“For a beat, the gryphons watched like vultures, still as statues. Then, stretching awake, they shook off the red dust and dove like hawks, pulling away from the mountainside. Soldiers standing in scattered clusters ducked as shadows shot overhead. “Get down!” someone yelled.”

Bataar was just a young boy when he killed a gryphon but that one single act earned him respect within the Red Steppe and set his path on course to becoming a legend across the continent. As the years passed Bataar became known as Bataar rhah, the Gryphon King, conquering land after land. Eventually he sets his sights on the Kingdom of Dumakra, where Harpy Knights wage war in the skies protecting their king on man-eating pegasuses. Nohra Zultama is the king’s daughter and one of his Harpy Knights and so she prepares to face Bataar’s might. Yet when new threats arise and ancient myths become reality the two may have to make an uneasy alliance to face greater forces. 

With treacherous politics, morally grey characters, and a well of monsters and myths, Sara Omer’s The Gryphon King is a sumptuous treat. 

This is a book which holds a large cast of characters, however our point of view only switches between two central figures. Bataar, being the first we meet, was a character I found utterly compelling and fascinating from the onset. To follow his story arc from a child aspiring to become a leader, a warlord, and then to seeing his vision become realised, was something I was not expecting. Then Omer surprised me even further with Bataar because he was so likable. For someone who was a skilled warrior, a killer, a mighty conqueror who caused much warfare and bloodshed, he was intelligent, often remorseful, vulnerable and his strive to better the lands he took under his rule made him less of a tyrant. He also showed compassion, he wasn’t needlessly cruel and his overall vision although was to elevate himself, it was also to help his people from Red Steppe who lived life constantly on the brink of starvation. I’m not one to readily hold sympathy for or attachment to a character who is essentially stealing lands that are not his but Bataar’s motivations are complex and so I couldn’t help but become engrossed in his rising. An additional gentler side is shown through his relationship with his wife, Qaira who he almost worships and confides in the most, and in his childhood friends Tarken and Shaza. Having a story shown through the perspective of a villain can always be a tricky task because for me personally I would look for darkness as well as light within them and I feel here Omer gets that balance right. 

“You can be a great king, the best to ever breathe, and the world will still be

a bad place. You can try to make things better, but you’ll only ever be one man.”

She was looking at him like he was a man now, not a god, not the saber of Preeminence’s will.

He wasn’t just a man, though. That was the problem with being a rhah.”

Nohra is our second main character and I was first drawn to her because she is a Pegasus-riding Harpy Knight, which of course had me very excited. Nohra was clearly skilled with a blade, especially in the air on her steed Mercy and seeing her in battle was always a sheer delight. Yet sometimes I did feel she could be a little bit too fight, fight, fight and less practical or forward thinking. She was illustrated as feisty and vengeful, rightly so considering her kingdom had been invaded, but she often got to the point of being too rash with her decisions. However there were other sides to her character which I very much preferred exploring, her faith in the goddess Paga, her love for embroidery which showed a much more reflective, creative side. Omer once again balances out her characters by showing that Nohra can find peace in belief and beauty. I felt this added a wonderful level of depth because in real life we can have many sides to us. 

Omer’s worldbuilding was simply exquisite as we are given complex politics, religion and myth all weaved into the narrative with such atmospheric prose. Politics was most definitely at the forefront of this novel as when Dumakra is conquered we see political marriages deciphered upon, new governmental figures installed and a fight for the throne in Kalafar, to become the new zultam. This involved much treachery and uncertainty which made it so addictive to read about. I absolutely adore fantasy creatures especially when they’re hugely monstrous, and Omer certainly delivered on that. Gryphons were the main beasts terrorising the lands but then we get so much more, from flesh eating Pegasus, giant seahorses and even djinn, and oh my do I love this inclusion of Middle Eastern mythology. Then there was the religion with the Preeminent Spirit and the Paga and Nuna Gods simmering away in the background and shaping our characters beliefs. I was immensely impressed by how all these elements interconnected in one way or another. 

Omer brings fresh life to the epic fantasy genre and crafts a deeply enriched and immersive world which I felt completely enveloped inside.

“Vengeance and guilt are sins. Cast them off, and you’ll be stronger.”

ARC provided by Bahar at Titan Books in exchange for an honest review—thank you for the copy. All quotes used are taken from an early ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

The Gryphon King is out 8th July 2025 but you can pre-order your copy HERE