Review: The Bird of the River, by Kage Baker

The Bird of the River is the third and final book in Kage Baker's fantasy cycle.  It was released posthumously and is a fitting farewell from the author.  Returning to the world created in The Anvil of the World, Baker returns to that first novel's breezy feel and anachronistic humour that made it such an unusual and enjoyable fantasy read.


The novel follows Eliss, a teenaged girl who finds herself forced to look after her younger brother by taking on work as a ship's lookout with "The Bird of the River", a massive barge that clears hazards from the river.  It's not at all the setting one might expect for a novel of high fantasy, and that's what makes it so refreshing.  And unlike the teenaged heroines that populate many other fantasy novels, there is little sense that Eliss has destiny behind and even her special talent is quite ordinary, mundane and most importantly, believable.

Once again, what Baker does very well is focus on the intimate details of the characters, rather than grand quests or world building. What matters to these people is not a battle between good and evil or saving the world, but rather the search for their place in the world. Each character seems to be searching for their home. Being able to see these very small quests from the level of these ordinary people allows the story to fill in bits and pieces of the world by telling everyday stories rather than through tedious exposition.

At the heart of the story is a murder mystery, and the trail of the killer seems to coincide with the stops along the river that the title ship of the book makes. This is probably the weakest aspect of the story, as the mystery is easily solved before the ending, and there is an element of deus ex machina to the resolution, yet these faults make the story no less satisfying.

The Bird of the River is a novel that should satisfy readers across genres. It's an excellent choice for people searching for unique voices in fantasy fiction that stay far away from the conventions of the genre as well as for non-fantasy readers that might be put off by the usual difficult names, violence and long exposition of other fantasy fiction.

(out of 5)