When We Have Wings: Review

This unmissable book from a strong new talent should be put at the top of your to-read list. Claire Corbett vividly creates a world in which human beings can undergo medical procedures to give them wings. And not just decorative wings, wings that enable people to fly. The novel follows a young girl, who kidnaps the child who was in her care and the private detective hired to track her down.

As the  story unfolds, Corbett reveals more and more of this not-too-distant future and the manner in which it operates. Flying has become the realm of the super-rich, with parents struggling and sacrificing to have their children undergo the procedures. The details are what makes it work so well, Claire Corbett has obviously researched her subject for a long time, and thought about what the implications of such a possibility would be. The world she creates is totally believable as is the way she describes the mechanics of flying.

Where this novel truly soars are in the descriptions of what it is like to fly. Claire Corbett catches the exhilaration, the thrill and the dangers perfectly. I was totally immersed in this book, and the world that was created. When We Have Wings works as crime fiction, speculative fiction and literary fiction.

Reviewed by Mark

When We Have Wings is available here.

You can read an interview with Claire Corbett here.