The Wind Walker: Children of the Sky, Book 1

by Simon Shugar

To avoid his fate as a Breaker Boy—children forced to work the mines—Zephyr must find a way to earn enough coin to buy his freedom and escape the city of Crater. Yet there are only so many options afforded to a young boy with no family. Thievery is one.

At the same time—Captain Bacchus and his eccentric crew have been tasked with finding the whereabouts of a treasure, which they know little to nothing about. Yet with a reward of over 50 times their normal going rate, how can they turn the opportunity down?

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Ebooks

Audible Audio

First published May 7, 2022

About the author

Hey, I’m Simon Shugar—fantasy author hooked on telling bold, emotional, action-heavy stories through raw, first-person journeys. If you like coming-of-age arcs, epic stakes, and human struggles in unreal worlds, you're in the right place!

I’m originally from Oxfordshire, England, now living in North Carolina with my wild little toddler and our very chill (and very spoiled) dog, Jasper. I’ve loved fantasy for as long as I can remember—drawn in by the magic, the grit, and the heart at the center of it all.

I studied game design for a bit, then pivoted into software engineering to pay the bills. But somewhere in between code and chaos, I started writing stories—and once I did, I couldn’t stop. Fast forward to now, I’ve written 13 novels across three trilogies and a standalone, with plenty more on the way.

Reviews

[A.C. Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic fantasy

A fantastic read - fantasy which I thought was also drifting towards Steampunk.

Deep characters, well visioned locations - I especially enjoyed Crater - a clever plot and story and an cool airship to throw in the mix.

I totally enjoyed it - a well deserved 5 stars and book 2 is on my TBR list

[Brian Everson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wind in you Hair

Enjoyably the author creates an atmosphere Of suffering and toil and hardship But within that moment That existence he creates a light a light that continues to grow and glow Throughout the entire story He he has Put put little nuances of how things will end up You need to read carefully to find them all they are many Thank you

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story but the punctuation, spelling, and other errors cut into my enjoyment of this book. If the author invested in a good proofreader, I would have given it another star.

[Patricia Vroman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced sci-fi with intriguing technology where merchant airships hover above a crater where slaves are forced to work in mines. A boy, Zephyr, aims to escape this slave world of cracking rocks, is initiated into an elite gang of thieves and learns a technique to hoist himself up the many levels of the crater and in so doing neglects his duty to his friends and gang mates.
Bacchus, an airship captain, is hired to rescue a girl from Crater and by coincidence enlists Zephyr to help. Turns out both Bacchus and Zephyr are more than they appear to be as they escape and are chased into the world above.
There are interesting side characters, like the Tinker and his granddaughter, who play essential parts in the technology.
What marred the story somewhat for me were the frequent typos, especially in the latter stages of the book which appeared rushed as though the author wanted to finish the plot but didn't have time to edit his style.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

great fun to read this series so far.