Wilson's newest book was worth the wait. Thoughtful, moving, and inspiring, I rushed through it as fast as I could, only to reread every other sentence to savor the writing.

What starts off as a story, becomes almost a spiritual journey. Not just for Fatima, the main character, but for you too. 

Reading this book was a beautiful experience. 
It's a magical fantasy written into history. 
It's ultimately about love: the deepest blessing, the most painful burden and the greatest sacrifice.
Wilson's writing style is such a pleasure to carry you through from scene to scene. 
Her imagination takes you beyond whats on the pages and really calls upon you to look inside of yours to complete the plot. 
About 1/2 to 3/4 of the way in, I did think about stopping. I lost interest for a while as it seemed to slow, but I kept going and she pulled me back in.
At first, I felt like the ending was a letdown. But after mulling it over for a few hours, I think ended perfectly. 
I considered giving it 4 stars because of the lull I faced and my indecision over the ending. But I do think it deserves the 5. It got me emotionally invested, had me delve into my psyche and feel as if the world were in fact magical while reading. 

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for a free ARC of The Bird King for my honest review.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

A historical fantasy that weaves a story of love, friendship and the fight for freedom.

Set in 15th century Europe – specifically the Emirate of Granada (modern day Southern Spain/Gibraltar/Northern Morocco) - The Bird King follows the story of Fatima, one of the Sultan’s concubines and her mapmaker friend Hassan. At the fall of the Muslim Caliphate to the Crown of Castile, Hassan’s life becomes in danger as his harboured secret – being able to draw maps of places he has never seen or been to – is seen as an act of sorcery by the representatives of the now Christian Spanish Monarchy. 

In order to save her friend Fatima sets out to help Hassan escape – forcing her to leave her life of shelter and luxury but also servitude. Fed by a story from their childhood, a poem about the Bird King, the two embark on a journey with the aid of a Jinn to escape and reach freedom. 

The book sits on the line between being a historical fiction and a fantasy novel with the majority of the book containing hints of fantastical and magical elements before plunging headfirst into fantasy towards the end.
 
The fast moving plot is eased off across many pages of Wilson’s beautiful and poetic writing; rich with cultural, geographical and historical knowledge of the era to set the scene which I loved. The distinct and often witty personalities of the various characters you meet throughout, each bring something new to the story. The friendship between Fatima and Hassan is wonderful. 

Personally I did feel like the last 20% of the book was a bit rushed and confusing and sort of disturbed the pace of the book as a whole, nonetheless it was an enjoyable read. 
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars

Á wonderful and well-written historical fantasy novel. The story is enchanting and absolutely magical.

Fatima and Hassan are both trapped in their lives in different ways: she is a concubine born into a luxurious sort of slavery, a favored companion to the king, while Hassan must hide his homosexuality as a mapmaker with inexplicable magic powers. When the Inquisition comes to negotiate the surrender of a weakened Granada, one term is clear: Hassan must be given over to the charming but suspicious and cruel Christian woman. Rather than let her friend die, Fatima vows to escape her life of privileged servitude and breaks free with the help of a jinn. From here, it's a journey of magical realism as they head for a place they only know from myth: the island of the King of Birds.

I've enjoyed G. Willow Wilson's run writing Wonder Woman, and I'm so delighted to have discovered her prose as well. This historical fiction is well-researched and lushly detailed without hitting you over the head with textbook information. It provided a different side of the Spanish Inquisition than what I have experienced with Western culture, and I found the tale utterly enchanting.

This book by G. Willow Wilson is set during the Spanish Inquisition and follows two characters; Fatima and Hassan, who are trying to escape a terrible fate. It is essentially about love and friendship and trying to find peace and happiness in a world at war.

I really enjoyed this story. I think the main theme of love and friendship was portrayed beautifully. Fatima and Hassan have what seems to be at times a quite toxic friendship but it is clear that when it comes down to it, they really do love each other and want happiness for the other.

I really like that they are shown to have flaws in their relationship especially considering they way they live and how they would have grown up, I think it makes for a more realistic story. When other characters are introduced that put a strain on their friendship you begin to see how much they have relied on each other throughout their lives and how much they have to learn about the real world.

I think Fatima as a main character is great. You can see that she is flawed and that she is very sheltered and quite selfish at times, but throughout the journey she is constantly learning to be more thoughtful and independent which leads to some wonderful character growth even though she is still flawed by the end of the book.

This just goes to show that their story is not over; I like to imagine that Fatima spends the rest of her time learning from others and continuing to grow.

This one was unfortunately not for me, I was really into it for the first 30% or so, while we still are in Granada and things sounded almost more like historical fiction with a touch of magic.
However it then went into Fabulism territory and I really wasn’t here for that. I just really don’t enjoy reading Fabulism/Magical realism, there’s something about it that really annoy me, I can’t really explain. I guess I need my fantasy to have some kind of rules and logic, and it’s not what you get with Fabulism. A lot of things don’t make sense, are never explained, happen suddenly but with a MC not being surprised at all even though this is all new to them too.
So yeah, that’s something that doesn’t work for me, but if you like Magical realism or Fabulism then you might really like this book, because that’s my main gripe with it, I wasn’t aware that’s what it was (my bad I guess, but I read it as an ARC 2 months in advance so there wasn’t that many reviews yet)

Let’s dive into the book itself :

I really liked our main character, Fatima, but as a whole I really thought the characters were not developed enough. I barely understood the other main character Hassan, and even by the end his actions and what he said sometimes made no sense to me, mostly because I didn’t know him, even after 400+ pages… And don’t even get me started on the other few characters, I could not tell you their way of thinking at all and I couldn’t pinpoint their personalities really. This is definitely not a book with character development… Unfortunately because I think it would have been much more interesting if it had been.

Some things about the interactions between the characters still don’t make sense to me also. For instance two characters are mad at each others for a big part of the book and I do not understand why. The original reason seemed pretty trivial especially as they had such a strong and old friendship ? and it just never get resolved and I still don’t know why no one says anything especially as the reasons don’t make sense ?? I was, and am still, SO confused. Feels to me as if it was just put there so the author could talk about love and friendships later on.
Another example : at one point Fatima is scared because they might be killed and so… Hassan tells her he is now dating that other guy, so that should help her be less afraid… like, he literally says that and I ??? Like, how are those things related in ANY way?

There were a lot of decisions and things happening that never made sense to me. A non spoilery one to give you an idea : One of the character gets a horse and that horse actually helps him get out of a difficult situation. But he decides to call the horse Stupid, but for no reason at all, like, this horse doesn’t sound stupid and even if he was a little… I mean, just give that horse a normal name ? It’s so weird too because that horse is then called multiple times through the story and it’s so out of place to have him be called Stupid, when that’s really not the tone of the book. If we had been in a kind of comedy like My lady Jane or a Terry Pratchett then I guess why not, but that’s really not it.

Some things are never explained : a couple of times we get dialogues like “they looked at each others and they knew” or “Fatima knew what it meant” …. But the reader doesn’t know ! It’s so frustrating to read lines like that and be like “?! But, please tell us ??”. Like, ok now I know the characters know something but it would be good if at some point I would know too and… I finished the book and I don’t.

The main thing that confused me, and that’s really all about the Fabulism part and so you might not see a problem with it but… As you probably already know the story is all about Fatima and Hassan trying to escape the inquisition. And they have heard many years ago the beginning of a tale about the Bird king… so they decide to find it. But ok first… Really ? It’s a tale from an old book, why do you put your life on the line for it ? But then many things happen, Hassan doesn’t believe in it so much but Fatima always does and I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY. There’s no ground for it, there’s no reason you should put all your hopes on a fairytale you haven’t even heard the end of. The whole world isn’t magic, she only knows that Hassan have some magic in him but that’s it, it’s not a fantasy world, it’s our world with a hint of magic. So why is she so sure ? I need more, I need to understand why characters do things and not just read about them doing the things. This way it seems to me the author is just making characters do what she needs them to do because that’s where she wants the story to go, but there’s never any ground for it, and no reason behind the decisions of the characters.

Finally, there were the Jinn characters that just popped up whenever it was convenient for the MCs to get saved… It’s, again, a problem I have with Magical realism as a whole but… I need more explanation. I still don’t even know what they look like. Does Vikram look like a human ? Like a dog ? I don’t get it. And that Cat-lady Jinn that pops up to save a character and then just disappear again and is never even mentioned again… What was up with that ? How can they come into Fatima’s dream like that and why isn’t she more surprised ?? So. Many. Questions.

And then there’s all the other inconsistencies : they are never sea sick even though it’s their first time on a boat (I mean it could happen but it’s weird that it’s not mentioned at all), they are never described as hungry even though they never eat and we know they don’t have any food for at least a day if not 2, a character gets tortured with some kind of blades under his fingernails but then it’s never mentioned again : that character seem to be using their hands just fine during the hours and days after it happened….

So, to sum up, it wasn’t an enjoyable read, even though I really wanted to love this story… I was so happy when I got approved for an arc ! But yeah, really not a kind of story for me and I’ll be more careful in the future. I did like Fatima, and all the part of the story that were grounded in reality and that sounded more like an historical novel. As for everything else, it really wasn’t my kind of read and I do think we need more explanations for a lot of things because as you can see from this review, I’m left pretty confused and with a lot of questions…

Note to maybe edit something in the ARC : there’s no tides in the Mediterranean sea (or it’s not actually visible to the eye because it’s so small). So a couple of scenes here don’t work.

CW: homophobia, alcoholism, harem, and religious persecution


When I decided to go for this ARC, I wasn’t entirely sure that I would love it. It sounded interesting, but magical realism isn’t usually my thing. However, the book called to me. I knew that I had to read it.

And, I wasn’t disappointed.

The book takes place in late 15th century Spain, around the time of the Inquisition, when Jews were run out, and the Christian rulers finally retook Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in the country. All of that is the backdrop to the story, so it’s a rather tense time in the Muslim community. And, this book features a diverse Muslim cast that made the story.

Fatima is a Muslim woman who was born and raised in a harem. She is one of the concubines of the sultan, but a favorite. She’s also incredibly feminist, which I loved reading. It never felt anachronistic to me, although it likely was. It was just a whole lot of fun to read quotes that felt so applicable to today.

It’s convenient for girls to be angry about nothing. Girls who are angry about something are dangerous.

On the other hand, there’s Hassan. He’s gay, quite funny, and an absolute sweetheart. He also has a tendency to drink a lot. For the period and the reputation that Islam has as being very against LGBTQ+ relationships, it was very refreshing to read it as being something everyone accepted. Did they necessarily agree with it? No, but it wasn’t a huge deal. It was just Hassan, and they all loved him.

Hassan also draws maps. Specifically, maps to places that no one can go to. Which, when the Spaniards come to inform the sultan that they’re taking the city from him, gets him labeled as a sorcerer… as well as a sodomite.

The intense friendship between Fatima and Hassan was so refreshing. Two people who would be shunned from most people banned together because Fatima didn’t want her best friend tortured and executed. I loved their friendship. It just made me smile when they interacted together because there was so much love between them. I honestly felt — although, as a white person take this with a grain of salt — that it was positive Muslim representation. It’s hard to come by that.

Not only that, but there was great commentary throughout the story. I already mentioned the feminism — and there are more quotes that I could pull out from it that would show that, but I’ll reframe. It also discusses the impact of colonialism (perhaps that’s the wrong word, but it’s the one that comes to mind) on the Muslim community in Spain with the Reconquista.

“Even our stories are not our stories. We tried to tell our own, Fa, and all we did was end up telling theirs.”

Recently, there have been more books talking about the impact of cultural erasure, and I love it. It’s such a needed topic because it happened and it harmed so many diverse communities. So, it was nice that this was pointed out and was a common theme throughout the book.

Another major theme was Christianity doing bad things. When I gave the backdrop of the story, there’s a lot there. The Inquisition trying to root out the Christians who weren’t true Christians. The religious persecution against Jews in Spain and then Muslims when Granada fell. Introduced with the Spaniards is Luz, a woman who is with the Holy Office who decides to persecute Hassan. Later in the book, another Christian character comes along who has this to say about what fellow Christians are doing:

“A holy office! They mutilate and terrify and shame and say they do it out of love. But they’ve killed love. They will burn down the Church itself so they can rule over the ashes.”

I was struck by that quote because that’s something that I’ve felt before. I don’t count myself as a Christian, but it was what I was mainly raised in, so I’m familiar with it. So, when I see people using Christianity to do horrific things, while completely ignoring the message of love and going with the fire and brimstone parts, it hurts. And I just loved that theme.

As for the plot, I didn’t love it as much. At least, I didn’t love the ending. The journey was so beautiful and I could have read thousands of pages of them going around because I loved the characters. Fatima and Hassan were, as I said, brilliantly written and worked so well together. But, I realized that the book was getting closer and closer to the end with no resolution coming. It was wrapped up in a couple chapters and it left me feeling unsatisfied despite how much I loved the book as a whole.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. It was well-written and engaging with amazing characters and themes. It’s definitely a book I’d like to own just so I could go through and reread it. Especially the ending so I can see if I get something more out of it the second time.

The Bird King is a historical magical realism fantasy set during the last days of the Reconquista. In the beginning of the book, there is an element of despair and melancholy as the combined forces of Castile and Aragon start to close in on Granada.

The book stars Fatima, a slave in the sultan’s harem and her dearest friend, Hassan, a mapmaker who can create maps of places he’s never seen and open secret passages. Fatima dreams of freedom, having been born and lived her entire life as a slave. She acknowledges that relatively speaking, she’s privileged compared to most freeborn women. She’s given the best food, fine clothing, and even an education. And yet, she is at best a bird trapped in a gilded cage.

In Granada, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela send emissaries to negotiate a surrender treaty with the sultan. This is the last stronghold of Al-Andalus, Muslim Spain, now on its last legs. An air of melancholy permeates the atmosphere in these chapters. There is the sense of waiting for the city to fall and the upheaval sure to come after. The Inquisition is talked about in hushed, fearful whispers, seemingly far away but close by.

The arrival of the emissaries throws everything into chaos. Suddenly, Hassan is a wanted man, branded by the Inquisition as a sorcerer, even as she befriends Luz, a former baronesa turned lay-sister.

The Bird King contains fantastical elements although it mostly stays grounded in reality for the first two-thirds of the novel. It is in the last third that it really becomes solidly fantastical. I really enjoyed it this way as the author had a way of vividly painting a picture of what Granada may have looked like just as it was about to fall. I have enjoyed reading historical accounts about the Reconquista so this part, the historical fiction part intrigued me a lot and I personally enjoyed it more than the fantasy parts. However, I will stress that the fantastical parts are still enjoyable.

The characters were also wonderfully characterized. They each have their own quirks and personalities. Fatima is more than a bit stubborn and hard-headed – a fact which can tend to get  her in trouble. Still, she is loyal and steadfast in her friendship with Hassan. Honestly, it’s such a wonderful friendship, founded on platonic, friendly love as Hassan is homosexual, and according to Fatima, the only one who doesn’t look at her lustfully. So their friendship was truly a partnership founded on the respect two people have for each other, their love and willingness to save each other.

The plot does move quickly although the lush, gorgeous prose can trick you into reading slower. This is truly a beautifully written book with a distinct literary feel. Combined with the themes of sacrifice, freedom, and love, it makes for a truly spellbinding read.

Overall, I highly recommend The Bird King for fans of historical fiction, magical realism, and literary fiction with fantasy elements. It’s a lovely book about a slave’s flight to freedom and a friendship she would give everything up for.

The Bird King it’s a interesting and curious  book.
It was well written, but there were moments when I couldn’t connect with the story. At the middle of the book it was a little slow and boring. 
The story was kinda rush at the begging and as I sad there were parts when I just simply couldn’t connect with the story.  I usually love books like this but this was boring, it seem like everything were constantly repetitive.

This book was enchanting. Well written, magical, historical, and great character development. I look forward to reading more by Wilson!

A Circassian concubine in Alhambra, at the time of the last sultan, learnes of a threat to her gay friend and decides that they must run away in order to save him.
The writing is beautiful and lyrical, and the story is a mix between historical fiction, fantasy and magical realism. The first part, taking place in Alhambra and the desert, I found very good and greatly enjoyed it, but the second part I didn’t like that much, maybe because it felt rushed and possibly also because of too much magical realism.

I received an advance copy of The Bird King from Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. The summary of the plot seemed like it was right up my alley. Fantasy and history. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish it. I got to 36% and determined that I just lost interest. It's very slow pace, in my opinion, and sometimes just drones on. I liked the beginning when Fatima was in the palace and interacting with the sultan and the various other characters. Once the story line in the palace finished, I got tired of the journey pretty quickly.

I'm disappointed because the world building was great and the premise itself was so promising. It's nothing against the author, really. It's really more with me and what keeps my mind locked on a story.

The Bird King is absolutely magical, stunning, and thrilling. For me, it was the kind of book that I really wasn't sure about at first. It's slow to start and build, and then when I was through the setup and into the actual plot, I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. It tackles tough issues while also being an elegantly written adventure with characters you aren't likely to forget.

What Wilson does is make this a book about everything; while it hits on issues that are important to me (feminism, for one), the story isn't quite *about* those issues. Rather, the story is an adventurous, magical realism, fantasy type of story, but there are beautiful lines in here that made my heart sing when I read them. These are very small moments within the story itself, but they are what really made me fall in love with the characters and the world that Wilson creates within these pages, because it is a world that is fully realized and wholly complex.

Fatima is the main character and is the very embodiment of what I think of when I think of strong, female characters. She's naive in some ways, delicate in others, but so very strong and determined to succeed in her mission to save her friend and get him away from the people who want to harm him. I love how it's her determination and love for her friend that helps her change and grow into the person she was always capable of being.

Mostly, I love how myth and history weave together to bring this story into play. It made me want to learn so much more about the time period in which it's set and the culture of the main characters' worlds. I was thinking about the story for a long time after I finished and still can't quite get it out of my mind. It's easily one my favorite reads of 2018 and I would not be surprised if it's a favorite release for this year. It's just so smartly done, I can't say enough good things about it.

The book began with such a beautiful promising story which unfortunately deteriorated through the wild journey. I wish I could say I liked the wild journey and the interesting concept of djinns more than concubine's narration of palace lives and her escape through magic doorways but I didn't. The chase felt pointless and exhausting. There were some really great moments and some that confused me to no ends.

Things I liked - 

The atmospheric setting of palace life, Fatima's rebellious character, Hassan unexplained talent, their love of another. The musing and questions, the characters ask about beliefs and how humans get to set the fate of another life through their own beliefs & the raging war that never seem to end.

"They were probably women," muttered Fatima, fanning her face with the sleeve of her robe. "If they were men, we would remember their names.” 

Things that bothered me - 

I couldn't grasp what the author meant by Fatima being the Bird King, then saying that everybody was one. Hassan seems to be attracted to every male present, he acted horny in the presence of all males even the half dog-human Vikram. He seemed to have no standards for himself.
The magic system was confusing and convenient and then confusing again. The time was never explained, and the ending was rushed unfairly.  

Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the fourth non-Western speculative fiction novel I read in a row - The Bird King, though, is somewhat set apart from the others, as it weaves just a pinch of magic into the historical events leading to the fall of Muslim Iberia. It's a highly unusual story for sure! And I started reading it without the faintest idea where it would lead me.

Strongwilled protagonist Fatima is absolutely captivating to read about, as she does everything to save her best friend Hassan from the Spanish Inquisition, their pursuers hunting him down because of his talent of "creating" places - paths, corridors, tunnels, shortcuts - by drawing them on maps. But Fatima also fights for herself and her own rights. The besieged Alhambra constitutes the starting point for this adventure, and that's... an amazing idea. As was the jinn lore. In fact, The Bird King brims over with beautiful ideas and concepts, enriched by Wilson's lovely writing.

But (and this is actually a big "but" for me) I was thrown out of the story by the many climaxes it reached. And... it's hard to explain why, but that just wasn't satisfying. There is conflict - emotional, religious, political, ethical, every conflict imaginable - but in the end it adds up to a philosophical dispute of sorts, and I just wasn't into it. Perhaps it just isn't fantasy enough for me? Perhaps it's too surreal? Because in any case, I can't argue that it's not a good book. I would in fact recommend it without reservation. But the last third of it simply wasn't my kind of novel.

I adored this book. The setting was exceptional, the characters were beautiful, the writing style was atmospheric. 

Fatima and Hassan's friendship/relationship is probably one of the best m/f friendships I've ever read. I loved it so much.

I also loved the villains. It's so relevant for this day and age and political setting in the U.S. It was heartbreaking the struggle that they're going through with the Inquisition. What I didn't like about Luz was her "reason" for being so evil. There ARE evil people who feel as she does and it's not due to anything supernatural.

Otherwise, it's a fabulous book, highly recommend.

First of all, the cover is lovely. It's an eye catcher for certain. The story is also lovely. Granted, it's slow at times, but the words within themselves are simply beautiful written. The premise, Muslim during the Spanish Inquisition, is one that is unique. The setting lends itself to a magical feel. Fatima was engaging and kind of different, which I liked. The story is very good, but don't try to rush through this one.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed slipping into this little fantasy world.

I was drawn to this one because I have enjoyed some of Wilson's previous books. This one sounded intriguing, both for the historical aspect and the fantastical element. It took me a little while, but it wasn't long before I was truly hooked.  I feel like I learned so much from this book. I don't know much about medieval Spain. This has got the beginning of the Inquisition, and the threat to both our main characters is truly terrifying.

The strongest part of the book is definitely the characters. Both Fatima and Hassan were clearly drawn, fully dimensional characters with believable motives and flaws. I loved their relationship. Then there was the jinn. I liked that he was so untrustworthy, and yet so appealing. 

If there was one thing that made this a little bit hard to stick with I think it was the pacing. It seemed a little uneven. But I would recommend it for those who want to try a mix of historical fiction and magical realism.