Firebird (Mercedes Lackey's Fairy Tale Series #1)

by Mercedes Lackey

Overview

Ilya, son of a Russian prince, is largely ignored by his father and tormented by his larger, older brothers. His only friends are three old people: a priest, a magician, and a woman who toils in the palace dairy. From them Ilya learns faith, a smattering of magic, and the power of love--all of which he will need desperately, for his life is about to be turned upside-down.

The prince's magnificent cherry orchard is visited at midnight by the legendary Firebird, whose wings are made of flame. Ilya's brothers' attempts capture the magical creature fail. When Ilya tries to catch the Firebird, he sees her as a beautiful woman and earns a magical gift: the speech of animals.

Banished, the young man journeys through a fantastical Russia full of magical mazes, enchanted creatures, and untold dangers. As happens in the best fairy tales, Ilya falls in love with an enchanted princess, but to win her freedom will be no easy task.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312871383
Publisher:	Tom Doherty Associates
Publication date:	01/08/2008
Series:	Mercedes Lackey's Fairy Tale Series , #1
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	74,734
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is the author of the bestselling Valdemar series, the Obsidian Trilogy (The Outstretched Shadow, To Light a Candle, and When Darkness Falls), the Enduring Flame trilogy (The Phoenix Unchained, The Phoenix Endangered, and The Phoenix Transformed), and the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. She has written many other books, including Trio of Sorcery, Phoenyx and Ashes, Sacred Ground, The Fairy Godmother, and Alta. Lackey is the co-author, with Andre Norton, of the Halfblood Chronicles, including Elvenborn. Mercedes Lackey was born in Chicago and graduated from Purdue University. She has worked as an artist's model, a computer programmer, and for American Airlines, and has written lyrics and recorded more than fifty songs. She lives in Oklahoma.

Mercedes Lackey is the author of the bestselling Valdemar series, the Obsidian Trilogy (The Outstretched Shadow, To Light a Candle, and When Darkness Falls), the Enduring Flame trilogy (The Phoenix Unchained, The Phoenix Endangered, and The Phoenix Transformed), and the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. She has written many other books, including Trio of Sorcery, Phoenyx and Ashes, Sacred Ground, The Firebird, The Fairy Godmother, and Alta. Lackey is the co-author, with Andre Norton, of the Halfblood Chronicles, including Elvenborn. Mercedes Lackey was born in Chicago and graduated from Purdue University. She has worked as an artist's model, a computer programmer, and for American Airlines, and has written lyrics and recorded more than fifty songs. She lives in Oklahoma.

What People are Saying About This

Steven King

She'll keep you up long past your bedtime.

Editorial Reviews

In Firebird, Lackey has written a classic quest/coming-of-age fantasy set in medieval Russia, deep in the untracked forests far from civilization. Ilya, fifth of Boyar Ivan's eight legitimate sons, is a thinker, unlike his brothers, who despise him for not spending all his time fighting and hunting. Instead, Ilya learns from three wise oldsters: Mother Galina, the herbwoman who runs the palace dairy; Father Mikhail, the boyar's despised chaplain, brought to the estate by Ilya's dead mother; and Vasily, the shaman who advised Boyar Ivan's father. With their help, and the help of the bannik (a brownie-like hearth spirit who lives in the sauna) and his ancestral ghosts, Ilya escapes the plots of his murderous brothers and sets out in search of the magical Firebird who has been stealing fruit from his father's orchard. Because he touched her feather, Ilya can understand animal speech. The palace dogs and his beloved horse aid in his departure, and when the horse is gored by a wild boar, Ilya weaves a protective magic bracelet from his tail. Lacky has drawn on folklore for many of her motifs, and well-read readers will recognize the dead horse's protection, the companion fox Ivan recruits on the road, and finally, the wicked magician's palace where Ilya discovers the imprisoned princesses. Lackey's strength, however, lies in her details and in her well-constructed plot: Ilya survives the dangers of the magician's palace, as he did his father's, by feigning idiocy. He defeats the magician not only with logic, but also with the help of the fox and the Firebird. And having experienced true love and friendship, he is able to escape marriage to one of the princesses and depart the wizard's palace with the Firebird. Lackey brings medieval Russia alive for us: the vast, dark, menacing forests; the many spirits (benevolent banniks and cruel leshys); the boyar's palace (the dairy where cheesemaking and milking keep the maids' hands soft; the gloomy crypt beneath the chapel, where ancestral ghosts keep Ilya company as he recovers from his brothers' beatings; the sauna, kept clean and welcoming for the attentive bannik); and the palace of the wicked magician, where Ilya toils as a gardener's drudge. The internal magic we encounter is consistent and cohesive; the characters are well drawn and engaging (such as Sergei the rabbit-monster, and aspiring artist); and the reader is involved with Ilya throughout his hero-journey. This fantasy is a must-buy for any collection where YAs enjoy good fantasy. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Broad general YA appeal, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

VOYA - Marsha Valance

A brilliant and dedicated author.

Midwest Book Review

With any book Lackey works on, the principal joy is story: she sweeps you along and never lets you go.

Locus

Absorbing...enjoyable, warm, and delightful.

Fantasy Review

"A charming fairy tale."--Locus

"Vivid and colorful.  A well-told tale."--Booklist

"Will delight Lackey's fans.  Fast-paced."--Library Journal
 
"A must buy."--VOYA
 
"Filled with earthy wit and magic."--Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher