Wings of Equity by Sean Kennedy
“The people choose to call me a hero. I don’t think what I do is heroic. It’s just doing what’s right for those who are worse off than you.” – Icarus
Sean Kennedy’s Wings of Equity is a cleverly steampunked tale filled with airships and flying trains, amazing machines and advanced technology, in a world where a dirigible captain turned bounty hunter, Ezra Kneebone, seeks to collect the price on the head of a Robin Hood-like vigilante dubbed Icarus, who soars through the skies on mechanical wings as he conspires to rob from the rich and give to the poor, rebelling against everything his wealthy and estranged father represents.
Ezra and his partner Jazille fly upon the Lilliput, dreaming of a day when they might craft a whole new fleet of airships, for which they need a lot of quick capital. Capturing the elusive Icarus and collecting the bounty seems to be the ideal way to make that happen, giving Ezra what he needs without becoming financially indebted to Jazz’s lover, the wealthy Lady Bart. It seems like the ideal plan, but as is usually the case with ideal plans, there’s one major complication—Ezra isn’t the only man looking to capture that prey and collect the reward, and the danger to himself, Jazz, and the Lilliput, not to mention to Ezra’s own conscience and personal integrity, quickly becomes a price that’s too high to pay. Especially after Ezra meets and loses his heart to the man he’s supposed to turn over to the government.
If you’re a fan of steampunk and all the imagination that goes into creating a world where technology conflicts with the times, Wings of Equity is a great read, filled with fun and humor and fast paced adventure, loads of danger and chaos, air battles and falling flying machines that only borrow their place in the sky before they surrender to earth’s gravity, in a sometimes spectacular fashion.
There were times I thought the romance between Ezra and Icarus, who will eventually come to trust Ezra with the power of his true identity, was overshadowed a bit by the world building, and even, to a certain extent, by the relationship between Jazz and her lady, Bart, but the thrills and danger came fast and frequently enough that, in the end, I didn’t miss the message of Ezra and Icarus’ relationship, which, for me, was that there are times when the heart and the conscience must overrule ambition and force you to see what’s truly imperative, not giving up on your ideals and dreams but adapting them to include the ideals and dreams of someone you love.
Buy Wings of Equity HERE.
