While I usually prefer to read fantasy novels that become a series, Wilson's standalone was a refreshing and entertaining read! This novel is a little hard to review without spoiling, so I'll just say that it was a great read, and while it struggled with pacing at times, the end result was definitely worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, G. Willow Wilson, and Grove Atlantic for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is a great summer read. Fatima is not a goody-goody two shoes. I do want to to the spoil the books plot the is not hampered by romance. The history is well researched.

G. Willow Wilson’s The Bird King is a historical fantasy set in the 1400s and follows Fatima as she and her best friend, Hasan, flee the clutches of an Inquisitor with the help of a reluctant jinn. Historical fantasy is a new to me genre. I am very inexperienced with fantasy both for young adults and adults. When I came across The Bird King on NetGalley, I took the chance. I have a soft spot for historical fiction and wonder how fantastical elements would play out against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition.

The structure of The Bird King makes it easy for readers unfamiliar with the fantasy genre to immerse themselves into the book. Wilson introduces fantastical element slowly as the story progresses. Allowing readers to connect the historical period, Spanish Inquisition, with a world that contain mythical creatures, jinn. Readers immerse themselves in the setting without complicated world building or unfamiliar rules. Readers are introduced to Fatima and Hasan in their nature environment and adjust with them as they try to make sense of the unfamiliar. While the increasing levels of fantastical elements are nice, towards the end of the novel Wilson bumps up the fantastical element with the introduction of a new world and rules. Fatima and her friends adjust to their new environment quickly but readers are left confused struggling to understand the unexpected turn of events.

The writing in The Bird King is engaging, especially the escape scene. Wilson’s writing allow readers to get lost in the time period and the world she creates. While the descriptions of the scenery that Fatima and her traveling companions encounter aren’t overly detailed they are just enough for the reader to visuals what the group are seeing. Battle and escapes scenes are filled with emotions, leaving readers stomachs tension with anticipation and both excited and worried about what will happen next. The dialogue is natural and at times funny, especially when Vikram is in the scene.

With all the positives in The Bird King, it disappointed me to reach the last page and feel confused. After sitting on my feelings about the book for a few days I realized The Bird King left me feeling unsatisfied. And this dissatisfaction came from two of the most important elements of the stories, Fatima’s character arch and her reward for the journey.

The short version is that Fatima’s character arch is not complete. Readers expect at the end of her journey for it to change Fatima. For her to grow as a person. Unfortunately, that does not happen. Part of the problem is Fatima’s biggest flaw is unclear. Hasan and Vikram state several times that Fatima is a selfish, but Fatima’s actions contradict their declarations. In fact, Fatima was self sacrificing, willingly sacrificing her own comfort and safety for that of her friend, Hasan. As the main character, readers also expect Fatima to settle into a leadership role. Which unnecessary because her leadership qualities where on full display throughout the novel expect towards the end when she questions/doubts herself. These inconsistencies in Fatima’s characters doesn’t allow for her character arch to be complete. Which is unfortunate because Fatima’s character overall is complex and her backstory is interesting. She deserved more care.

She also deserved a better reward. Fatima is born a slave and when the story opens she is one of the sultan’s concubines and his mother’s servant. As expected, she desires her freedom and the Inquisitors provide the perfect excuse for her to escape. That and the fact the Inquisitors think her best friend Hasan is a sorcerer. They escape trying to find someplace safe and without giving too much away it is questionable whether their final destination is worth it for Fatima. While her character seems happy, readers are left feeling she escaped from locked cage to the land into another. The location and circumstance surrounding it leaves readers questioning if Wilson gave her heroine the reward she deserved after she had come so far.

I wanted to love The Bird King because Wilson’s writing is amazing. The imagery during the water scenes were perfection and brought the world that Wilson created to life. Based off writing alone this would have been an easy four star read. But the confusing ending and the treatment of Fatima affected the overall enjoyability of the story. I look forward to reading G. Willow Wilson work in the future because there was just so much promise within the pages of The Bird King.

(review will post of link below on 06/12/2019)

Fatima was born into the sultan of Grenada's harem, and the only thing she definitely could choose for herself was her friendship with Hassan, the cartographer. His special gift is the ability to draw uncannily accurate maps, even of places that he had never been to or had seen before. The newly formed Spain is spearheading the Inquisition, and their agents are sure that Hassan is a sorcerer and should be put to the rack. Fatima won't allow this to happen, and unknowingly has a friend in a jinn as well as the fierce loyalty to Hassan and the concept of freedom. They plan to escape the Inquisition with the help of Hassan's gift.

The Bird King starts out slow and ponderous, showing us the friendship between Fatima and Hassan as well as his gift with maps before the plot really kicks in. It almost matches the hazy, oppressive heat that had settled over the palace, the last bastion of Grenada holding out against the Catholic kingdoms. This pace continues throughout the book, even during the tense escape and some of the aspects of the escape that should be more tension-filled. Vikram the jinn is definitely an interesting character; he's called Vikram the Vampire but isn't like the blood drinking vampires we know of. He truly is a jinn, with shapeshifting abilities and magic, as well as knowledge of the vague evils that exist between the world of men and the world of magic. Even so, he isn't all knowing, and cannot save Fatima and Hassan from all the dangers in their journey.

G. Willow Wilson is very creative and may be best known in some circles for the Ms. Marvel comic book. That was certainly the draw that pulled me in to read this book, and it's beautifully written. There are certainly passages that resonate with me, particularly the stories of the Bird King in the beginning, and the discussion about how authorial intent isn't the same as how it's eventually interpreted. Characters discuss the nature of goodness, of love, of belonging, and these are very weighty topics that certainly deserve being talked about. The ending of the novel is one that bothers me a bit, to be honest. I don't want to spoil it, as it's fairly obvious in hindsight that there is only one way for no one else to find Fatima and Hassan's ultimate hiding place. Still, It's the utter isolation that the ending promises which bothers me. Others would need the refuge they found, especially with the Inquisition beginning, and I suppose that I wish there was a way to help all of the others that would need it.

This book had several things that I adore in a book, a great and atmospheric setting, interesting historical themes and interesting characters. The only thing that was somewhat frustrating was the pacing, it seemed to drag in places but this did not overly detract from the positives. I was immersed in this setting and thoroughly enjoyed it.

#TheBirdKing #NetGalley

The concept and the main idea were interesting but the story was very slow. The events take a long time to develop and consequently it dragged on and on. Also, the characters needed more depth and sometimes I didn't understand their motivations. The world building was intriguing and well-developed, though. But it wasn't enough for me.

2.5☆
ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.

I initially saw this book when I was looking for upcoming releases and the cover drew me in. I dont typically tend to like historical anything really but I was hoping that I would enjoy this. Unfortunately it had the same issues for me as most historical books. It was SOOO SLOW. This took me AGES to finish and a lot of it was because there was just nothing happening. The writing was dense and descriptive which is not exactly how I like my writing. I know for most people it enhances the story but for me I find it unnecessary and it pulls me out of the story. There are just long passages of travel and lengthy conversations about mapmaking.

I did like the friendship between the two main characters though. I thought they were very flushed out and 3 dimensional. The villian was interesting too.

I think if you like historical fiction or slower books you would like this. Unfortunately this was just not my cup of tea

A beautifully-rich historical fantasy novel that starts strong but meanders in the middle before losing direction in the end.

If you're not a fan of slow-paced stories, then I definitely wouldn't recommend this book to you. Personally, I have a tendency to love slower-paced books so I found myself enjoying the beginning of this story. The pacing did drag quite a lot in the middle when the plot became a little repetitive, but there were many moments where it picked up and became exciting again. That being said, I was not a fan of the direction of the plot of the last third of The Bird King. It was very heavy on metaphors throughout but especially at the end, to the point that I had no idea if something was actually happening or whether it was just this extravagant metaphor.

For me, the main let-down of The Bird King was the execution of the plot. It sounds like a great idea on paper, but plots that focus heavily on an escape or a journey can get quite tiresome quite quickly due to its repetitive nature. Some parts of the escape plot were exciting and chilling, but it wasn't interesting enough to sustain the bulk of the novel. This felt more like three separate novellas than one cohesive story. There are three distinctive plot arcs and I only found myself really enjoying the first third where we are introduced to the characters and the magic and the historical period. The second third was exciting in some areas and mainly carried by Vikram, my personal favourite character. And the last third I found to be mostly confusing and a little unattached to the rest of the tone of the novel.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly the headstrong Fatima - I really liked reading from her unique perspective. I also really appreciated the platonic relationship between Fatima and Hassan. It's definitely one of the most complicated and emotionally complex friendships I've read and it was really interesting to see that explored to such a degree in this novel.

Exploring this time period was also fascinating - it's definitely an area of history I didn't know much of anything about and I found myself researching the history behind The Bird King throughout my reading of it which definitely added to the experience for me.

The prose itself was very beautiful. Wilson had a real sense of command over her words. She effortlessly crafted her sentences and created rich descriptions without overloading us with too much information. This book dealt with many important and interesting topics and Wilson approached those with meticulous care in her writing. I really loved the way Wilson constructed her words - I found myself highlighting many quotable lines. But pretty words weren't really enough for me to enjoy this rather long book, sadly.

In the end, The Bird King was quite a slog to get through and, as someone who generally loves slower-paced novels, this one was a bit too slow even for me. I would definitely be interested in reading more of Wilson's novels in the future as the way she constructs sentences is incredibly beautiful. But I will be more selective with the kinds of books I pick up from her.

Really interesting read! I definitely recommend for a change of pace. It was good and I enjoyed discussing it with others afterwards

The last Iberian sultan’s mapmaker Hassan and Circassian concubine Fatima share a love for a poem by Al Attar in which they only have the opening lines. They continue the tale together, alternating and combining their own stories of the birds looking for their king. Hassan draws maps that reshape reality, coming under the scrutiny of the Spanish Inquisition when Fatima is too open with Luz, Queen Isabella’s advisor, emissary, and secret inquisitor. Fatima must find a way to save her best friend, embarking on a journey—guided by a jinn in animal form—where she finds her true self on the hidden island of the bird king. Friendship is tested, credibility is stretched to the limit, and redemption is found. Magical realism blends historical events and mythology well, thought there are a few too many cliffhangers in the latter half of the tale. It’s a beautiful story of desire to escape a horrid time in Spain’s past. I was given a digital copy of this fantastic story from Grove Press through NetGalley.

This a gorgeously written fantasy that follows two Fatima and Hassan as the flee the fall of Grenada. Faith of multiple types is handled with grace and kindness. The next to final scene seemed a bit abrupt and it felt hard to feel for what happens but the actually ending is lovely. I have seen others reviews which called the plot slow, but I really do not see it as most of the book is running for their lives. The cover is also lovely.

The Bird King is the story of two friends in the last sultanate of Spain. Fatima is a strong-willed concubine to the Sultan, and Hassan is a mapmaker with a secret talent. With the Spanish Inquisition on their heels, Fatima and Hassan must run from the world they know on an adventure full of myths and magic.

This story and the beautiful writing captured my heart. It is historical fiction/fantasy, with a very mythical feel to it. I don't know this period of history very well, but the setting and legends are really interesting. I loved Fatima and Hassan and their friendship. They're flawed but I was rooting so hard for them. The themes of faith and religion are also really well woven throughout the story.

It is a pretty long book, and while I did not get bored, there were a few parts that I thought dragged unnecessarily. I also had trouble picturing and understanding some of the mythical creatures that came into the story. Perhaps it's just because I'm not too familiar with this particular mythology. Overall, I just enjoyed this adventure so much and highly recommend for historical fiction and fantasy fans!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received an arc of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Bird King is a very atmospheric read, from the very beginning you are plunged into a fantasy world set in Grenada during the Muslin reign. In this story you follow the tribulations of Fatima, a royal concubin who has only know life in the sultan harem, and her very best friend, Hassan.

I don't want to say much more because you have to live and experience for yourself the story but I reallyenjoyed the writing style, G. Will Wilson has a very flowery, fluid style with beautiful imagery. I enjoyed very much the setting since I absolutely love reading about the Moorish Spain. So I very much liked the first part of the book.

The second part of the book was a little for difficult to enjoy for me. Though Fatima and Hassan's journey could have been interesting,I found that it dragged a little and it was difficult to keep being invested. It lost me a little bit and I resurfaced from it feeling a little discontented.

I still recommend this book to people who like reading about long journeys and self-reflection. The setting and the beautiful description will not let you down!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

It was really different, confusing at times, yet oddly entertaining.. I am.not sure how I feel about the ending yet..

Detailed review coming soon!

I liked this and really became attached to some of the characters by the end but some of the pacing was a little off and that made the reading experience less smooth than it could have been. I definitely want to read more of this author’s worth, though, as this book was quite imaginative and fresh.

The opening scenes of this book were beautiful - lush descriptions of the Granada court, a mapmaker with the power to open doors to anywhere by drawing them, the domestic politics of the concubines of the sultan... I thought I was going to adore this. I thought it would be in a similar vein to 'The Golden Key', which is one of my favourite books.

However, the story quickly removes itself from this setting when the Spanish Inquisition arrives at Granada, and our main characters, Fatima the concubine and Hassan the mapmaker, go on the run. This part of the story I found extremely repetitive and tedious, and it stripped everything I was excited about from the narrative, leaving the reader to follow two highly incompetent people as they follow a dog-demon across a bunch of desert and scrubland. It gets into philosophical territory as the characters search for the mythical island of the Bird King, but hardly strays past magical realism in terms of the fantasy elements, which I was hoping would be much more prominent. I think people looking for a quiet historical story with a tiny bit of magic may enjoy this much more than I did, but if you're looking for a fantasy novel about life in the Granada court, you'll be disappointed.

This is the definition of a slow-burn novel. It's set in Grenada in 1491, during the Spanish Inquistion. Fatima is a the concubine to the sultan. Her friend Hassan is a cartographer who can make magical maps that change the layout of places and open doorways to the Other. Here comes the slow burn.... The book slowly transforms from a historical novel to a fantasy. They are seeking refuge in Mount Qaf, the lands of the Bird King.

The novel is slow-paced, I almost gave up so many times in the beginning. The writing is simply beautiful, the atmosphere of the book is fantastic, the message wonderful. I liked it.

My only complaint is how hard I had to struggle to stay in the book because of the drag.

Worth the read!
3.5/4 Stars.

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review**

What a big adventure this book is! I don't typically love fantasy, but the aspects in The Bird King were enticing and not overdone. The ending had me a little confused, but I think that was intentional, and I'm okay with that.

My Summary:
The Bird King is a lush historical fantasy that uses the context of the end of the European Muslim Empire and the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition to examine the balance between religion, power dynamics, and what it means to belong. In a similar vein to C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials,” though decidedly more adult, The Bird King has a fairytale-like quality that blends reality and the fantastic to discuss big ideas in an intimate way. G. Willow Wilson sends her protagonists, Fatima, the last Circassian concubine to the Sultan, and Hassan, the royal mapmaker with a magical gift, on a journey to discover a truer understanding of faith, love, and how belief can shape the world around us. With the reluctant help of the jinn, Vikram the Vampire, Fatima and Hassan traverse the Iberian Peninsula, pursued by the Inquisition and the darker forces that drive it, to find refuge on the mythical island of the Bird King.

MY REVIEW: 4 STARS

I chose to read The Bird King for a few reasons: 1) I adore G. Willow Wilson's run on Ms. Marvel, 2) The Setting/Time period was new and interesting to me, 3) I have a personal goal to read more diverse authors and gain a greater perspective on different cultures, and 4) Full Disclosure: I received a free ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

After reading The Bird King and thinking about it for a couple weeks (because boy this is a "Book of BIG IDEAS"), I've concluded that this book is SO MUCH MORE than any summation could possibly prepare you for! I will do my best to stay out of the weeds, but there is a lot to unpack here:

Overview:
Overall, I enjoyed reading The Bird King. Pacing is an issue with this book as the actual adventure starts off slow, dragging to the midpoint, but gets more intense after that, terrifying at some point because, well, the Inquisition, and fantastic at others with trickster jinn and terrifying dragons living on the edges of maps. The character relationships are especially complex and are really the driving force for the narrative. I can’t say the two main characters, Fatima and Hassan, start out likable because that would be a disservice to the amount of character development this book throws at you. Their growth relates specifically to the people around them and helps to demonstrate the bigger ideas, specifically around love, faith, and freedom where G. Willow Wilson really goes all out. At the end of the day it was tackling the more abstract portions of the book that I enjoyed the most. This might be because I love to torture myself. Honestly, this has been a hard review to write because I keep going into “Book Report” mode wanting to write a thesis instead of a review! There are so many lenses you can view The Bird King though: Historically, culturally, philosophically, as a hero’s journey, and as a coming of age story. The best part is that G. Willow Wilson’s prose is so lovely that you experience many of these simultaneously. It all weaves together beautifully, and rewards both the over-thinker (me) and the casual reader alike.

Cons:
The Bird King is not a perfect book, but I certainly appreciated it. It tends to get bogged down when the journey begins, reminiscent of The Fellowship of the Ring where there’s just a whole lot of walking and talking. Oddly enough, the next pacing issue is whiplash where there would be a paragraph describing one thing and then the next would jump to something completely unrelated, causing me to re-read sections to see if I missed something. This was even more annoying as it happened more frequently at the end of the book, which was already confusing due to the more fantastic setting. This led the ending to feel a bit overwhelming and rushed. I was a little let down by the ending, which tried to be both ambiguous and relatable, but not enough to undo my overall enjoyment of reading The Bird King.

Pros:
Everything else really. The setting is vivid, the time period unique in the world of fantasy. I feel like I learned a lot about the transition from a Muslim Europe to the Spanish Inquisition. I enjoyed the characters, especially because they do grow and evolve, and who doesn’t love mischievous jinn? Fatima and Hassan’s relationship is like nothing I have personally read before, and I really appreciated every exploration, from the view of a gay man in that time period to all the examples of female leadership. The places where reality and fantasy met each other were atmospheric and tense, making me want to read more so that by the time you get to the end, you certainly feel like you’ve been transported into the book.
My favorite parts were how the abstract themes tied into the characters themselves. This made sense in retrospect as The Bird King (title and everything) is a reference to the real Persian poem, The Conference of the Birds, by Attar of Nishapur. The poem is about how the birds of the world had no ruler and, led by the wisest the hoopoe, they go on a journey to find the legendary bird king, Simorgh, to lead them. I haven’t read the actual poem, but from what I gather, each bird represents a part of human nature, like possession or pride, and they each learn a lesson like in Aesop fables. I imagine that reading it would give me a whole other level of understanding. However, I feel like Wilson gives you more than enough history and explanation to make it unnecessary for enjoyment. As a gateway to a piece of renown Persian text, I love how much I’ve learned about Middle Eastern Mythology from just this book. It feels like such a powerful piece of fantasy.

Conclusion:
When I started reading The Bird King, I had no idea how BIG a book it really was. I’m glad I read it and plan to tuck it on my shelf with His Dark Materials and The Chronicles of Narnia. Like them, this is an excellent adventure with a lot of abstract ideas woven in. I really enjoyed The Bird King on so many levels. It sent my academic brain into a spin cycle. I really hope more people pick up this beautiful book and I can’t wait to read more G. Willow Wilson in the future!

The Bird King was a gorgeous, breath-taking read. While the story itself was slow-paced, I didn't mind and wanted to savor every word.

Fatima, a royal concubine, learns of a threat to one of her dearest friends, Hassan (who happens to be a gay mapmaker) and has them run away to save his life.

The story is intertwined with stories of a mythical bird king and flows beautifully into the narrative of Fatima and Hassan's quest for freedom.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.