The Bird King is an epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition.

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 to Christian 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.

*I received a free copy from the publisher via Bookish First and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*

I read sample of this on Bookish first and I really enjoyed what I read. I read other books in that time era so I know there is some political things happening as well.

Knowing all that I dove into the story, that I started liking while reading the sample.

I really enjoyed the world, that Wilson created it was very colorful and pretty descriptive.  I loved the characters just as much if not even more so. It was so easy to get into the world and relate to the charterers in some way. I also enjoyed the story a lot and yet I wished I had more of it.

That being said I felt like that there was way too much background of the political war brewing and happening on the book. Yes, there was but in the end I wanted a fantasy and not a history book. This is what it felt at times. While some of it would have been okay and I read in other books about, I think it could have been balanced more.

Overall I enjoyed the world, story and people but some parts just seem to long and tiring with too much historical politics dumped in.

I rate it 3 ★

Will be available March 12th 2019

Amazon *** B&N 

What an absolutely beautiful book, not only is the cover stunning but the story itself is as visually stunning as its exterior. From the exotic setting in Morocco to the fabled shores of the isle of Avalon the story is told in such splendid detail you can’t help being swept along throughout.

The characters are as colourful as their surroundings weaving together humans and mythical creatures alike all culminating in the quest to find the fabled Bird King.

I loved this book to the point I’m struggling to review it without spoilers and to do the story justice. If you enjoyed books such as Robert Dinsdale’s The Toymakers or Katherine Arden’s The Bear and The Nightingale then you won’t want to miss this one.

The Bird King will be published in the UK on March 12 2019 and can be pre-ordered now

A proper review to follow!

Thank you to G. Willow Wilson, the publishers Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As promised in my post on Tales From Outer Suburbia, I have continued my quest to read more of Shaun Tan's works. I managed to get my hands on The Arrival and The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook. I love how diverse Tan is and these two books definitely showcase his range of abilities. The Bird King features his art in a variety of formats from half-formed doodles to pastels. He explains that by continuously working on his art he is able to improve his craft. It's a way to brainstorm ideas which he may or may not use in future books. He also uses it as an exercise for drawing realistic portraits. It's really minimal text-wise but very informative for students of art which is really his intended audience I think. It's difficult to explain just how powerful The Arrival is because it felt deeply personal to me. Tan manages to tell this deeply moving story without any words whatsoever. The Arrival is the story of a man who leaves his family behind to travel to a new country where he hopes to establish himself and send for his family. Everything seems alien and surreal and Tan depicts this by using fantasy elements such as tentacled animals for pets, giants sharing the skies with skyscrapers, and huge men in hazmat suits who spray poison at the unsuspecting people scurrying below. It's the wordless story of fear of the unknown and the desire to find a better place to escape the troubles of home. It struck me right in the solar plexus. The art is beautiful, the story is stirring, and the delivery is spot-on. If you want to learn what it's like start over and feel like you've entered an unfamiliar landscape then I highly recommend this book. 10/10

From The Bird King: A haunting portrait of solitude.

Reminds me of Tales From Outer Suburbia.

From The Arrival: The fear of crossing into the great unknown.

Clinging to the familiar.

A look behind the scenes of Tan's work. A familiarity with Tan's stories/illustrations is not necessary to enjoy this book but might enhance the enjoyment of certain sections. My favorite pieces are his landscapes.