Golden Flight

by S.K. Ali

Concluding S. K. Ali's powerful duology, The Keeper's Records of Revolution, Golden Flight returns to a divided world with war on the horizon.

How difficult is it to crash the party of the decade? Literally crash it?

The Golden Flight happens once every ten years — a gala to honor elites fallen in service of Upper Earth’s brutal hold on earth’s remaining populace and dwindling resources. 

It’s a party where cunning new technology gets unveiled to masked revelers thirsty for fresh entertainment. 

It’s also a party Raisa and Nayf plan to infiltrate to bring Upper Earth down for good.  

Even with a known traitor, and a mysterious, ruthless avenger in their midst, pulling off a dangerous mission in enemy territory feels entirely possible with record-keeper Khalda at the helm. To crack into Upper Earth, simply find strategic details hidden in the records.

However, they soon discover the toll of running a crew with competing, secretive  the lines between friend and foe begin to blur to violent ends. 

But on an oil rig at the edge of the world, the sun rises and shines on a team member no one knows about. 

Will she bring the seed of hope or be the source of ultimate chaos?

Just who is she — and why does she know how to end the world?

Genres: Young Adult

528 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 1, 2026

About the author

S. K. Ali writes the characters she never saw growing up into the stories she never saw growing up. Find her on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/skalibooks/ , on twitter at https://twitter.com/SajidahWrites , on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@skalibooks , and on her website at https://skalibooks.com/.

Reviews

[Yusra ☾]

PRE READ:

Thank you to S.K. Ali herself for giving me an eARC for Golden Flight!! 🥳💗
I am so excited to get back in this world oh my days andddddd the most fun part is that I’m buddy reading this with @Yusra since she got the ARC as wellllll 🙌🏽🙌🏽

IM SO HYPEDDDDDD GSHEHUEBSUSBSJSH I NEED TO SEE THIS ENDINGGGGGG

[maryam مريم · Rating 5 out of 5]

S.K. Ali has strung beautiful metaphors together to produce this masterpiece. This deserves more hype. It completes the prequel with perfection. I love her bravery for choosing to resist in her own way. I understand why this book isn't given a bigger push. I haven't seen another book that talks of oppression, occupation and the like in such a way. I thought of Palestine throughout the book, and yet, the struggle of Palestinians is worse.

This book ended in such a wholesome manner, and I loved every bit of it. I'm so happy how this turned out because it healed me so much. The first book broke me, and this book mended me. The plot twists were absolutely insane. Oh, how I've grown to love certain characters. I literally loathed some of them in the first book. This is one of those books I'll always remember. Thank you for writing this.




Note for muslim readers - this is not meant to be an outright muslim representation, but since there are hints of islamic teachings, i have to mention a few things. there is an idea of khurooj being alright. i don't know what the author is trying to say since they are all used metaphorically. i hope she's not implying what i think she is implying because it could be a problem islamically. maybe, it's a mistake on her part. if she was implying khurooj against a muslim ruler is fine, then it would be a mistake. i don't have enough knowledge about this to elaborate further. and please don't let fiction to influence your islamic beliefs and enjoy this book in a fictional sense.



pre-read
i got the arc!! thank you so much SK Ali!🥹💗 you just made my day. what an eid gift!

"This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to current global structures isn't coincidental, though."

this is exactly what i'm here for

[Fizah(Books tales by me) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating 4.5

Thanks to S.K. Ali and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’ll read whatever S.K. Ali writes. After Fledgling broke my heart with that cliffhanger, I was desperately waiting for The Golden Flight, with some hope in my heart.

Fledgling focused on building the story, world, and characters layer by layer. No doubt, the world-building was complex and took time to get into. Golden Flight has the upper hand in that regard and gets to run with the characters and story. Although character development and relationships were not entirely what I had built in my head for more than a year. I don’t wanna spoil much, but I didn’t like how the characters were shaped by the story and the established hierarchy. It took me a while to be okay with it. On the positive side, the whole crew came together to pull a “heist” in enemy territory. It has to be the most realistic heist that a group of young people can pull.

The character growth genuinely wrecked me. I was so angry and in denial for half of the book. One character I could not stand in Fledgling, I mean, really, really did not like, completely flipped it around. I didn’t see it coming, and I still think that the character got away with all of their past actions a little too easily. And another character who was my favorite grew perfectly, with dignity, and didn’t get bitter or lose hope in life.

This book also made me think in the way that uncomfortable books do. The food, the resources, the way people in Lower Earth survive on scraps while Upper Earth throws a gala to celebrate itself. I thought of the real world the entire time.

I felt the pacing could have been better. The first half felt slow, and a lot happened in the second half. Some of the interactions between certain characters made me smile, and I wish there were more of them.

The ending, though, was realistic and bittersweet. The book was definitely dystopian/fantasy, but so, so close to reality. I understand it is a hard and a bit uncomfortable read, but this duology deserved so much more attention than it got.

[h i n d]

Thank you to the author for sending me a digital arc, all opinions are my own

[layan ليان (hiatus)]

I just requested it on netgalley. I’m PRAYING to get the arc, it’s that bad 🫩.

jan/16 - BURY ME WITH THIS DUOLOGY.

[Aisha Bhatti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating :: 4.5 🌟

Source :: ARC from author's invite for Netgalley.

Thoughts ::

First of all, I want to say I love the covers of both books so so much. The colors, the masks, the capes, I am in love. I will buy these books just because of the covers alone. They are so so pretty 🔥

This is a perfect duology. The world building was amazing in book 1. And book 2 is the perfect conclusion 👌. Raisa and Nayf join forces with more people, make a team, plan together to go to a gala in Upper Earth, where all hell will break loose.

All the characters have amazing growth. One of the character have redemption arc. You can see the change from anger to satisfaction. It was very satisfying to see. That character I didn't like at the start, but their growth, their understanding to see other's perspective, to forgive others was very good to see.
One of the character was like a glue who held all others together for their mission. I absolutely love her growth from shy to confidence.

This story will remind you so much of the real world, especially the food in poor countries. The author has pictured it so accurately, it will always stay in my heart. I feel even more for these people who can't have proper food and have to survive on rubbery packet foods. I relate so much with Musaid.

Love the twist in Chapter 27 and 29. Chapter 27's twist, I had a feeling it was coming, but still I got goosebumps and happy tears.