Review: The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen

The Bird and the Blade

by Megan Bannen

Publication Date: June 5^th 2018

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Find This Book: The Bird and the Blade

Rating: 5/5

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

I was *living* for this historical fiction stand-alone book. The Prologue into Part One confused me a bit because of the timeline, but I quickly wrapped my head around the story of the book and once I picked the book up after a good night’s rest I loved the flow Bannen picked. Like I said, the timeline is a little wonky at first, but it fits the story being told perfectly. The Prologue is two character’s meeting for the first time, and the beginning of Part One is the beginning of the climax of the book. The novel then switches between the journey leading up to the climax, and little snippets of the climax. You slowly discover bits of information about the three main characters, the recent history of the empire they live in, and LOTS of fun poetry/riddles. I wouldn’t want the book set up any other way!

What I really love about the novel is how seamlessly the story flows. It feels natural, even though this specific story didn’t occur. The topic is obviously well-researched to make the plot feel so smooth. The Bird and the Blade is actually a retelling of “Prince Khalaf and the Princess of China” a story about how a great king must be a competent warrior and extremely wise. A Princess tells 3 riddles that must be answered in order to be married, a Prince and his slave respond to the call- that’s as vaguely specific as I’m going to get so that I don’t spoil anything not given away at the beginning of the book! Basically, I really enjoyed how this non-mongolian story was able to be transplanted into the chaos of the Mongolian/Song turmoil and was able to use historical East Asian events to portray this new rendition of a Persian story.

Furthermore, the characters and their development in this story felt so natural. It’s amazing what traveling across a continent in close quarters will do to a small group of travelers. Namely, a Khan in exile, a Prince in exile, and their slave. The POV is from the slave, and the father-son dynamic seen from the outside was stellar. Jinghua (the slave) is full of mystery and creates a compelling main character, even for the parts of the story when you know practically nothing about her.

This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves history, riddles, and intricate relationships (romantically and familial).

Review: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Strange the Dreamer

By Laini Taylor

Publication Date:  March 28^th 2017

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Find This Book: Strange the Dreamer

Rating: 5/5

I was really put off by how horrendous the American cover is but I can’t believe I waited this long to read Strange the Dreamer! I really enjoyed Laini Taylor’s writing style but this was even better than Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Laini just has this way of creating awe and wonder like no other. She really captures the saying “It’s the journey not the destination”.

The prologue opens with a beautiful and sad scene that one doesn’t quote care about because it’s out of context, that the reader slowly starts to care about as the book goes on. And again, while some plot points might be predictable/foreshadowed it is the journey that matters and boy is the journey unexpected. I’ve been reading some contemporary recently and I’ve been thinking about how that has been refreshing in the face of my go-to fantasy genre, but this book brings refreshing takes to my beloved fantasy genre and its tropes.

Unfortunately, I really can’t say much without spoiling it, but Lazlo Strange and Sarai were fascinatingly intricate characters and I loved them. Even the side characters were incredibly developed and Laini Taylor’s use of language is dazzling (just like her developed world and the story she tells). Lazlo Strange is a rugged librarian who dreams of far off places, and surprise surprise he gets to go! This didn't happen the way I expected though, as with most plot points in the book. Lazlo wishes to discover the Unseen City that lost it's name, currently referred to as 'Weep', and I thought he'd just pack up his things and search for it like the Lost City of Atlantis or something- but he travels to Weep in a totally different scenario! Sarai is a goddess with a dark power which she uses to terrorize the people below who slaughtered her family. There’s a delicate balance of hurt between the ‘gods’ and the humans that it’s hard not to sympathizes with both sides. It felt very much like Greek Tragedy where there is no clear ‘right/good’ side, everyone has committed wrongs. Laini plays with the word monster in particular. All stories should be beautiful and contain monsters as her characters say, but I’m not sure if any character within the book could be considered monsters. They all have very real, complex, and understandable motivations, and labels don’t just perfectly fit people.

Seriously if you haven’t gotten around to this book already what are you waiting for??? If you love libraries, distant lands, dreams, and magic with a tragic backstory this book is for YOU.

“Good people do all the things bad people do, Lazlo. It’s just that when they do them, they call it justice.”   -Strange the Dreamer