Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2018
432 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
A sweeping and tragic debut novel perfect for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Megan Whalen Turner.
The Bird and the Blade is a lush, powerful story of life and death, battles and riddles, lies and secrets from author Megan Bannen.
Enslaved in Kipchak Khanate, Jinghua has lost everything: her home, her family, her freedom ... until the kingdom is conquered by enemy forces and she finds herself an unlikely conspirator in the escape of Prince Khalaf and his irascible father across the vast Mongol Empire.
On the run, with adversaries on all sides and an endless journey ahead, Jinghua hatches a scheme to use the Kipchaks' exile to return home, a plan that becomes increasingly fraught as her feelings for Khalaf evolve into an impossible love.
Jinghua's already dicey prospects take a downward turn when Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, the daughter of the Great Khan. As beautiful as she is cunning, Turandokht requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand - and if they fail, they die.
Jinghua has kept her own counsel well, but with Khalaf's kingdom - and his very life - on the line, she must reconcile the hard truth of her past with her love for a boy who has no idea what she's capable of ... even if it means losing him to the girl who'd sooner take his life than his heart.
"Starred Review. Lavish, sweeping, and powerful… A must-read for fans of heart-wrenching, sob-your-heart-out YA." - Kirkus
"A rich, imaginative tale that delivers thrilling characters, heart-stopping action, and exciting intrigue with every turn of the page. Grades 9-12." - Booklist
"The characters are complex and realistic. Based on the opera, Turandot, and the history of the Mongol Empire, this novel will appeal to fantasy and romance readers as well as historical fiction fans." - School Library Journal
"The Bird and the Blade is a tale filled with magic and mystery. It will entrance you from the first page. Meticulously researched and beautifully executed, this story will linger long after you have finished reading." - #1 NYT bestselling author Renèe Ahdieh
"At once haunting and compelling, this tale of love and loyalty will wreck you. Exquisite from the first note to the last." - Natalie C. Parker, author of Beware the Wild
"The Bird and the Blade has everything I want in a novel: vivid characters, sumptuous prose, romance, funny dialogue, and a sweeping storyline in an intricately researched world. This story will break your heart - but it will remake it, too." - Rosalyn Eves, author of Blood Rose Rebellion
This information about The Bird and the Blade was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Megan Bannen is a librarian and the author of The Bird and the Blade. In her spare time, she collects graduate degrees from Kansas colleges and universities. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, their two sons, and a few too many pets with literary names. She can be found online at www.meganbannen.com.
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