Home » Plants & Animals » Small Hookbills » A Sampling of Birds in Speculative Fiction

A Sampling of Birds in Speculative Fiction

© Mary Wilson

When I look for speculative fiction books to read, those with birds tend to grab my attention more than those without. However, when I'm reading a book and all of a sudden a well-written, engrossing avian character emerges, I can say that I'm quite pleased. Most of the characters in this list of favorite bird characters are those that appeared quite suddenly.

I've crafted my list in no particular order. If I had to claim a favorite, I don't think I could.

In Anne Bishop's latest release, The Pillars of the World, she brings us Falco. A Fae Lord of the Hawk, Falco finds his loyalty torn between the huntress Dianna and his friendship for a human girl, Ari. In the guise of a hawk, he catches meat for Ari's new puppy, a gift from Dianna, and he watches out for her and Neall, her beloved.

Birds don't always have to be friends to the protagonist, as Kaspar, the avian in Laurell K Hamilton's book, The Lunatic Café, attests. A Swan Prince, he was cursed many years ago in the hopes that he would learn to be kind. Unfortunately, he never learned, and in The Lunatic Café, he works with other people to capture and hunt down shape shifters. He's also not very nice to Anita Blake, the heroine of Laurell's books. What I love about Kaspar isn't his character per se, but the idea of a were-swan. I'd vote for a were-parrot, but the idea of a six-foot hookbill doesn't seem very safe.

The bird breeder, not the birds themselves, feature in Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edgehill's collaboration, Beyond World's End. An African Gray breeder (I'm afraid I've forgotten his name) also acts as a Guardian, a magical human who protects sacred places. He acts like a typical bird-person, talking nonstop about his feathered beauties.

Yet birds in their own form also feature prominently in speculative fiction. Owls, hawks, falcons, and other raptors are seen with good and bad images alike. Some people, like the Tayledras in Mercedes Lackey's books, bond with their birds and speak with them mind to mind. Of course, the raptors have little care for the human pursuits, preferring warm thermals instead.

Although I've only listed my top three favorite characters, I think that anyone who pursues this genre of writing will find birds abound. After all, what's the use of soaring with your imagination if you can't take your parrot with you?

The copyright of the article A Sampling of Birds in Speculative Fiction in Small Hookbills is owned by Mary Wilson. Permission to republish A Sampling of Birds in Speculative Fiction in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.