The Firebird

by Sophie Masson

Ivan, youngest son of the powerful, greedy Tsar Demyan, is resigned to a life of misery and humiliation at the hands of his brothers, brutal Yuri and sly Igor. And to add to his torment, Yuri has been promised in marriage to the girl Ivan has loved all his life�the bold and beautiful Princess Tamara, daughter of a neighboring king.Then one day, Ivan sees the legendary Firebird in his father's garden. The tsar, obsessed with the beautiful creature, orders his sons out in a quest to capture it and bring it back to the palace. Determined to find the bird before his brothers do, Ivan embarks on a thrilling journey of reckless endeavor and strange magic.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction

249 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2001

About the author

Born in Indonesia of French parents, Sophie Masson was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in Toulouse, France, when she was just a baby and lived there till she was nearly five, when her parents came back from Indonesia and took her to Australia. All the rest of her childhood, the family stayed in Australia, with frequent trips back to France, and this dual heritage underpins a good deal of Sophie's work.
Sophie's first book appeared in 1990 and since then she has published more than seventy books, for children, young adults and adults. Her books have been published in Australia, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. She has also had many short stories and articles published in newspapers, magazines, and online journals.
Sophie holds a BA and M.Litt in French and English literature, and a PhD in Creative Practice. A former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, she is the current Chair (2021) of the New England Writers' Centre and of the Small Press Network. She is also the President committee of the New England and North West sub-branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, NSW branch.
Sophie has received several awards for her creative work, including the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, and the YA category of the Aurealis Awards. In 2019 she received an AM in the Order of Australia for her significant service to literature as an author, a publisher, and through service to literary organisations.
Sophie's website is at www.sophiemassonauthor.com
She has a writing blog at www.firebirdfeathers.com
Her You Tube channel, with trailers to many of her books, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLa...
She is also a regular contributor to the popular authorship blog Writer Unboxed, www.writerunboxed.com

Reviews

[Cassandra Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Firebird is a sweet little story that draws on Russian folklore -- not something I've read a huge amount of, although a lot of the tropes were familiar (such as the kind and honest younger son suffering from abuse at the hands of his cruel and conniving older brothers).

I found The Firebird an interesting but somewhat straightforward tale; there was only one plot twist that I didn't see very far in advance, and that was because we are only told the relevant information shortly beforehand.

Ivan, said youngest son, is passive and mopey to the point that I wanted to shake him. Once his quest begins, he shows a little more strength of character, but he is intuitive, rather than logical, and kind to the point of naiveté. Because The Firebird is a fairytale, that naiveté becomes a strength rather than the debilitating weakness it would be in a more-realistic genre. (Is that too cynical of me?)

I quite like Tamara, who is betrothed to Ivan's evil oldest brother in order to save her kingdom, a betrothal that is the cause of Ivan's moping. I think I'd have preferred this story if more of it were from her perspective.

A lot of the chapters are unfortunately from the perspective of Ivan's brothers, Yuri (the cruel one) and Igor (the conniving one). They are irredeemably evil -- though, again, they would have been worse in a different genre -- and I didn't really enjoy their chapters very much. It was entertaining seeing them being led around by the nose by a bunch of elderly Russian magicians, though.

What kept me reading (well, listening to my audiobook) was that Sophie Masson's writing is delightful: her descriptions are as vivid and beautiful as her story is whimsical. At the end of the day, I think this is a "it's not you, it's me" situation -- I did like The Firebird but I didn't love it as much as others who dig this genre will.

(I felt a bit the same about Neil Gaiman's Stardust, which is a similar story, with a similar protagonist. I think maybe "fairytale" isn't my thing? I'll stick to "fairytale retellings" instead.)

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok.

The main character was passive to begin with and wasn't terribly interesting after the first couple of scenes.

There were a great many fantastical elements and minor characters which made the story unnecessarily complicated as I began to wonder what further roles these elements and characters were going to have. (The answer is "None".)

I felt the storytelling got in the way of the story itself. I didn't feel that the story of Princess Folfeux and her husband paralleled the story of Ivan and Tamara in the way both stories were presented to me as a reader: the theme wasn't embedded in the story as well as it might have been.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Firebird is a story made up of a range of Russian folklore, from the gnome-like 'leshis' to the greedy tsar to the Firebird itself. It reads like a fleshed-out fairytale, and contains much of the imagery and themes associated with such stories — everything from the persecuted younger brother to the quest narrative to the malevolent ruler of the land to the magical helpers and objects. For this reason, the story may sound rather predictable (and often it is), but as Russian folktales are not often delved into by Western writers, it is worth tracking down for a read.

Ivan is the youngest son of Tsar Demyan, and bullied by his two elder brothers, the brutal Yuri and the sly Igor. Tsar Demyan has the greatest garden in all the world, the centrepiece of which is the apple tree from Avalon on which grows a single golden apple. This apple is said to give the one ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book. I frequently have the compulsion to read it over again. And when I have less to do, I'm going to act on it. It's magical and mystical and has some strong female characters, as well as a more timid hero, who becomes just as strong. Ten out of five stars :)

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should never have picked up this book in the first place because I am not a fan of this author. However, I was quite enjoying the story until the animals started to speak. I just HATE this, so when Ivan began conversing with a panther then a wolf, that was it for me!!!!!

[Karine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the world

[Haylee]

cool book
a little to dramatic

[Elly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. A beautifully written fairytale.