Customer Reviews

Firebird

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up this book from a recommendation from Realms of Fantasy magazine. I rented it from the library just in case it was less than stellar.

The book actually is pretty good. I was close to not giving it a chance from the wistful writing at the begininng. It's primarily told through the eyes of a seventeen year old girl and it was reading like a teen novel. I gave it a chance and it got more adult in nature, right down to the gratuitous sex scenes. It was nothing too vulgar or graphic, but some of the scenes read like a romance novel.

The main characters are engaging and likeable, and the story is solid. While there isn't a real concrete villian, the story is more about the journey of the main charatcers to deliver the firebird's egg. They go through enough trials to make up for the lack of a real engaging storyline and a hated villian.

I wouldn't recommend a full purchase at 30 dollars though. The story is short, and not very epic. It's worth a price at paperback or a rent from the library though.

I'd bought a copy of this book on a whim at a library sale, not really expecting anything other than a typical fantasy story. Before I started reading it, however, I looked through the reviews, which gave me something of an idea of what I was getting myself into.

(Proceed with caution: Spoilers ahead)

The writing itself is actually really good, and before long I was flying through the pages and surprising myself at how often I'd laughed. Still, once I got to the sexual parts, my enjoyment was taken down a few notches.

That's not to say I'm prudish, but the way it was portrayed in the book seemed silly to me. I realize the sex was supposed to be a big part of what the author wanted to write about, but it would have been perfectly fine without much of it, I think. And it wasn't only how often it came up, but how consistently great it was. Sure, this is a fantasy novel, but having it be a bit more realistic wouldn't have hurt. (And of course, at the end, the heroine loses her virginity and it was nothing short of amazing. In a perfect location, no less.) That sort of thing yanks me out of my suspension of disbelief and sends my eyes rolling almost out of their sockets.

The plot was also sort of meandering, especially around the middle, and the ending felt somewhat rushed. It came as no surprise that Aria was a missing princess, or that she'd be reunited with her long-lost lover, or that she wouldn't end up becoming a sacrifice and instead was saved by Persephone and almost got laid by Eros. The actual nitty-gritty parts of the story were great, but it seems like, as a whole, it was only a so-so book.

And for some reason I thought that the author was a woman the whole time I was reading Firebird. It actually wasn't until I had finished the last page and flipped to the author bio that I realized otherwise. At least all the stuff about the sex makes more sense now.

A pretty fun read overall, but not really satisfying.

I am amazed more people haven't found this book! I love when a writer doesn't over explain a time period, premise, etc., but simply drops a reader into a world. This is one of those novels. At no time does The Firebird insult the intelligence of its readers. It creates a creative space and time that is at once magical and believable. Much like Gaiman, it pulls on folktales and myth, but never in a precious way. If you enjoy more adult fantasy, (think Sandman, rather than Twilight,) then I think you will really enjoy this work.

I just finished this book and went online to see what else this author has written. I was shocked to see that the book has not rated a unanimous 5 stars! I thought it was superior to most of the fantasy that I have read. I love fantasy and feel that most of the time I have to put up with mediocre writing to enjoy what are otherwise good stories. (Not all the time--there are definitely some great fantasy writers out there as well). This story was beautifully written. I found myself pestering my husband to read this paragraph or that to him--just for the poetry and imagination of it. (He hates when I do this--so I am selective in my pestering--but this one was a must!). Beautiful writing and a story and characters and an attention to cultural differences that were all fascinating. I am off to find out what else this author has written...

In the North Woods lives the Bone Witch and her slave Aria who can use magic to become invisible until she moves. She never goes out at night because dark creatures roam the area including troll-bears, lycanthropes, sprites and wild animals. One day she happens upon a wounded knight Sir Roye and gets him to safety in a nearby cave. The Markovites are after him because he stole the Firebird's egg when the king was killed and his brother tried to take the throne from the young Prince Ivan.

The Bone Witch knows all about Aria and Roye's attraction for one another and the need to get the egg back to its nest on Burning Mountain in the Iron Woods, a place more frightening than the North Woods. Aria is freed from slavery and she and her knight start for Burning Mountain but they are captured by Tartars. Roye fixes it so Aria escapes and he joins the Tartars in their conquest. Aria, thinking her love is dead, finds herself rescued by Persephone and Eros when the powers that be want to take her into custody so they can find the egg. She has many adventures and so does Sir Roye before the two are finally reunited in the Kremlin where the Firebird Egg is kept. Somehow they must steal it and put it back where it belongs without getting killed by their many enemies.

This stand alone fantasy epic is one of the best quest books written in some time. The storyline takes place in a land that would be considered Russia in our world except for creatures of mythos and legend. R. Garcia Y. Robinson has written a wonderful romantic fantasy that will appeal to the fans of Mercedes Lackey and Judith Tarr.

Harriet Klausner