Review: Dawn of the Firebird

Dawn of the Firebird is a stunning, sweeping story that takes place in a world inspired by central Asian landscapes and culture and food; this is everything I love about fantasy and more. DOTF joins the likes of Blood Scion and She Who Became the Sun, books that don’t just appropriate the aesthetics of royalty and revenge but says something with it. And boy does Rana have a lot to say!

Where Tolkien writes in clean sweeps of light and darkness, Rana takes it in nuance and shades of grey. She doesn’t boil things down to the histories you learn in school, where there are good guys and bad guys. There are people who do good things who also do bad things, and people who do bad things and also good things.

At a time where we want to paint the world in good guys and bad, Rana reminds us of an apt quote from Loki—"No one good is ever truly good, and no one bad is ever truly bad." We live in a world where increasingly, all of us have traumas one way or the other, and how we choose to deal with them, how we choose to pass it on, is not as simple as the revenge we feel entitled to.

The academy does not fly by quickly, but it is billed as a magical academy story and I appreciated the twists and turns it took for her to learn and fail over and over. Any shorter and she would be a Mary sue! As always, I feel it is necessary to remind people that epic fantasies are not short; they take a long time to develop, and as the first book in a series, there is a whole series of books that need this book as development.

The writing was flowery and gorgeous, like an Arabic poem modernised. At times, I could believe that Rana had just translated whole histories. Emotions leapt out at you, and I could practically smell the food. I've tagged every description of food in here; I hope I'll have the time to make it.

A long time ago, I discussed what it would take to ensure the legacy of a series. One thing I think is for a show to be made; with a prequel series in the works already, I think that Rana is ready to jump from strength to strength and has the potential to build a whole empire from the rubbles of Khamilla’s home.

All in, this is a clear 5 stars. I haven't read Rana's Hope Ablaze yet, but it's definitely bumped it up the list. Until then, I will excitedly await the next installment. This is one of those books that I'll definitely be re-reading over and over again, to unearth further kernels of symbolism and meaning, to use as a guidance for philosophy on reactions and the price of revenge.

I received a free copy of this from Bloomsbury in exchange for a review. All thoughts my own. To read more of my reviews & witness the full extent of chaos, please check out my book review Instagram.