Author: Nancy Yi Fan
Publisher: Harper Trophy
Rating: WORTHY!
After reading Flavia Bujor's The Prophecy of the Stones how could I ignore another one written a really youthful writer? Swordbird is written by a girl who was ten or eleven when she began it (stories of her age - even her own - vary!), but it's arguably written technically better than is the 'prophecy' novel. It's barely more than 200 pages long and it's pretty much double-spaced, so it's a fast and easy read. This is the middle novel in a trilogy, the first volume of which was written subsequently to Swordbird, but takes place earlier.
Set in a forest where birds are as sentient as we are, and have a society organized like that of primitive humans living in tribes by species, this novel focuses on a war between the cardinals and the blue jays, which has been fomented by the evil hawk, who is kidnapping birds and forcing them to build a fortress for him. The hawk wants to live forever and preys on other birds, vampire like, in pursuit of his desire.
Clearly in a novel of this nature, some things ring true and others do not (birds don't sweat, for example, and Corvidae such as ravens are far from dumb), but you either have to decide to go with the flow or reject it. An author can sway that decision with poor writing, or a lack of realism within the context of their story, and Fan did not fail me in either regard, so I had no trouble starting it and getting into it. I think the writing is done well. How much of this is Fan and how much is her editor is an unanswered question, but the novel is descriptive and engaging, and it's quite inventive in many regards, such as when Fan changes our common words such as 'no one' and 'someone' into 'nobird' and 'somebird' and uses the phrase, 'ladies and gentlebirds'!
The story features strong characters who are unafraid to take up challenges, to sacrifice, and even to die for their cause (Fan doesn't shy away from the sad and tragic, including dying), but at the same time sadly limited to one strong female character. Nonetheless, she is a crucial agent in winning the battle against the Hawk, bringing in a distant tribe of robins to help out the cardinals and blue jays (which have finally realized that they've been duped by the hawk). They cease fighting their local battles, and unite against the evil of tyranny. Bringing the robins on-board is important because they have access to the vital gem which can summon Swordbird, and it's through his agency that they achieve victory over the hawk and finally bring the longed-for peace to the forest.
I have to say I have issues with stories which talk about the value of peace, but that peace can only be won through violence and war! Given Fan's starting premise, it seems to me that it's a betrayal of what she claims she's aiming for, and it is also a bit of a betrayal that these birds cannot achieve this themselves, but have to rely on the magical god Swordbird to give them what they need. Having said that, I'm going to stand by this novel because it's fun, inventive, well done, and represents a really neat achievement for one so young. This is a worthy read!
