Sunbirds #1: Beginnings

Andrew Browne

Andrew Browne is a young Canadian writer just starting to make his mark in fantasy literature. And while the first novel of his Sunbirds series has the potential to make a mark, it falls short in places.

The tragic thing about this is that where Sunbirds falls short is not in the places where most fantasy novels fall short. His plot is an excellent one, and a wonderfully original twist on a time-honored genre; his characters are well-fleshed and alive (and perhaps unwittingly, Browne chose perhaps the most difficult way to create characters; more on this later), and the book is quite well-paced. Overall, from the standpoint of the major pitfalls, the book is a joy to read. Were it not for a few key weaknesses, I would hope it'd be atop the young adult book charts at your local bookstore.

The problem is that the book's flaws lie not in its art, but in its craft. Sunbirds runs roughshod over many of the rules of fiction. This is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but an author who breaks the rules should always tip his hand, wink at the reader, and make sure he communicates that he knows there are rules, and that he's breaking them. Browne doesn't do this at all. And to be fair, once he gets into the swing of things, the craft of his writing improves almost to the level of his art. But the opening pages are full of subtle things, subtle enough that the casual reader is likely not to catch them, only to get a vague feeling that something is wrong. For example, in the first chapter, while Andrew is describing his main human character in the hatchery, Browne goes into a simple overview of the breeding of peacocks. A wonderful idea, and a passage that is likely to appeal to both children and adults (after all, how many of us have actually raised domesticated peacocks?). In his enthusiasm for his subject, however, Browne breaks protocol and starts directly addressing the reader in a third-person-narrative tale. It's jarring, to say the least.

But if you are a reader who is capable of ignoring the craft of writing and concentrating on the art (and their numbers, I despair, increase daily), or one who is willing to overlook such errors and assume Browne's craft will improve to the level of his art with age (the camp I am in), then Sunbirds #1: Beginnings is definitely worth a look. The story concerns a peacock farm. The peacocks there (along with, goes the inference, all birds the world over) are intelligent and communicate on a level that humans are incapable of understanding. The peacocks are approached one day by the beetles. After some back and forth of each side trying to convince the other of their harmlessness, the beetles attempt to enlist the peacocks in a battle against the flies, who are trying to take over the world. (One wonders why Michael Moorcock didn't come up with this in the sixties. It's simple. It's brilliant. And is there really a human being on the planet who likes flies?) The peacocks vacillate, but their de facto leader suddenly finds he has a good reason to be moved off the fence…

I spent a good deal of time talking about the bad here, so I should spend just as much time highlighting the good. Browne's writing is enthusiastic; he obviously loves being a writer. As I've said, his material is original, his pacing is excellent, and he's very good at plot development. His greatest achievement may be in foreshadowing, and plotting four or five moves ahead of where he needs to be; his revelations of previously set up details would be more in place in very well-done mystery novels than in science fiction (and that is a compliment). Browne never fails to leave you a trail of breadcrumbs, but he hides them well enough that the ravens won't come and eat them. There are far too many adult novelists who could learn a trick or two from this rising star.

A fine beginning, and one which will lead me to seek out the rest of the series. Get on the bus, before you end up having to jump on the bandwagon a few years down the road.