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Firebird
In the fantastic land of Markovy east of Europe, in the Iron Wood filled with werewolves and other unpleasant creatures, in the house of the dreaded Bone Witch, lives a young orphan girl named Aria. Her life is changed forever when a foreign knight, Sir Roye de Roye, enters the forest pursued by enemies, carrying with him the most precious artifact of the kingdom, the egg of the Firebird. Aria saves him and falls in love with him, and it becomes her mission in life to restore the egg to the firebird's nest. And so she and her knight set out on a wonderful quest, filled with spectacle, romance, and hair's-breadth escapes, to save the land and find a life together.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 16, 2006
3 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
R. Garcia y Robertson
86 books29 followersRodrigo Garcia y Robertson (born 1949) is an American writer of historical and fantasy fiction. He holds a Ph.D in history and taught at UCLA and Villanova University before becoming a full-time writer. In addition to his eight novels, he has had numerous short stories published in fantasy and science fiction anthologies. He lives in Mount Vernon, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
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August 29, 2009Huh. I'm surprised by the bad reviews of this book. I thought it was charming and very well written, with a uniquely skewed real/fantasy world and great characters. I liked Aria and Roye de Roye, but the secondary characters like the Bone Witch and the Killer of Children were especially memorable. I get what some people are saying about the sex -- to me it was just the use of the word "teenager" that was a little icky. Obviously in the context of the time/place, this kind of sexuality/brutality would not be considered uncommon. I guess it's just distasteful for some people to have to think about it. Anyway, I really enjoyed the read.
June 9, 2023
It's...finally...done. I really had to force myself to finish this.
I didn’t dislike it but something about the writing style never pulled me in. He starts with lofty prose about an iron forest and an ancient witch who wears child bone necklaces, and her foster daughter who meets a wounded knight and falls in love. After a strong start, the middle meanders all over Russia and parts of the middle East. That whole section lost me as everyone was criss crossing paths and getting mixed up with tartars, Turks, shahs, there was just too much being thrown in 🤷♀️
There’s a good story at the heart of it though. A quest to return the Firebirds egg. A roc riding killer of children demigoddess. Sorting out the throne at the kremlin. The writing is a little bit stiff but solid. There were plenty of parts that I actually liked too (the eroticism not included because while I get that it was a big theme, it seemed a little gratuitous to fixate on the young age of the girls). There were some high action scenes too although overall I’d classify the plot as “meandering”.
What I probably liked most was the dry humor thrown in. At one point a sexually ambiguous shaman woke up the corpse of a prince and for some reason the entire scene was hilarious.
It’s hard to classify the characters since they mostly seem like prototypes. With some satire thrown in regarding old Russian gender customs that I hadn’t seen in that light before. I guess the harems make sense if women are seen as sinful and bearing the burden of any wrongs against them 🤷♀️
I think if you’re interested in this one, go in expecting something with an older style of prose and adult feel to it. It’s a shorter standalone novel which is something that you don’t see as much these days. The print in my arc copy is tiny which did not help my overall enjoyment. Overall I didn’t love Firebird but I’m glad I gave this one a try.
I didn’t dislike it but something about the writing style never pulled me in. He starts with lofty prose about an iron forest and an ancient witch who wears child bone necklaces, and her foster daughter who meets a wounded knight and falls in love. After a strong start, the middle meanders all over Russia and parts of the middle East. That whole section lost me as everyone was criss crossing paths and getting mixed up with tartars, Turks, shahs, there was just too much being thrown in 🤷♀️
There’s a good story at the heart of it though. A quest to return the Firebirds egg. A roc riding killer of children demigoddess. Sorting out the throne at the kremlin. The writing is a little bit stiff but solid. There were plenty of parts that I actually liked too (the eroticism not included because while I get that it was a big theme, it seemed a little gratuitous to fixate on the young age of the girls). There were some high action scenes too although overall I’d classify the plot as “meandering”.
What I probably liked most was the dry humor thrown in. At one point a sexually ambiguous shaman woke up the corpse of a prince and for some reason the entire scene was hilarious.
It’s hard to classify the characters since they mostly seem like prototypes. With some satire thrown in regarding old Russian gender customs that I hadn’t seen in that light before. I guess the harems make sense if women are seen as sinful and bearing the burden of any wrongs against them 🤷♀️
I think if you’re interested in this one, go in expecting something with an older style of prose and adult feel to it. It’s a shorter standalone novel which is something that you don’t see as much these days. The print in my arc copy is tiny which did not help my overall enjoyment. Overall I didn’t love Firebird but I’m glad I gave this one a try.
dnfs
February 7, 2024DNF @ p. 64
“Women were silly sinful creatures, morally void and naturally promiscuous, best kept under lock and key.”
lol bye
“Women were silly sinful creatures, morally void and naturally promiscuous, best kept under lock and key.”
lol bye
November 24, 2010
I'd picked this up to try another fantasy writer, particularly one from Tor Publishing. There were things I liked a great deal about the book, such as the setting -- Markovy lies just beyond the Iron Wood, east of Europe. And has werewolves and other baddies. This meant that there was some grounding in our world (Sir Roye de Roye is from France, and has the knack of always choosing the losing side) and there were references to other European countries that I know and have visited in my own once-upon-a-time.
Aria and Sir Roye are on a quest to return the firebird's stolen egg.... etc, etc. I found that though there were charming scenes and moments, I was just a little weirded out by the continual reference of Aria (and other girls) as teenagers, sexually involved with adult men and women. It colored my view of the story. Lolita of the fantasy world, I guess. (Not that the scenes were out of place for the story or "time period" -- just my own discomfort thinking of Aria the age of my granddaughters, romping around with some adult.)
I did like the Russian/Ukrainian fairy tale aspects. The Bone Witch had a strong Baba Yaga vibe.
Aria and Sir Roye are on a quest to return the firebird's stolen egg.... etc, etc. I found that though there were charming scenes and moments, I was just a little weirded out by the continual reference of Aria (and other girls) as teenagers, sexually involved with adult men and women. It colored my view of the story. Lolita of the fantasy world, I guess. (Not that the scenes were out of place for the story or "time period" -- just my own discomfort thinking of Aria the age of my granddaughters, romping around with some adult.)
I did like the Russian/Ukrainian fairy tale aspects. The Bone Witch had a strong Baba Yaga vibe.
March 31, 2008
Aria, the mischievous foster-daughter of the Bone Witch, comes across a French knight wandering in her forest. They fall in love, but have no time to luxuriate in it. Numerous armies are massed against them, for the knight has stolen the Firebird's Egg, the curse and luck of Russia's rulers. Aria and Sir Roye go on a quest to dispose of the egg, but are separated almost immediately. They each have their own adventures, but are finally reunited and manage to throw the egg into a pit of fire.
It's not a good book. The author regularly jumps from one character's perspective to another's within the space of two sentences. Whenever he gets bored with a plot, he inserts a randomly chosen deus ex machina to sweep the characters off to the next bit. In the first few chapters, Robertson y Garcia writes detailed characterizations for Aria and Sir Roye. As the chapters go on, however, he loses interest in their particulars and focuses on their sex lives instead. There is a lot of sex, and it's written in a rather prurient way...it felt gratuitous and a bit exploitive.
It's not a good book. The author regularly jumps from one character's perspective to another's within the space of two sentences. Whenever he gets bored with a plot, he inserts a randomly chosen deus ex machina to sweep the characters off to the next bit. In the first few chapters, Robertson y Garcia writes detailed characterizations for Aria and Sir Roye. As the chapters go on, however, he loses interest in their particulars and focuses on their sex lives instead. There is a lot of sex, and it's written in a rather prurient way...it felt gratuitous and a bit exploitive.
December 27, 2009
Firebird is written in a similar fashing to an old tale from King Arthurs time which would typically make me like it. It has all the elements of a quest and of a double standard when it comes to women; however I was surprised by the dynamic between the main character and her "true love" as well as by a lesbian scence...
Quote: Women like to be wanted, even if they don't want you.
Quote: Women like to be wanted, even if they don't want you.
June 10, 2017
A lovely, though definitely ADULT reformulation of the Russian Firebird legend, with lots of late medieval fantasy-history thrown in.
I LOVED the lead characters in this story. Aria and her knight are both perfectly people of their time and place, but also people with minds and spirits of their own. I recommend!
I LOVED the lead characters in this story. Aria and her knight are both perfectly people of their time and place, but also people with minds and spirits of their own. I recommend!
September 15, 2018
This book was tightly plotted and fun. Yet somehow it felt too light. Jaqueline Carey writes medieval Euro-fantasy in all the best ways: she makes you feel like you're there and that the cultures are real. This book felt too superficial in comparison. It bounced between arguing that women ought to have more freedoms to saying they maybe shouldn't (which I hope and believe was probably tongue-in-cheek). More troublingly, I felt that the book didn't take rape as seriously as it ought to be taken. But since it took regime change and murder and war on a similar somewhat non-serious note, it's hard to say if that was just a strange tone. Overall, it had problems but I might recommend it to the right person. A person mature enough to not be too upset when this book is not mature enough to handle its own content.
February 23, 2019
Could not get into this book. I wanted to love it but I found no beauty in the writing. I was hoping for something more lyrical. Just a preference.
August 7, 2012
SPOILERS FOLLOW: I stopped reading this book after about 150 pages so my review will not be extensive but I felt I had to write one. I usually love this kind of book but this one was just awful. The main female character in this book is a teenager (Aria) and the main male character (Sir Roye de Roye) has got to be pushing thirty, maybe forty. Their relationship gets very sexual very quickly. I was grossed out by this. Other lovers of fantasy may really enjoy this book but I found it too creepy and "sex offenderish". Seriously, Sir Roye do Roye should have to register his address. It's that gross.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2016
I love fantasy that is based on folklore and fairy-tales, and Garcia y Robertson delivers, giving us the fantastic land of Markovy, reminiscent of the folklore of Kievan Russia. Anyone familiar with that subject will recognize the novel's hero, the orphaned Aria, and her mistress, the Bone Witch, in the story of The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa, though the novel is nothing like a strict retelling of that story. Garcia y Robertson's often humorous writing style easily fits with the subject without sounding antiquated.
June 23, 2015
A bagatelle, not my usual fare. The story was enjoyable enough. The plot was a little disjointed, and the author mixed fictional places with actual countries and cities in a way that was a little confusing. The characters were kind of fun, and things certainly did not go well for them for most of the book. I'm glad I read it because it's been sitting around my house, but I don't think I'd recommend it. Fantasy readers would be better to stick with the Tamora Pierce books or, the ultimate, the Narnia series.
August 18, 2011
This could have been a good fairy tale, but I found it badly written. Characters seemed to die off or disappear and show up later without any reason. There were too many extra scenes that added nothing to the story but a few extra chapters.
I had read another series by this author and really enjoyed them so some of my dislike is because this is so different in story and style to the previous works I have read by R. Garcia y Robertson.
I had read another series by this author and really enjoyed them so some of my dislike is because this is so different in story and style to the previous works I have read by R. Garcia y Robertson.
January 5, 2017
A unique book unlike any I've read previously. Aria is a charming heroine who is given the seemingly impossible quest of returning the stolen firebird egg to it's nest on Burning Mountain. Along the way Aria meets many people, (some who become valued friends and allies), travels and learns about the world, as well as grows and develops into the brave, responsible, caring, resourceful, and smart young woman we leave at the end of the book..
July 26, 2009
I loved the setting and a lot of the story, but ultimately the frequent references to the the heroine and other female characters as teens were too disturbing in the context of the sex scenes with a male character whose age was never given but who was clearly an adult, ruining my enjoyment of the other elements of this book.
September 20, 2009
First of 4 books of a series: part Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court [but female & at the time of the War of the Roses:], part Timeline, part Time Traveller's Wife [but only forwards:]. Fast paced action, much contrasting of lifestyles between the modern and 15th century England.
March 1, 2017
This was an interesting book. The thing I was most interested in, however, was its 2006 publication date and the fact that it was withdrawn from a public library on June 5, 2006. The library can't have had it for very long; I acquired it at a used book store.
August 8, 2008
You suck!!! Such a disappointment. The very beginning was interesting ... the rest annoying and badly written.
April 2, 2009
SOOOOOOO BAD. Author forgot which characters had died in previous chapters and suddenly they were back again and then next chapter, oh wait they are dead again.
March 5, 2010
I picked this up because of the cover. It is a good adventure fantasy with Russian type fairytale (think Baba Yaga) elements.
August 27, 2012
Fun easy read!
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December 27, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13099636
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13099636
June 15, 2016
I've tried reading this a few times and just can not get into it :(
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews