The Guns Above

By: Robyn Bennis

Narrated by: Kate Reading

"Narrator Kate Reading's steady voice powers this exciting airship adventure...Reading also captures everyday life amid nations constantly at war, adrenaline-filled skirmishes and battles, and mind-numbing bureaucracy." — AudioFile Magazine

Robyn Bennis' The Guns Above is an adventurous military fantasy debut about a nation's first female airship captain.

They say it's not the fall that kills you.

For Josette Dupre, the Corps' first female airship captain, it might just be a bullet in the back.

On top of patrolling the front lines, she must also contend with a crew who doubts her expertise, a new airship that is an untested deathtrap, and the foppish aristocrat Lord Bernat, a gambler and shameless flirt with the military know-how of a thimble. Bernat's own secret assignment is to catalog her every moment of weakness and indecision.

So when the enemy makes an unprecedented move that could turn the tide of the war, can Josette deal with Bernat, rally her crew, and survive long enough to prove herself?

©2017 Robyn Bennis (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Full of sass and terrific characters. Great storytelling. Loved it." (Patricia Briggs)

"The audiobook was [a] great listen because of the superb narration. As always, Kate Reading nailed the performance, her voice being the perfect match for Josette's poise and strength." ( The BiblioSanctum)

this is a damn good book.

this novel is well written, and deals with sexism in the military very well. zeed

An engaging, entertaining and memorable read.

Ms. Bennis has done a extraordinary job in making a future history battling airship story credible and entertaining. The characters are memorable and engaging. The performance was nuanced yet vivid. I've listened to it twice. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Refreshing & Well Written

A great listen, with an enticing cast of characters. Every time I want to escape from the same old worn story lines I pop in my headphones for a ride on Mistral.

A great adventure in military airship combat

A great little adventure and wonderful characters along for the ride. The overtones and undertones of what people say verses their true meaning is wonderful. The description is fairly accurate and I wish I had listened sooner.

Haven't read many books about airships and trying to fight the enemy as well as keeping a crew alive. (This actually makes number 2). It inspires that feel of adventure and tension found in naval combat adventures and pirate books.

I enjoyed this novel for the same reason I enjoy The Expance series. The danger is always high and the science is hard. Math will save your life!
Now I don't know if the science or math is accurate per say, but it is presented as true and kept at the forefront of danger the characters must respect to stay alive. Weight and the distribution of it is a big factor of running an airship and always at the forefront of life aboard.

Now I will say this. A few sites and comments of this book described it as a romance adventure, which it is not. It is a military fantasy throughout. The idea of a supposedly​ romantic subplot undercuts the characters and belittles their growth and development. The two main characters are male and female, but they don't fall in love by the end or have a romantic tension. They gain a respectful understanding of each other and a battle born friendship. Now this could be developed later in the series, but by the end the are not swooning in each other embrace. The act more as friends or siblings and have fought and ran into danger side by side. So if you are on the sidelines about this book because of the idea it is a romance in disguise, fear not.

Steampunkish Airships

This has been an great book about Steampunk-ish Airships. Kate Reading did an awesome job with the narration. I look forward to reading the second book.

Very good imaginative book

this was a very good book. unique and a good story. I did not want it to End. I hope there is a continuation of her story line

Characters are strong and believable

The story line is enjoyable and hard to stop and/or put down. Looking forward to the second book.

Well written and narrated

Any additional comments?

This was fantastic! A witty musket/steam punk book with a determined and smart heroine and a number of other 3 dimensional characters (I love the ensign). The dialog here is superb and the author has a gift for humour even in the midst of truly gruesome and horrific events.

This is not a book which elides the horrors of war but it does manage to find humanity and moments of grace even amongst the worst of it.

Napoleonic air war at its best

I really enjoyed this book.It is an imaginative account of what Napoleonic War might have been like had armies possessed airships. My only real complaint about the book is it felt like a pilot for a television series where the two principal characters were revealed and the scene was set, but nothing more. Hopefully this book is just the first in a series .

Want to know how an airship works?

Droll and very, very believable as far as characters and story are concerned. Excellent narration from Kate Reading as usual. If you want to know how to captain an airship, this is your book. If engineering and mechanics don't appeal, I would skip it.