weeks of study prior to setting off into the real world. The last two parts of the novel surpass the first on every level. Where the first third focuses on Robert’s frustration as he whines from page to page about not being taken seriously and (rightfully) complains about his abominable nickname, his attitude improves considerably upon his arrival at Radcliffe.

The introduction of a diverse group of complex female students with intriguing back stories who also exhibit “masculine” behaviors made for a riveting reading experience, one that I found both unexpected and refreshing. Robert’s eventual love interest is more than just that, she is a war hero, a political activist, and has a knack for one of the most dangerous sigils. Unfortunately, most of the adult figures, the female professors, politicians, doctors, etc., blend together. They have shallow inner lives, and fall victim to Miller’s attempts to report their pasts via excerpts from textbooks, newspapers, and speeches.

Each chapter begins with quotes selected from historical documents, ranging from the mid- to late-1800s and the rise of empirical philosophy, all the way to the mid-1900s, which provides the reader with a glimpse into the futures of the main characters. While a clever idea, its execution is shabby at best. The context these excerpts provide is not necessary, especially when Miller already waxes heavy on historical events throughout the body of the novel. The quotes also break the flow of the plot, as they mislead the reader into thinking about the connection between the excerpt and the chapter that follows. Spoiler alert: there often isn’t one.

Tom Miller’s The Philosopher’s Flight is an ambitious debut, an attempt I respect, but that I ultimately didn’t enjoy. The reverse gender dynamic, a sensitive topic to cover, was executed extremely well, but was at times overshadowed by too much exposition and too many plot threads. The ending was also highly underwhelming, and so abrupt that I thought pages were missing from my book. For such a unique novel, it’s a pity that it was not executed as well as I had hoped. ( )