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nostoat's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
cosmogyral's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ers's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Medical content
ejoa's review against another edition
5.0
For me, The Sunbird is Elizabeth Wein’s Prisoner of Azkaban: the third book in an already excellent series that goes out and takes it to another level. The first two books in her Lion Hunter series are beautifully written character studies and political intrigues, just like this one is, but they set up the backstory that allows The Sunbird to soar.
Like most Arthurian adaptations, The Sunbird is about a royal bastard who saves the kingdom. Unlike most Arthurian adaptations, this royal bastard is no king—in fact, his greatest asset is that no one notices him—and the kingdom he’s trying to save isn’t Britain. A plague is spreading across Aksum (modern-day Ethiopia) thanks to black-market salt traders who defy the emperor’s quarantine. Eleven-year-old Telemakos has the skill and the courage to root out the traitors—but does he have the time?
At its core, though, this story isn’t about political espionage or thrilling heroics. It’s about family. The loneliness of a biracial boy whose father has taken a vow of silence. The love and hate of two siblings still haunted by their brother’s premature death and their own misdeeds. The fear that the past will repeat itself. These characters are beautifully flawed. They make mistakes because they live in a dangerous (and largely historically accurate) world that forces them to make difficult choices, not because they’re careless or callous.
Is Telemakos too much of a prodigy, being able to smell blood from over a mile away and memorize sentences in a language he doesn’t know? Perhaps. But he’s also a fully fleshed out character with contradictions that run deeper than his dual heritage. He’s simultaneously overconfident and terrified. He’s allowed to weep out of both sorrow and joy. He runs, mud-spattered and bloody, into a highbrow party because he doesn’t know how to deal with his father’s affection—the same affection that he craves more than anything else. In short, he’s one of the most likable protagonists I’ve come across in some time, even more so because he is so in tune with his emotions. You don’t often see male protagonists who feel things deeply and are open about it.
Wein is also incredibly economical with her storytelling. Other authors would prolong Telemakos’s adventure, but what Wein describes is much more real: three months of brutality and loneliness for a few minutes of useful information—and with it, agonizing pain. She lets readers find meaning in the allusions and doesn’t waste words. In fact, silence is perhaps the biggest theme of the novel.
The only reason not to read this book would be if violence, especially toward children, disturbs you. It’s not gratuitous, but it is graphic.
It is an insult that this book only has 353 ratings and 73 reviews. I picked up my first Elizabeth Wein book in December and just finished my fourth. Safe to say, you can judge her books by their cover; if her name’s on it, you’re in good hands. I am both excited and terrified to move on to the fourth book in this series, The Lion Hunter. Partially because I don’t want this series to end, and partially because I’m afraid that it’s going to be Elizabeth Wein’s Goblet of Fire (in terms of how happy the ending is).
Like most Arthurian adaptations, The Sunbird is about a royal bastard who saves the kingdom. Unlike most Arthurian adaptations, this royal bastard is no king—in fact, his greatest asset is that no one notices him—and the kingdom he’s trying to save isn’t Britain. A plague is spreading across Aksum (modern-day Ethiopia) thanks to black-market salt traders who defy the emperor’s quarantine. Eleven-year-old Telemakos has the skill and the courage to root out the traitors—but does he have the time?
At its core, though, this story isn’t about political espionage or thrilling heroics. It’s about family. The loneliness of a biracial boy whose father has taken a vow of silence. The love and hate of two siblings still haunted by their brother’s premature death and their own misdeeds. The fear that the past will repeat itself. These characters are beautifully flawed. They make mistakes because they live in a dangerous (and largely historically accurate) world that forces them to make difficult choices, not because they’re careless or callous.
Is Telemakos too much of a prodigy, being able to smell blood from over a mile away and memorize sentences in a language he doesn’t know? Perhaps. But he’s also a fully fleshed out character with contradictions that run deeper than his dual heritage. He’s simultaneously overconfident and terrified. He’s allowed to weep out of both sorrow and joy. He runs, mud-spattered and bloody, into a highbrow party because he doesn’t know how to deal with his father’s affection—the same affection that he craves more than anything else. In short, he’s one of the most likable protagonists I’ve come across in some time, even more so because he is so in tune with his emotions. You don’t often see male protagonists who feel things deeply and are open about it.
Wein is also incredibly economical with her storytelling. Other authors would prolong Telemakos’s adventure, but what Wein describes is much more real: three months of brutality and loneliness for a few minutes of useful information—and with it, agonizing pain. She lets readers find meaning in the allusions and doesn’t waste words. In fact, silence is perhaps the biggest theme of the novel.
The only reason not to read this book would be if violence, especially toward children, disturbs you. It’s not gratuitous, but it is graphic.
It is an insult that this book only has 353 ratings and 73 reviews. I picked up my first Elizabeth Wein book in December and just finished my fourth. Safe to say, you can judge her books by their cover; if her name’s on it, you’re in good hands. I am both excited and terrified to move on to the fourth book in this series, The Lion Hunter. Partially because I don’t want this series to end, and partially because I’m afraid that it’s going to be Elizabeth Wein’s Goblet of Fire (in terms of how happy the ending is).
annalise's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
book 3 in the set. 3.5 stars
Telemakos, grandson of the former British king as well as of the grandson of a member of Aksum's imperial parliament, likes to test his abilities to hide and spy on happenings in the court. Finally the emperor decides that the best way to utilize Telemakos' skills is to send him on a mission. There is plague in the kingdom and someone is deliberately sabotaging the quarantine in order to make money in the black market. The plague is spreading due to this breach and must be stopped lest the whole kingdom be devastated.
Not as much action and adventure as you might think, but lots of intrigue and suspense.
Some torture, fairly graphic.
Telemakos, grandson of the former British king as well as of the grandson of a member of Aksum's imperial parliament, likes to test his abilities to hide and spy on happenings in the court. Finally the emperor decides that the best way to utilize Telemakos' skills is to send him on a mission. There is plague in the kingdom and someone is deliberately sabotaging the quarantine in order to make money in the black market. The plague is spreading due to this breach and must be stopped lest the whole kingdom be devastated.
Not as much action and adventure as you might think, but lots of intrigue and suspense.
Some torture, fairly graphic.
bethmitcham's review against another edition
5.0
I love Telemakos and his competency. High achieving kids are my jam. Extra points for the adults feeling bad for what they ask him to do, even as they recognize that he's the best one to do it. I also like the solid sense of place -- the setting felt sincerely ancient.
hdungey's review against another edition
4.0
Touching, fascinating, and altogether original. Hints of familiar mythology blend seamlessly into this tale of adventure and intrigue in an unfamiliar but almost tangible setting. Telemakos' desire to hear his father's voice is strong throughout, but not overplayed. Although this is third in a series, it's not necessary to have read the previous entries. Highly recommended!