The Sunbird (Viking, 2004)
A Pennsylvania School Librarians Association YA Top Forty Fiction Title 2004 (2005)
A Voice of Youth Advocates Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror title 2003
The Horn Book Recommended Summer Reading 2004
A Brodart's TOP Young Adult Title 2004
An Ames (Iowa) Public Library 2004 Outstanding Book for Young Adults (Historical Fiction)
LM_NET (Library Media on the Web) 2004 Best Books for Children
The Sunbird was one of 11 books listed by the Penguin Group as their Best Young Adult Books of 2004
Mentioned as one of the year’s best young adult novels in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 18th Annual Collection (2005),
edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
About the book:
Telemakos is the grandson of two noble men: Kidane, member of the imperial parliament in the African kingdom of Aksum, and Artos, the fallen High King of Britain. He is also a remarkable listener and tracker, resolute and inventive in his ability to hide in plain sight.
Now his aunt Goewin, Britain’s ambassador to Aksum, needs his skill. Deadly plague has overtaken her own country; in order to keep Aksum safe, the emperor has accepted Goewin’s advice and declared a quarantine. No one is allowed to enter or leave—yet, even with this precaution, disease and death continue to spread.
A desperate Goewin sets Telemakos a task. Alone, he must travel to Afar, where salt—the currency of sixth century Africa—is mined, and discover who has been traitor to the crown, defying the emperor’s command, spreading plague as the salt is shipped from port to port. This challenge will take all of Telemakos’s skill and strength, his ability to stay silent, and extraordinary courage; if he fails, it will cost him his life.
Reviews for The Sunbird:
“In The Winter Prince (rev. 3/94) and A Coalition of Lions (rev. 3/03), Wein delights in taking strong characters, giving them solid ideals, setting them in the crucible of a challenging situation, and applying narrative torque until they are transformed, by pressure and heat, into purer metals. In The Sunbird, the character so transformed is Telemakos, the half-Ethiopian son of The Winter Prince’s anti-hero Medraut. Telemakos’s home, the Aksumite Empire, is under quarantine to block the plague, but salt smugglers are placing profit above the good of all. Still a child, Telemakos accepts his responsibility to use his stealth and tracking skills in the service of his emperor and is thrust into a dangerous game: to find the smugglers’ ringleader, he crosses the desert to spy on the salt mines but is captured and forced to endure horrific conditions as a mining slave. Blindfolded, shackled, desperately thirsty, sand and salt-burned, Telemakos feigns muteness, even under torture, to preserve his identity and his life, but still he fails to identify the traitor. It is left to his wits after his rescue to piece together the clues for a satisfying conclusion. Gripping and hard-hitting in Wein’s signature fashion, Sunbird has all of the richness and moral complexity of its predecessors, but with a more straightforward plot. Telemakos’s trials, though extreme, are never overdone, a testament to Wein’s skill: her knowledge of the human heart and her facility at exposing its inner workings through suffering is rare and noteworthy.”
—Anita L. Burkam, The Horn Book Magazine, starred review
“Wein is expertly mining a commingled Arthurian and African sixth-century history here, as she did in A Coalition of Lions (2003) and The Winter Prince (1993). Although a sequel, this can be read without knowledge of the other two. Goewin, British ambassador to Aksum (Ethiopia), learns that plague has come to Britain. She sets quarantine on the ports of Aksum, yet the plague comes through. She turns to Telemakos, young son of her brother Medraut and his wife the Aksumite Lady Turunesh, naming him Sunbird. The boy is wary, knowledgeable, and gifted. Overlooked because he’s a child, he has learned much of importance. Goewin sends Telemakos on a terrible journey in the hope of keeping plague from the land. The boy’s suffering, capture, and servitude, and his discovery of the traitor who defies the quarantine and thus allows plague free rein, are harrowing. So are his return and his pronouncing sentence on the traitor, his captor. This riveting tale also illuminates Telemakos’s growing and complex relationship with his father Medraut and his aunt Goewin. Intense, absorbing, and luminously written.”
—Kirkus, pointered review
“This wondrous novel, the third in Wein’s Arthurian-Aksumite trilogy, tells the story of one Telemakos, who is the grandson both of Artos, the fallen high king of Britain, and of Kidane, member of the parliament in the sixth-century African kingdom of Aksum. Although he is only a boy, he is a friend of lions, an accomplished tracker and an oddity with his black skin, blond hair and blue eyes. Aksum is threatened by the plague and salt traders who would defy the quarantine and spread the plague farther. So Telemakos agrees to risk his life to become a spy and travel to the salt mines to uncover the traitor to the crown. Wein offers rich characters, a vivid setting and a thrilling adventure in this third novel, the sequel to Winter Prince and A Coalition of Lions. The finely crafted adventure, convincing detail and the heroism of Telemakos spin similar storytelling magic to that created by Meg[an] Whalen [Turner] in her Newbery Honor Book, The Thief.”
—The Buffalo News
“Third in her ongoing Arthurian cycle, American Elizabeth Wein’s The Sunbird offers a mesmerizing setting and plot in the style of Peter Dickinson’s or Rosemary Sutcliff’s outstanding historical fiction. It’s 541 [A.D.], and 10-year-old Telemakos, son of Medraut (Mordred) has discovered that someone is allowing traders to break the quarantine that keeps the plague from Aksum (Ethiopia, more or less). With his ability to go unnoticed and his formidable tracking (and even smelling!) skills, Telemakos is sent on a perilous journey to the salt flats to spy out the traitor responsible. His tell-tale fair hair shaved off, a golden slave collar soldered around his neck, he endures thirst, loneliness and physical torment to fulfil his task for the emperor.
“Wein sets the historical stage with precision and economy; the hierarchical society, formal relationships and luxurious palaces of the cities cast the barren, intolerable desert and salt flats into high relief. More important, the boy Telemakos is at the centre of this story. His courage and intelligence blend with longing for his silent father’s conversation; his heroic actions are balanced with his very boyish response to affection. Here’s a powerful, multi-layered read that appeals as adventure story, but has much more than adventure to offer.”
—Deirdre Baker, The Toronto Star
“This third book in the series that began with The Winter Prince (Atheneum, 1993/VOYA December 1993) is as dazzling as the Salt Desert that young Telemakos travels across on his dangerous journey. Wein continues her fascinating vision of the Arthurian story in which Medraut—son of Artos the High King and his sister Morgause—lives in Askum (Ethiopia) and has married the daughter of a court noble. His son, Telemakos, is the Sunbird, bright and clever. Telemakos’s natural gifts for listening and tracking are put to use by the Askum emperor as he is sent, disguised, into the desert. The boy’s task is to discover the identity of the traitor who is ignoring the quarantine and bringing plague to the cities of Askum. This outstanding book has many elements that set it apart. The innovative twist on the Arthurian legend is extremely intriguing. The setting, in both place and time, is unusual and beautifully developed. The suspenseful adventure is nail-bitingly tense. But the real strength of the book lies in the intelligent and engaging characters. Telemakos is vividly realized, and his courage and relentless curiosity shine from the pages. His Aunt Goewin, Ambassador from Britain, is a fascinating woman, strong and determined. His father, troubled silent Medraut, adds mystery, and the irrepressible Sofya is a charmer who deserves a book herself. Booktalk this winner by describing the scene in which Telemakos has his eyes glued shut, and middle school boys will be begging for more copies. The complicated cast of characters is more easily sorted out if the previous books in the series are read first. A helpful family tree, map, and glossary are included.”
—Lynn Rutan, Voice of Youth Advocates
“With a few quick strokes, Wein transports the reader back to the sixth-century Aksumite Empire she previously animated in The Winter Prince and A Coalition of Lions (BCCB 4/03). In this third book of her Arthurian/Aksumite cycle, Telemakos, the grandson of Artos, fallen High King of Britain, continues his habit of hiding among adults and overhearing information not meant for his ears. Among the things he hears is that plague has overtaken the trade routes, giving unscrupulous men the opportunity to take advantage of the rising price of salt, the major export of the Aksumite Empire. He tells his aunt, Goewin, who has remained in Aksum as the British ambassador, and though she immediately petitions the emperor to quarantine the Empire, black-market salt, and with it plague, continues to slip the borders. Goewin asks Telemakos to use his talents for invisibility to spy on the traders; his involvement in the dangerous plan nearly results in his death, but the outcome opens the difficult process of healing for his family. Wein is a master at establishing atmospheric detail in both setting and attitude; her characters enact codes of honor and dishonor that are not of this time and place, yet remain intelligible to contemporary sensibilities. Telemakos is a reluctant hero in this densely plotted but well-paced adventure; his motives are complex and at times contradictory, at once mythically brave, charmingly childlike, and resonantly human. Wein’s continuing employment of a strong female heroine does not compromise authenticity; Goewin makes difficult decisions among difficult circumstances and earns respect among men who do not give it lightly, especially to women. Jacket text refers to this book as part of an ongoing cycle; here’s hoping that Wein returns us to Aksum early and often.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“The third adventure in Wein’s Arthurian-Aksumite cycle (The Winter Prince, 1993; [A] Coalition of Lions, 2003), this reintroduces young Telemakos, the white-haired, dark-skinned grandson of both Artos, a British royal, and Kidane, who serves on the emperor’s council in sixth-century Aksum (now Ethiopia). Telemakos is called a “freakish little crossbred snoop” and worse, but the boy’s bravery, skill, and resolve never fail to honor his noble heritage. Someone has infected Afar’s salt mines with a deadly plague to jack up the market value of salt, and Telemakos’ aunt, Britain’s ambassador to Aksum, commissions the boy to go to Afar and find the traitor. Traveling through the unforgiving desert disguised as a deaf-mute slave, Telemakos is captured and suffers terrible indignities and cruelty and an unbearable loneliness. Wein’s prose is taut and elegant, creating an intense, intimate, and sometimes painful story with finely wrought, believable characters. The map of the kingdom of Aksum in the front and the family tree and glossary in the back help decipher this rich, engrossing tale, which deeply mines the human heart.”
—Karin Snelson, Booklist
“Wein once again takes her readers back to Aksum, Africa (present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea) during the sixth century as she continues the family saga that began with The Winter Prince (Puffin, 2003), followed by A Coalition of Lions (Viking, 2003). This third book is told through the eyes of Telemakos, the grandson of two noble men, one British and one Aksumite. When a deadly plague decimates Britain, Aksum’s emperor declares a quarantine in order to keep the kingdom safe. Yet there are some, driven by profit motives, who defy this order and continue to trade with infected areas. Telemakos is called upon by his aunt, Britain’s ambassador to Aksum, to discover who is responsible for defying the emperor. Doing so almost costs him his life. This book has it all—honor, loyalty, intrigue, betrayal, brutality, spies, family dynamics, love, and hate. Wein’s attention to detail results in descriptions that are masterful and characters who are strong and memorable….A remarkable and unique story.”
—Mary N. Oluonye, School Library Journal