The Bride of the Blue Wind

The Sisters Avramapul #1

by Victoria Goddard

What the gods desire, they take.

When the gods take a person, there is not much one can do about it, even if there seems something strange and terrible about the god. Through the gates of the eastern mountains pass only the gods, the dead, and the heroes of legend. Mere mortals do not go farther than the tombs lining the roads of the Middle Desert.

Except for the daughters of the Bandit Queen of the Oclaresh, that is. The lord of the Blue Wind took their youngest sister. When Pali and Arzu discover that there is something gravely wrong, they decide that the gods work through the hands of men, that justice binds everyone—god, man, djinn, or demon—and that they are not afraid of the road east.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Short Stories, Retellings, Fiction, Mythology, Adventure

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2017

About the author

I walked across England in 2013, fulfilling a long-held dream. I'm currently the sexton of an Anglican church in Nova Scotia, which means I am keeper of the keys and opener of doors (and shutter-off of alarms). I have a PhD in medieval studies from the University of Toronto, looking at poetry and philosophy in the works of Dante and Boethius -- both the poetry and the philosophy come into my stories a great deal (and occasionally the Dante and the Boethius).

I like writing about the ordinary lives of magical people on the other side of the looking glass ... and the extraordinary deeds of ordinary folk, too. Three of my favourite authors are Patricia McKillip (especially 'The Riddle-Master of Hed' trilogy and 'The Bell at Sealy Head'), Connie Willis ('Bellwether' and 'To Say Nothing of the Dog,' which latter would make my top-ten books on a desert island), and Lois McMaster Bujold ('The Curse of Chalion' and its sequels).

Reviews

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a retelling of Bluebeard which is full of color and rich cultures (based on Eastern or Middle Eastern mythologies, from what I gather). And it's wonderful!

Three sisters born in a desert oasis go their separate ways, and one marries a mysterious godlike man who wields strange powers and commands the winds. She becomes godlike herself, but it doesn't mean that life is now easy. And so the two other sisters need to step in. They'll go through all hell to get their sister back. And the third one will not sit idle waiting either.

The setting is so incredibly colorful and interesting, I really really enjoyed it. It reads like a fantastic fairytale, except - I'm no fan of those! Which is why it was incredibly surprising that I enjoyed this one the way I did. The story itself is beautiful and very poetically written. It seems to connect the old and the new - a fairytale-like, mythological world, and yet one where women have to be strong and stick up for each other because that's the only way to stand up to violence and oppression. The ancient themes intersect with things that are still so relevant today.

I really enjoyed it and I am thankful to have received this as a freebie a while back. I will definitely be following up the rest of the stories set in this world because apparently, there are more!

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[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming to this right after finishing The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul... oh, Sardeet.

Love these stories, love these worlds, love this author.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Sisters Avramapul" are three. The oldest, a weaver of magic who turns carpets into airborne rides. The middle, a bad ass warrior. The youngest, a beauty who the gods cannot resist. I'll wrap up my Victoria Goddard reads with The Sisters. They are more like tales from the brothers Grimm. Quite the imagination Goddard has.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella that retells the story of Bluebeard mixed with Middle Eastern mythologies [djinn, etc] and focused on a group of three sisters. It's a nice short read, and while the writing style is fairly simplistic it also has a definitely fairy tale type quality to it which fits the story that the author is telling. I liked the overall story but thought some of the POV switches were fairly disjointed and found that sometimes threw me off. There is a second novella in this series but I think this works well by itself as a standalone story and I think that I personally will be leaving the series here. Definitely an interesting concept, but not necessarily one I feel the need to explore further.

[Brenda Lower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read, but very interesting. Definitely going to be finding more by this author and especially this series.

[Ayisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once upon a time, there were three special sisters. Then they went on side-quests to become even more special. Two succeeded but one ended up needing saving. So her two sisters that were now super special went on a quest and saved her with the power of their specialness. The end.

There were some good ideas floating around in this fic and I liked the bond of sisterhood but this was overshadowed by the levels of Mary Sueness that made me cringe while reading.

[Amelia]

I enjoyed reading this novella. It had a distinct fairy-tale feel, with a cast of larger-than-life characters moving across a fantastical stage. Djinn and magic filled the rest of the space. The point of view shifted between the three sisters, with the older two taking a more active role in the second half of the story. The landscape and magical obstacles seemed to keep the characters' human struggles at a distance, which might make it difficult for a reader to sustain interest in them over the course of a much longer story. It will be interesting to see how the family dynamics play out in the other books of this series.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my heart hurts!!! Sardeet!!!!

I might need to go read the ending of RPA so I can see her happy 🥺

[SR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bluebeard riff, which is always good, in a brilliant quietly funny deeply horrifying way.

[Rosemary Nagy · Rating 2 out of 5]

you already know I love Victoria Goddard. I’m obsessed with this world and all of these characters and this series and I will read basically anything she writes and like it.

HOWEVER.

This one was icky.

The whole premise is the two older sisters going to rescue their younger sister, who has been taken as the bride of the wind god and is unhappy. Fine premise, right?? Could’ve worked fine if they were maybe all adults, right?? Would’ve been the exact same story but much less creepy if they were all adults, right???????

Except they are not all adults, and we get way too much info about this fourteen year old girl ~making love~ with her ancient immortal husband. And how this fourteen year old girl is basically breeding stock for this god but that’s fine and dandy because ThEyRe mArRiEd but it never mentions that she’s a literal CHILD?????

The plot could’ve gone EXACTLY the same if she was 18. Literally nothing would have changed except it wouldn’t have been gross and pedophilic and made me go ick ick ick ew whenever it mentioned this child having sex with her ancient and immortal creep of a husband.

Bottom line: would’ve been a great story if it wasn’t about pedophilia

[OldBird · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tale of three sisters each with their own destinies to fulfill... Or so it would seem until one of those "Happily Ever After"s they're working towards turns out to be not so happy after all.

The story is told very much like a piece of folklore, the themes evoking the flavour of 1001 nights. I have no problem with this step back approach, where characters are more about how they act rather than think as it works to enhance the fable style. However the long sentence structure could bury the details, and I spent a few times re-reading passages trying to understand just what was going on. I feel a bit confused by many of the events and assume there must be more symbolism than I could understand purely from this story alone.

I feel like I'm missing too much to really appreciate the story, but I respect how the author carried the traditional tone of voice throughout.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5. Thought-provoking, lyrical, and an excellent re-imagining of Bluebeard. Take notes, The Four Profound Weaves — this is how mystical fairy tale novellas with dream-like atmospheres ought to be paced and constructed. This was a very satisfying read.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5)

[Joe Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much as I've been enjoying author Victoria Goddard's sprawling Nine Worlds fantasy saga, I've found this title to be a refreshingly distinctive change of pace for it. In lieu of her typical writing style, the novella is told in an exaggeratedly poetic fashion, well-befitting its desert fairy tale atmosphere of sorcery, caravans, and djinn. It's the first story I've read in this setting that really drives home how the titular Nine Worlds are in fact radically different realms -- an exciting prospect both in its own right and for when characters from those separate origins periodically travel beyond their local borders, a la crossovers in the MCU or Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere.

Like something out of the One Thousand and One Nights, the writer paints a picture for us of three daughters from a particular nomadic tribe who go off to seek their fortunes one-by-one as they come of age. The eldest sister studies to become a weaver of magical thread, the middle girl trains in armed and unarmed combat, and the beautiful youngest child is swept away to marry a god. Later on, when the first two receive word of the latter's distress, they take leave of their respective vocations to reunite and set off to aid her.

It's a loose Bluebeard retelling as well, so as Arzu and Pali are making their way towards her, Sardeet is exploring her new husband's divine house and learning its strange rules. When she becomes pregnant, she also starts seeing visions of silently pleading women around the halls, whom she gradually realizes are the ghastly shades of his butchered former brides. Thus even before her sisters reach her, their sibling must find a way to wrest power for herself and her unborn baby to avoid sharing her predecessors' fate.

I've seen some of this family's future already -- Pali and Sardeet Avramapul will someday go on to join the legendary Red Company, with many tales of their outlaw exploits before the Fall -- but the three heroines are a delight to meet here as teens, precociously courageous and fiercely dedicated to one another and each obviously quite proud of her siblings' differing gifts and ways of approaching a common problem. The book is on the shorter side and ends a bit abruptly, so I'll renew my critique from Goddard's Derring-Do for Beginners (which launched its own subseries within the wider canvas) that I think such installments should have been extended and presented as more complete entries for us, rather than doled out piecemeal like this. But overall, I continue to love these stories and how they interconnect.

[Content warning for sexual assault, childbirth, and gore.]

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[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Never once," said Sardeet, "did he ask me my name." [chapter 5]

I started reading this expecting a novel: it's a novella, the first in Goddard's 'Sisters Avramapul trilogy', featuring the three daughters (Sardeet, Pali and Arzu) of the Bandit Queen of the Oclaresh. This is the story of how Sardeet became the bride of a powerful spirit, the Blue Wind, and how Pali and Arzu rescued her. It's a version of the Bluebeard story with an Arabian Nights flavour, intense and poetic.

I think I would have liked it better if Sardeet (later to be known as the most beautiful woman in the Nine Worlds) had been older, but she's fourteen when the Blue Wind makes her his bride -- and yes, she's consenting and happy (or thinks she is), but I couldn't help thinking of her as a child.

I'm looking forward to the other two novellas in the trilogy, though. Possibly I will like Pali more if I read about her youth: and I know so little about Arzu, the Weaver...

For the 'A book with an adjective in the title' prompt of the 52 in 52 (2025) challenge. Blue!

[Sehar Shouib · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a feeling I really would have enjoyed this book if it weren't for the writing style. The premise of the story was interesting. However, the execution and writing style just was not my cup of tea. It had an old-world feel to it, which is cool and interesting, but hard to follow for me. I found myself rereading passages multiple times and still not fully understanding what was happening. I also felt uncomfortably disconnected with the characters, like I was following them for such a long time without really knowing anything about them. I will say this though: I was pretty impressed at the author's ability to stay consistent with this odd style throughout the book. I imagine that must have been challenging to do, so much respect to the author on that note. I'm always here for stories about sisters kicking butt to help sisters. This story in particular, though, went straight over my head.

[Jacqie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Around the World in 52 Books 2023: A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com (Marie Brennan)
Read Round the World 2023: Middle East (okay, it's a fantasy Persia/Arab peninsula but it's my challenge and I'm not going to finish it unless I get some second world fantasy in)

I've been wanting to try Victoria Goddard for a while but her books are mostly humongous. I ran across this novella and I'm glad to say that I'll be seeking out more books by this author.

This is a retelling of Bluebeard, but it's also a book about sisters. There are three sisters, as is proper for a fairy tale. The oldest, Arzu, learns to be a fabric artist. The middle sister, Pali, goes to learn the ways of the warrior. Sardeet, the youngest and most beautiful, goes to the desert to offer herself to the gods (or djinn or whatever you'd like to think). She is taken to wife and goes to live in a blue glass palace where she can ask a question only if she pays for it with a day of silence and can enter every room but one.

The sisters have such a bond that the older two discover their younger sister is unhappy and the two of them undertake a quest to rescue her. They go on a journey which tests their skills and wits.

Sardeet becomes pregnant. A lot of the book is about how scary it can be to be pregnant and feel out of control, with no one to help you. There are other entities in the castle that want to try, though.

The language was gorgeous and rhythmic, the author understands and has mastered fairy tale conventions, and I'll have to look for the next book in this series.

[Valfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eerie, dream-like Bluebeard retelling that was very effective. I think Victoria Goddard works best at this novellette length, actually - her longer works have good moments, but feel overall too unfocused and meandering, even the novellas.

Petty gripe: The moment at the end where one of the sisters is like, "if he had sex with her now it would definitely be rape, even though they're married, because she can't consent in that condition" pulled me right out of the story, because it was such a weird intrusion of our modern cultural conception of consent into a fairytale-ish fantasy world that clearly has different sexual mores - this is a setting where it's understood that teenagers might just be scooped up by supernatural beings to be married and bear their children and never be allowed to leave, and everyone basically seems to accept that, and now you're bringing consent into it?

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goddard's novellas are small bon-bons of reading pleasure that linger in the mind the way that fine chocolate lingers on the palette. In this tale, set in her sprawling multiverse, a bride is carried off by a divine bridegroom. Mixing elements of Bluebeard and Psyche, the reader may worry about the bride but luckily she has two brave sisters who are not about to let their statue of their littlest sister cry tears of sorrow. You don't need to know how this tale hooks into the larger world but it's a delight if you have been reading stories of the Red Company or a great setting off place to explore more tales of magic by the author.

[Rain On · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarquably short novel that manages to hit all the right vibes. It can be read as stand-alone and everything stays pretty easy to understand and sympathize with. The worldbuilding is intriguing and well-done, and the characters are all very interesting. I loved that the girls were understood to be destined from greatness from the beginning, and even when that greatness did not manifest in the way it was expected they were still supported and allowed to grow into themselves. A powerful story.

[Kylie Westaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retelling of the legend of Bluebeard with two absolutely fierce and fantastic sisters and one beautiful but lazy and unwise sister.

Quite intense storytelling - definitely not light reading, even though it’s a slim volume.

Possibly a bit too intense, and could do with a little more fleshing out at times? It didn’t make me want to read any more Victoria Goddard, even while I appreciated the world building and the sisters characters.

[Jess Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella manages to walk that tricky line between a lyrical folktake retelling, and not making the whole thing so poetical that the plot and characters are out of reach. I liked the introduction to the sisters Avramapul and the promise of stories to come.

On the other hand, it's a pretty short book, and I also have OPINIONS about how female desire is depicted here in contrast to the (almost chaste?) male POVs in other books...

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

Very interesting short story but honestly not all that captivating.

The writing style didn’t appeal to me that much, but I did think the context and story was interesting.

It’s written as a more lyrical and poetic tone from the other books and is a retelling of the story Bluebeard.

I think that the main issue I had was that this was a story that was mostly setup.

Overall interesting but looks like it mostly is prep for the next few books

[Naticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely novella told like a fairy tale or legend - I almost wish I had read this out loud, though at the most action-packed parts I think the POV switching would have been confusing. I loved the setting, especially as it's not one I'm very used to, and loved the feeling that getting to know legends before they were legends and were instead just sisters.

[Dahabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gave off fairy tale vibes and the writing was unique itself. Its very short, but it suits its length since the story is able to provide tension and intrigue without bogging you down with information. I'm hoping to read The Hands of the Emperor by this author soon- I might also read a few more of their short stories.

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really wonderful short story in the 9 Worlds universe, a prequel to the Red Company. What I loved was the fairy tale aspect — flawlessly mythic, but keeping the traditions of testing in order to achieve impossible goals. Loved that while it calls on familiar tales (Bluebeard, genies, hill of glass), this is a wholly original story.

[Tânia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by Middle-Eastern mythology and the fairytale of Bluebeard, The Bride of the Blue Wind is a retelling in which two sisters will go through hell and back to save their younger sister with no need of a knight in a shinning armour. #femalepower

[Queen Talk Talk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale worthy of Scheherezade.

Names are important. This is a captivating story! Beautiful prose in an enthralling storytelling rhythm. Like all of Goddard's books; the reader is left wanting to know, "What happens next?".

[Margaret S. Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new myth, written in traditional story-telling fashion

Short but sweet, following traditional story telling patterns, it will be interesting to see where this takes goes. At this point the characters are still myth.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool retelling of Bluebeard

We get to see Pali’s family in this fairy tale, in a world of fairy tales. I love the feeling throughout that a happier life is waiting for her elsewhere, even though she seems happy enough here….