A Wind out of Indigo (The Winds of Halflight)

This was the first book I bought for my e-reader, and I wasn't disappointed. Wind Out of Indigo has elements of steampunk, of romance, and of epic fantasy, while the world-building suggests old-school science fiction. I was reminded of Andre Norton and of Barbara Hambly, for the quick pace and the strong characters, especially Alice, a sturdy, strong-minded heroine who would get along famously with Hambly's Jenny Waynest. Secondary characters were clearly sketched in, from the eccentric astronomer to the stubborn, wily fen-dwellers.
Primer provides something I always look for - a non-generic world. Indigo, a land perpetually in night, with luminiscent foliage and mazey waterways, is well evoked without long descriptive passages (I have show more to admit I'm getting tired of the current fantasy trend to show every step of a journey - sometimes telling is a good idea!) sometimes eerily beautiful, sometimes creepy and nerve-wracking. And have I mentioned that I love non-medieval settings in fantasy?
I did wish at times that the pace of the story allowed for a little more space for the growth of the relationship between Alice and Louis. The breakneck speed of the last part meant that the changes and reversals in their beliefs and feelings about each other came so quickly that I almost missed them in the heat of the action. Fortunately, the ending provided what I'd missed.
Overall, I'd recommend this to fans of Barbara Hambly, Sherwood Smith, Cherie Priest, and Andre Norton. show less