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A review by emtees
Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book started out feeling like pretty generic fantasy but it did some really interesting things by the end of the story. It is the story of Jan, a young unicorn prince who is rebellious and constantly getting into trouble, disappointing his father. Jan goes off on a pilgrimage with the other young unicorns of his tribe to be initiated as warriors and learn their destinies, and along the way his view of the world gets expanded and complicated, and the story gets more complex.
The thing that initially struck me about this story was the worldbuilding. This is a story with no significant human characters or presence. The main characters are unicorns, and there are also other sentient non-human species - wyverns, gryphons, pans, etc. Though we do eventually learn that humans exist in this world, at this point the story is completely about the animal characters, and the author sets up an interesting world where these creatures all have complicated histories and societies, with tribal divisions and wars between the different species. I especially liked that she made the concept of history just as messy as it is in the real human world - the unicorn Circle Jan belongs to has very specific ideas about their own history and their nature as a species, but over the course of Jan’s journey, those ideas are challenged, and we learn that much of the history is wrong, either because of deliberate lies or because of the degradation of memory. I really liked the handling of those themes; they aren’t simplified at all for a younger audience. As the story progresses, it expands from what seems like a pretty straightforward tale of war between peoples and a destined leader to one with a more nuanced view of destiny, leadership and war and peace. I’m curious to see where it’s going; the last couple of chapters are clearly setting up a story that did not feel complete at all in this book.
The main character, Jan, is likeable, even though he hits a lot of fantasy hero beats (other than, you know, being a unicorn.). But those beats are played out really well, demonstrating that solid execution of tropes can be just as enjoyable as subverting them. This is a Chosen One story - that’s not a spoiler, you learn that in the first chapter - and none of how that reveal happens will be shocking, but a lot of the details are still unique and interesting. Also, the writing itself is really beautiful in some places. A lot of this book felt more like mythology than fantasy, which I mean as a compliment.
The ending of the book has some clumsy info-dumping and deus ex machina execution, as well as a brief POV shift that didn’t work for me. But those are really the only criticism I have.
The thing that initially struck me about this story was the worldbuilding. This is a story with no significant human characters or presence. The main characters are unicorns, and there are also other sentient non-human species - wyverns, gryphons, pans, etc. Though we do eventually learn that humans exist in this world, at this point the story is completely about the animal characters, and the author sets up an interesting world where these creatures all have complicated histories and societies, with tribal divisions and wars between the different species. I especially liked that she made the concept of history just as messy as it is in the real human world - the unicorn Circle Jan belongs to has very specific ideas about their own history and their nature as a species, but over the course of Jan’s journey, those ideas are challenged, and we learn that much of the history is wrong, either because of deliberate lies or because of the degradation of memory. I really liked the handling of those themes; they aren’t simplified at all for a younger audience. As the story progresses, it expands from what seems like a pretty straightforward tale of war between peoples and a destined leader to one with a more nuanced view of destiny, leadership and war and peace. I’m curious to see where it’s going; the last couple of chapters are clearly setting up a story that did not feel complete at all in this book.
The main character, Jan, is likeable, even though he hits a lot of fantasy hero beats (other than, you know, being a unicorn.). But those beats are played out really well, demonstrating that solid execution of tropes can be just as enjoyable as subverting them. This is a Chosen One story - that’s not a spoiler, you learn that in the first chapter - and none of how that reveal happens will be shocking, but a lot of the details are still unique and interesting. Also, the writing itself is really beautiful in some places. A lot of this book felt more like mythology than fantasy, which I mean as a compliment.
The ending of the book has some clumsy info-dumping and deus ex machina execution, as well as a brief POV shift that didn’t work for me. But those are really the only criticism I have.