[Warning: Spoilers ahead!]
From the creator of hits like Grace Dances Upon the Clouds and Why Kill? When Witches Can Be Tentacled! comes Hi Flyers, a novel set in the futuristic city of Stratos. Here, many humans now have wings and are known as Flyers, while those than don't are known as Non-Flyers. The story centers around stopping Daedalus, a terrorist wielding bombs that can cause Flyers to lose their wings, known as the Icarus bomb. Hero, Arwain who heads small delivery company, Silver Stream, is quickly thrust into the role of hero.

If you're looking for a typical shounen, this is a solid read. But if you're looking for more, you might be disappointed. There are many instances in the story where I felt things failed to reach their full potential, the characters being one of them. While there are some well-written characters, I feel a majority of Silverstream's characters are often forgettable as they tend not to contribute significantly to the overall plot of the story. While the characters are given backstories, those are sadly the only highlights for some of those aforementioned characters.

This segways into another critique; how quickly and easily conflicts were resolved in the story. There are really good moments of tension, especially early on. The big problem was that the heroes always seemed to come out unscathed, both physically and mentally. I echo the sentiment from Walker's review that the story felt as though it was holding back a bit. Major spoiler warning, once more, but it left me disappointed that no members of Silverstream ended up being effected by the Icarus bomb. I feel if one member, say Sarge for example, had been effected, it could have led to far more greater storytelling moments and plot-lines.

Ironically enough, a named character does get hit with the Icarus bomb, but it's a parody of Jake from State Farm, a side character who's main purpose in the story is literally just being a Jake from State Farm parody. I'd argue that moment in the story was the most disappointing moment for me as his position easily could have been replaced with a main cast member like Sarge, who was in desperate need of more character moments.

I feel the Alt-history category would have provided far better avenues for the author to draw out the story's full potential. But despite my harsh criticism, I think the story is still a solid shounen.