I was flat-out awed by "The Bird King". I thought the world in this book was spectacularly created and it was a storyline that was unlike anything I had ever read before. Initially the Middle Eastern setting really made me curious about this book. And the setting was fabulous, I thought the author did an amazing job of building the world. The characters really took it to the next level, though, and made this story really sing. This book inspired to me to read more by this author and I also purchased some of her graphic novels as well. I love an author that is adept at moving within several different realms, and ironically that is exactly what is happening in this book as well. I really enjoyed it.