Kitemaster

In a world where the wind is unending and spirits inhabit kites, mortals have been empowered to manipulate the wind to help move their fishing boats and perform other mundane tasks. Some are dragon-blessed, powerful kitemasters who lift great skyships and communicate with the creatures who ride the wind. Nial Sarnin manifests the powers of a kitemaster and soon allies herself with the rogue crew of the Midnight Rain and a runaway prince, an unlikely pair who plan to thwart an evil monarch’s plans to harness the power of dragons for herself. An expansion of the titular short story from Hines’s (Terminal Peace) 2011 collection Kitemaster & Other Short Stories, this delightfully whimsical fantasy opens with Nial struggling to develop her resilience in the wake of a deeply emotional tragedy. The story’s events transform the grief-stricken protagonist into a sacrificial heroine in a predictable yet no less satisfying way. With a unique cast of characters, each with their traumas and motivations, this story is inspirational and emotional from start to finish.