The Bird King is a stunning new novel that tells the story of Fatima, a concubine in the royal court of Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret—he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat toChristian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety,The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.

The book was very enjoyable hut i couldn't really connect with the main character.

The Bird King was a historical fantasy book set in 1491 in Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain. There were many things I liked about it, however, there were also many things I disliked- that's why I gave it three stars.

It was about Fatima, a Circassian concubine who fled from the palace of Granada with her childhood friend, Hassan, who could make magical maps that altered the layout of places in real life. They were escaping from the Spanish Inquisition who wanted Hassan dead as they claimed he was a sorcerer. They went on a sprawling journey through Spain with the help of the jinn and people they met along the way to seek refuge in Mount Qaf, a mythical place which they had read about in a poem called The Conference of the Birds that was supposedly ruled by The Bird King.

I liked the way Fatima pursued the hope of a better life and took her life into her own hands. She definitely came a long way in the book as she went from a sheltered girl to a fierce woman who knew her own worth. However, she was a bit annoying at times and the entire book was from her perspective so that did frustrate me slightly.

The plot of the book was very, very slow-paced and although the writing was simply gorgeous there were lots of things that happened that just felt a bit unnecessary and could have easily been missed out without affecting the understanding of the story and characters. Also, many parts of the book were really confusing and even when I reread the same bit again and again I still had no idea what was going on! The magic was barely explained and the ending happened so quickly I barely understood what was happening.

I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Some reviewers have complained about the lack of plot, and I think that's a fair criticism, although in this case I didn't mind it too much. It bothered me more that at times the descriptive writing was vague and careless enough that it was a little hard to follow when each scene and setting transitioned into the next (which is a not insignificant problem when one of the central plot drivers of the novel is a person's ability to draw maps that creates new spaces). But the characters of Fatima and Hassan are nicely drawn (although Wilson relies a bit too heavily on their relationship at times; yes they're charming together, and fascinating, and unusual as a pairing, but we also need more than this central relationship for the novel to fly. Wilson has clearly set out to revise some of our expectations of not only sexuality and friendship in two characters of 15th century Muslim Spain, but also the possibility of religious belief to contain metaphysical multitudes. To an atheist reader this aspect of the novel isn't perhaps as fascinating as the author thinks, but at the same time it felt like an appropriate element of a novel that is so clearly interested in medieval mysticism of all kinds. All in all, this book was promising enough that I will definitely look out for whatever Wilson produces next.

A man who can draw maps that bend the shape of reality is an intriguing premise. Now station that man in the year 1491 during the Granada War in the palace of the last Sultan, the Alhambra, which is under siege from the Spanish forces, and you have got a story with tremendous potential. Regrettably, Wilson falls short of delivering a mind-blowing novel.

Let me first highlight the things I enjoyed. Wilson’s luminous prose stands out in The Bird King. After a long time, I have come across a book where I highlighted several paragraphs of sheer beauty. If only I could print every one of those paragraphs and frame it on my bedroom wall.

Further, Wilson has etched out relatable characters. Fatima, the royal concubine, who has never set foot out of the palace, risks the safety and comfort of its walls to save her only friend, Hassan. Forced to reconsider her decision at every step, she remains loyal to her friend and emerges as a natural-born leader. Hassan, too, transforms into a brave young man from a diffident fellow. The book delivers a profound message – almost all religions have the same belief but all of us are squabbling over petty things.

However, elegant prose and believable characters don’t maketh a good story. Wilson has congruently mixed fantasy elements such as jinns and Hassan’s reality-altering powers to historical facts. But the pace is slow. It’s only during the chase sequences the pace quickens which is followed by long periods of slumps. Every time I put down the book; I didn’t feel any urge to pick it up quickly. Moreover, I am ambivalent about the ending. Lastly, you need to have a pretty good knowledge of European history (I didn’t!) to understand the conflicts in this story.

The Bird King is recommended for literary historical fantasy fans. There are graphic descriptions of gutting a rabbit and an almost rape scene as well, so tread with caution.

I was a huge fan of Wilson’s 2012 debut novel “[book:Alif the Unseen|13239822].” I loved her heady concoction of Middle Eastern fantasy and modern hacker culture woven into a truly unique and spell-binding tale. I have been waiting for seven years for her second novel, and here it is at last!

It started out in a promising fashion. Set in Granada in 1491, Fatima is a concubine in the court of the sultan. She is a “possession,” and has little freedom, but manages to befriend the royal mapmaker. Hassan has an unusual gift - he is able to alter reality with the detailed maps he draws. Hassan and Fatima become good friends and find comfort in each other’s company but word of Hassan’s gift travels to the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. The emissaries of the Spanish Inquisition are sent to Granada to learn more about this Muslim sorcerer who could be a threat to Christian rule. Fearing for Hassan’s life, Fatima urges him to flee with her - and flee they do, along with a few unusual characters to guide their way. One of the characters is a recycled protagonist from “Alif.”

Here’s the thing - I love Wilson’s imagination, but the storyline became increasingly random and unmoored. It felt very much like she was making it all up on the fly, and had no idea herself where she was going with her story. The longer it went on, the muddier and more convoluted the plot became.

A 3 for me - a ton of potential, interesting characters and some good world-building, but an ultimately aimless and strangely un-affecting epic journey. I liked it, but didn’t love it. Here’s hoping her next book is back to “Alif” level storytelling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC of this novel. My review, however, is based on the hardcover edition.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy,

It was well-written, with a great atmosphere but the pacing dragged.

I did not really know what I was expecting when I asked Netgalley for a ARC and got it, I know of G. Willow Wilson vaguely, I mostly like what she says on Twitter and I was aware of her other book Alif the Unseen and Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal they are things I want to read enough to have purchased them but haven't found the time to enjoy them yet.

I took so long to read this I worried Netgalley would pull the title, but that's not why I bought this. I liked the title, there's stories about bird kings, perhaps there was a phoenix behind this (there's is and yet there is more to the story besides). It's a bit like two friends fleeing the world and hoping to run away to Atlantis.

I do often read books from this time period, but I fell in love with the way this is written, the natures and characters of Fatima and Hassan, who and what and how they loved drives the story as much as running away from a Spanish Inquisition and Luz with a mote in her eye.

Vikram was a delight, this protective jinn who snaps and snarks and growls and yet is as loyal to them as Fatima and Hassan chose to be to each other. I was as surprised by Gwennec was Fatima and Hassan were. Azalel was a joy sneaking in to rescue them and leaving them at the sea just as a cat would.

Hassan and Fatima have played a story game on the basis of a poem about birds going to find their king on the mountain Qaf on a island. Much to their surprise Gwennec knows a similar story of bishops on the island Antillia and it's cities Aira, Antuab, Ansalli, Ansessali, Ansodi, Ansolli, and Con.

I had fun imagining what types of birds Fatima, Hassan, Gwennic might be.

I wish more had been said as on Catalina and Luz's friendship or relationship, she seems to disappear, left behind like the sultan and Fatima's mistress Lady Aisha. I had hoped for some interaction between the sultan's wives Maryam or Hurriya and Fatima but there was not any encounter and the sultans's sister Nessma was hostile.

Hassan's map making getting them into and out of trouble by turns, though I wish we had better gotten to know and care more about the couple of dozen characters that turn up towards the end better before the end comes.

The Bird King is a historical fantasy set during the final days of the Reconquista in Spain. According to outsiders Fatima has had a relatively pampered life in the Alhabra palace, but Fatima has never experienced freedom, serving the sultan of Granada as his favorite concubine in the palace harem and his mother as her close companion. Her "security" is jeopardized as the sultan prepares to surrender his lands to Ferdinand and Isabella, rulers of the recently united Spain and she inadvertently betrays her beloved friend Hassan to the Inquisition, which believes him to be a sorcerer.

Hassan is a gay cartographer who regularly prays and meditates and has a narrow but powerful magic: He can create new shortcuts between places with his maps as well as draw locations he has never seen, including some which don’t become real until he draws them. Fatima and Hassan make a desperate escape, aided by capricious jinn, but the Inquisition seems always to be just behind them. Their only possible refuge might lie in the fragment of an old poem called the Conference of Birds (a real and very popular Sufi poem in Persian) which the two companions have pored over since childhood, about the mysterious island of Qaf, hidden refuge of the king of birds.

The Bird King started a bit slow for me, but once Fatima and Hassan were on the run I was easily pulled into Wilson's story. The world building is well-constructed, but I would have loved to have explored more of the jinns that Wilson created. I found the jinns to be fascinating. The real focus of the story however is the character development, particularly that of Fatima's growing understanding of the nature of freedom and responsibility. Wilson also delicately explores the concept of a love outside the physical through the complex and very genuine relationship shared by Fatima and Hassan. Luz, the Dominican lay sister who serves as an Inquistor for the Holy Office is terrifying and one questions her evil nature. As Fatima and Hassan reach the island of Qaf, the story also becomes an allegory of the contentious debate of immigration and freedom. Bringing all of today's relevant topics makes The Bird King a thoughtful and beautiful historical fantasy.

My opinion:

The lush language and amazing world building made me love this book. The Characters were unique and the idea of love written in this books was so special, that it made me overthink other books.

The idea of love in “the Bird King” is, that you can love someone as a partner so much and be attracted to him/her, even when you are not sexually attracted to them. That was great to read about and should be mentioned more often in books.

The characters were perfect and I loved their relationship, because it was never perfect but always strong and honest. Their friendship felt so real and had no boundaries and no judgement, which I really loved. Also the historical background mixed with some magic was a great idea. But if you ask me: The magic came a bit short and the fairytale about the Bird King was great but a bit unfocused.

But I disliked the story line and idea a bit. It was hard to keep on track in the story AND understand why the story is so long und sometimes a bit confusing. I think the author could have made her message clearer with a less boring story line and more understandable actions. Sometimes there were characters and about ten pages further they weren’t even important any more. I also missed a REAL Lovestory, because that would have made some actions more understandable and give the reader a better happy end.

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.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a both that’s quite so lush and strange as The Bird King.

It’s an unusual mash-up of the exotic, magic, and historical fiction; it’s a slow-burner, but rewards patient reading. It also contains some of the freshest twists on heroes, damsels in distress and villains that I’ve recently had the pleasure to read.

So: what’s it all about? We’re in the Alhambra, just before the fall of the last ruler of Granada, and the Spanish are closing in. Fatima, one of the last concubines in the palace, wants to run away with Hassan, a gay mapmaker whose maps can make doors and places appear out of nowhere and vanish into thin air. Together, they set out on a journey of a lifetime, to a place that doesn’t exist, pursued by Luz, a representative of the Spanish Inquisition- who thinks that Hassan is a devil.

Bit weird, right? But somehow, it works. The history of this semi-fantastical land is rich and the mythology is detailed and lush. I loved reading about Hassan’s talent, the culture clashes between the Muslims and the Christians, and the palace. To be honest, I would have been happy if this whole book had been set in the Alhambra, but there you go.

Things take a turn for the interesting once we leave, though. Fatima and Hassan’s epic quest to find Qaf, the island of the Bird King, rapidly becomes a boring succession of narrow escapes and also eating animals raw.

It only really comes to life when Fatima faces off against Luz, who gives off a kind of dark magnetism that really draws you to her. The respect and the fear these two women feel for each other is palpable and makes for fascinating reading; the same goes for Fatima’s relationship with Hassan. We don’t see these kind of platonic relationships too much in literature but the love these two clearly feel for each other bleeds off the page- though it’s never idealised, and they often fall out. The relationship between these two make up the backbone of the novel: no other romantic relationship ever comes close to matching it.

With all that, it’s almost a shame when we move from the real (that is, the highly interesting in its own right fifteenth century Spain) to the fantastical. In fact, it is a bit of a shame, because the first half of the book is at its most interesting when you can see history playing out alongside it. The island they (spoiler) make it to feels a little bit… off, especially the idea of ten of these castaways living for the rest of their lives cut off from the outside world. It just doesn’t sit right with me, which is a shame.

That aside, Wilson’s writing is beautiful, and the love story between Fatima and Hassan- as well as the hate story between Fatima and Luz- make this well worth a read. Long live the Bird King!

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.