Airs Beneath the Moon

by Toby Bishop

Ace Fantasy; $6.99, 326 pp.

This is a tale about an elite Academy that trains young women to ride winged horses. Horses whose wings are fleshy webbing between bones and not feathered like Pegasus. These winged horses are exclusive to the Duchy of Oc and are used by its Duke to not only do graceful “airs above the ground” but to defend the duchy’s borders and provide swift transport for messengers. The animals can only be ridden by women and are nervous and fidgety around men, no matter their intent.

Enter Larkyn Hamley, a young woman of the rustic Uplands who finds a wingless mare starved and abandoned in the hills and about to give birth. And once settled at Larkyn’s farm, she soon drops a winged colt. (The poor mare dies.) Larkyn names the colt Tup—the name of a two-penny coin because Larkyn’s brother didn’t think the foal had a tuppence’s chance to live.

And now Larkyn’s adventures really begin.

The officious prefect of the nearby town sends to the Academy for a Horsemistress to come and see the unusual winged colt. A colt that should have never been born beyond the confines of the Duke’s stables. The intelligent and no-nonsense Larkyn, who has bonded deeply with the foal, as all riders of winged horses do with their mounts, soon finds herself amongst an interesting array of mostly highborn women to train at the Academy. She also, of course, finds herself boot-deep in intrigue and suspense.

Toby Bishop, a nom de plume for the excellent Louise Marley writes an engrossing and well-detailed story. This was a quick read. It charts not only Larkyn’s progress with Tup, but the dastardly plot by the ruling Duke Frederick’s creepy son William to take over the kingdom. William also has a particularly ugly plan to take control over the winged horses.

Oh, and there is a missing princess in the mix as well.

The tale ends practically in the middle of a scene so it is real obvious there will be more to this story and more books about the wonderful winged horses of the Duchy of Oc and their fascinating riders. - Sue Martin