This is Game of Thrones meets The Priory of the Orange Tree and I devoured every single page of it! The Gryphon King is an adult dark epic fantasy set in a Southwest Asian inspired world. It has everything one could ask for: ferocious mythical beasts, demons, queer women riding pegasuses, a blessed warlord, political intrigues, bloody battles and interesting morally grey characters (there's no real "hero" or "good person" in this book). Oh, and if you like a romantic sub plot there's also that… a veeeery slow burn and possible poly relationship.

Sara Omer's writing is complex yet wonderful and her descriptions are phenomenal, making you dive in directly into the story.

I truly can't wait for this series to continue because this trilogy really has so much potential.


Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the advance copy!

The Gryphon King delivers an expansive, lore-rich world teeming with feral monsters, harpy knights, and cutthroat politics. The beginning did feel dense and a bit info-dump (expect a a lot of names and factions) but the rest of the book is filled with with addictive tension, brutal betrayals, and electric character dynamics; Nohra, Bataar, and Qaira had me hooked.

Sara Omer’s prose is sharp, with grim vibes with and romantic intrigue. By the 50% mark, I couldn’t put it down.

I'm extremely remiss in having forgotten to post my review on time!!! I loved this book - it's the exact complex, detailed political fantasy I've been yearning for. It reminded me of my first forays into epic fantasy as a child and teenager, though breaking from the white, hetero, Anglo worlds and storytelling that were the only way epic fantasy was told back then. I'm so excited for a new generation of epic fantasy fans to have this to sink their teeth into, and looking forward to following Omer into her next books and future series.

I really dislike leaving less than positive reviews! I can't imagine how hard it is to put your all into a story and all of the processes to get published. I'm not sure I can properly put into words how I feel about this book so, I've compiled pros and cons

🩷 Things I enjoyed 🩷

🙌 The beautiful inspirations for the book shone through in all of the rich world building.

🙌 The characters were strong personalities

🙌 Clear differences in areas, languages and religions, types of buildings etc

🙌 Realistic losses in battles, illnesses and injuries, deaths too. No one was safe.

🙌 Complex relationships between characters

🙌 Characters had flaws in keeping with their history rather than being perfect.

🖤 Things I didn't enjoy 🖤

🫣 The timeline jumping at the beginning was the first jarring element of this book. So much seemed to happen between those first moments and where it picked back up I felt like I had missed an entire book (maybe even 2). Things were written in such detail and pertaining to the past in such a way as to make the reader feel left out of the loop and lost.

🫣 There was such a huge amount of detail (repeated quite a lot) that it actually missed out what the character was doing, where they were going or why so I was visualising the scene but couldn't place the character. It's dual POV but some chapters got so blurry I had no idea whos POV I was in sometimes.

🫣 The characters had clear struggles with ever changing tides which was understandable but their opinion was voiced with such conviction and their objective changed so much I couldn't follow their actual train of thought or understand what they were trying to achieve or why.

🫣 Silly point but "Bleeding Edge" must be written in this book at least 100 times. It was referenced a distracting amount of times.

🫣 Lots of events happened that felt, at the time like a big event, lots of detail, lots of internal struggle and adaptation happening with the characters that then felt totally irrelevant to the main story not long after. The main story then felt difficult to pick back up on once that event ended at breakneck speed.

🫣 None of the main characters were really very likeable. I wasn't rooting for anyone in particular.

🫣 Sometimes deceit seemed to be happening for the sake of deceit but again, with way less impact on the characters or main story than it perhaps ought to have had.

🫣 Random monsters/demons/creatures would appear, seem to really change the tide of the story and then... disappear and be irrelevant.

🫣 Overall I wanted to like this so much but it was so so jarring it was like watching clips rather than a continuous story. There was lots and lots of description and information repeated in places but that was to the detriment of the rest of the story. The characters had so much happening to them and so many opposing objectives that they never seemed to follow, they didn't seem to develop or grow as a result of any of it.

I have been looking for non European based fantasy, so I was excited to see this story.

The Gryphon King is the first of a trilogy, that has layers of historical politics and fantasy in just the right combination. The setting has familiar elements of societies across central Asia from Turkey all the way to Mongolia. In a world where it’s conquer or be conquered, Baatar has taken over Dumakra, creating an enemy of the kings Daughter, Norah.

Norah is of the Harpy Knights that flies a winged horse and is a member of Dumakran elite guard. She swear revenge on Baatar for killing her father and taking the throne. She is working to overthrow him, but it starts like there is something bigger at play.

This book feels chunky, but I didn’t feel like it lagged, the flow of the story and development of characters was well paced. The characters are believably complex, and Omer does a really good job of helping you clearly understand and see each person’s motives.

In the upcoming books, I am expecting more amazing beasts, a lot more “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and probably some interesting political alliances.

Big epic fantasy gold!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

While I enjoyed the storytelling and setting for this epic fantasy book, I had a hard time connecting with any characters. I wish the plot was cut back a bit, so the readers could have had more time in getting to know the characters better.

I’m always on the lookout for epic fantasies set in settings that aren’t your typical medieval, European inspired settings, so I jumped at the chance at reviewing The Gryphon King. And there was so much to love about this book
I really enjoyed the Southwestern Asian inspired setting, the warrior women, the supernatural element and the Gryphons. The writing is vivid and lush with realistic and very human characters- Nohra, Bataar and my favourite Qaira aren’t perfect and the mistakes they make throughout the book adds more chaos to an already complex pollical story.
Some of the scenes particularly ones during the battles are truly shocking and unexpected.
There is plenty of simmering sexual tension between the main characters especially any interaction between Qaira and Nohra.
I’m not sure if it was me but there were times the story felt a bit disjointed and important events happened off page which annoyed me at times.

Fantasy is mad, isn’t it. Take The Gryphon King, the first instalment in the new dark epic fantasy trilogy ‘The Chaos Constellation’, out from Titan on July 8. Only in such a genre can you go from reading about a blade-wielding princess on a carnivorous pegasus—in essence a flying murder horse—to being embroiled in the kind of intriguing court politics and plotting that requires 44 entries in the character glossary (I counted).

With this new series, debut author Sara Omer, on record as being inspired by previous epics such as George R R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books and Samantha Shannan’s Roots of Chaos duology, has decided she wants it all: the monsters, the myths, the court politics, the bi/sapphic/poly slow burn, the battles, the lengthy meal descriptions. But rather than collapsing under its own heady ambitions, The Gryphon King soars into the air like one of its murder horses, offering one of the most original and exhilarating fantasy experiences you’ll have this year.

The plot, heavily inspired by both the myths and history of Southwest Asia, particularly its Turkic peoples, concerns Bataar, known as the Gryphon King, so named after his unlikely defeat of a terrifying gryphon as a teenager which is described in a terrifically tense opening scene. In adult form he is an unstoppable conqueror whose armies expand across the continent, from the Red Steppe of his home to the mighty Ottoman-flavoured eastern kingdom of Dumakra. Despite his successful invasion of its capital, he must now contend with the harpy knights, the irrepressible daughters and attack guard of the previous ruler who ride the pegasuses you met in my opening paragraph. Nohra in particular seeks to get revenge on Bataar for her father’s death, but when monsters and plotters attack the kingdom, she must work together with her enemy while dealing with her mixed feelings for him.

One of the many impressive things about The Gryphon King is how the mix of monster-fighting action with royal court shenanigans is never jarring and balanced well. The monster scenes are electric and written with a kinetic sense of tension and violence any time the gryphons descend from the skies (other monsters of a demonic and seafaring nature also appear, thrillingly) and battle scenes are well-choregraphed awe-inducing spectacles—how can they not be with harpy knights on pegasuses swooping down with sickle blades on the infantry below?

The court scenes, meanwhile, are fascinating, particularly as this is not your old Western royal court but one inspired by the Ottoman harems, i.e. the Sultan’s royal family that included not just his multiple wives and their children but also his concubines and their children. These scenes are also enhanced by an admirable dedication to building the visual sense of an extravagant court life. A good example being one obsessively described meal featuring “cubes of jelly flavoured like roses and pomegranate […] covered in powdery sugar”, “orange yolks glistening in bread bowls full of melted cheese”, “cuts of lamb in a gingery sauce”, and “scoops of ice cream in copper bowls topped with chopped pistachio and drizzles of honey”, and… [okay Ed, we get it, you were hungry when you read that scene]. It’s not just food though; there is a rich tapestry of lore, inspired by Islamic and pre-Islamic mythology and religion. This is immersive epic fantasy.

But the characters in The Gryphon King are a success, too, thanks to a pleasing sense of moral ambiguity immersed with sensuality. Take the two POVs. Bataar is spurred on by the injustices meted out to his people and the wish for peace and a better world. But as usual with such world-conquering figures, bloodshed follows him, and his POV is a tantalising mix of kindness and intelligence with ruthless calculation. Pegasus-riding Nohra meanwhile is vengeance personified, an unstoppable force, yet Omer breaks down her barriers in brief but electric scenes of sapphic tension between her and Bataar’s wife Qaira, a slow burn plotline which will surely explode in book 2 and raises the possibility of an f/f/m poly situation, and if you’re confused at this point I have no doubt Omer is here to educate you. Sexuality is fluid, reflecting not just the historical reality of the empires that inspired this series—being straight, historically, is very late—but a desire to use these relationships to build character and subtlety and give us warmth amongst the darkness.

Overall, The Gryphon King is a majestic melting pot of monsters, Machiavellian moves, moral murkiness, and mouthwatering meals that is a fantastic advert for the power of immersive epic fantasy. A showstopping debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It’s a rare occurrence for me to read a book and not want to root for most of the characters because they are objectively not good people, but here we are. And that makes me respect this book more because these characters truly ARE morally gray. I don’t think you should feel comfortable rooting for these characters.

Bataar and Nohra both have their moments where you think, oh this is a good person! And then they turn around and want to treat a person as a tool for their own benefit and that sentiment just sours. I am very interested to see how their story progresses through the next two books because I think they both have potential for really intriguing arcs.

Qaira is a character who on the surface seems like someone you can root for, but she’s got some snake-tendencies, and I respect it. Her dynamic with Bataar and Nohra both is very… interesting (a TRUE love triangle???). I wonder how that will play out.

One aspect of this story that I think will be explored more in the future as it was mentioned in passing a few times, but our characters are too self-centered to really pay attention to, is how human choices have impacts on nature and wildlife. If humans are greedy and alter the natural state for these animals, then they have to deal with the consequences. Such as gryphons starving and eating more people as a result. I wonder what supernatural creatures our characters will have to deal with in future books.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This is one that requires you to put your thinking-cap on and I had a good time reading it and will be looking out for the sequels.

This started out slow for me and I put it aside a couple of times (I'm not good with lots of names and politics getting dumped on me in quick succession), but once I got to the 30-40% mark I was hooked. There some really interesting dynamics brewing between harpy knight Nohra, warrior king Bataar and his wife Qaira, and I'll probably pick up the next book just to see where that's going. Fantasy politics can be hit-or-miss for me, and this fell somewhere in the middle, because there were times it aided the tension and other times it just muddied the narrative. And the prose was very... straighforward? obvious? in a way that isn't my favourite. Overall, lots to like, but also a sprinkle of stuff that wasn't to my taste.

The Gryphon King is simply one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s hard to believe this is a debut because it feels so confident and unique. From the start, I was pulled into a world that’s both fascinating and brutal, filled with POLITICS, delicious mind games, TENSION and of course gryphons, Pegasus and djinn.

What really kept me reading were the characters. I loved them all, mostly because everyone is morally grey. Nohra and Bataar especially stood out to me. Their dynamic had me glued to the book. And while romance isn’t the main focus, the moments between Nohra and Qaira and even her pull toward Bataar added a lot of depth to their arcs.

One thing I really liked was how all the side characters had their own voice. In a lot of fantasy books, side characters can blur together, but here they felt important in their own ways. Darya was easily a standout, and I cannot wait to learn more about her.

You really have to pay attention, as I would consider this a high political fantasy. Between the time jumps, political setups, and history, you must stay focused. It is done incredibly well so I would say it is worth the push.

And that epilogue? That is how you write an epilogue. If you’re into political fantasy with gore, morally grey characters, a spectrum of personalities and choices, and on top of all that incredible queer characters, this is for you. I am definitely seated for book two. I’m scared, though, because this book did not pull its punches, and I can only imagine what book two might bring.

Thank you, Titan Books, for the digital ARC. This is easily one of my most anticipated sequels.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Very impressed by this book! The setting was amazing- such immersive world building. Really liked the characters and the fantasy elements of this story as they were not the typical fantasy story elements. Great politics too. Cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. - Freya, arc & monthly book box pick reviewer (athenafreyag on Instagram)

This is an immersive epic fantasy with queer rep and a non-European setting, which I enjoyed a lot!! I read it on the airplane, and it was fantastic company! I didn't want to leave it down. The world is inspired by various Turkic cultures, and it felt genuine.

We follow Bataar and Nohra, and I loved how different their worlds and perspectives were. It really offered a 360-degree angle of the world. I felt like I knew Nohra the best. I knew of her personality, her motivations, her dreams and desires. I just can't say that I knew Bataar well. Yes, he cares for his wife and offspring, and yes, he wants to conquer everything, but I don't know why. Why did he want to declare war against everyone? There were a few lines that may have explained it, but I wasn't sure if I interpreted it right, and I just wanted more about his motivations.

I think the worldbuilding was everything. The author did an amazing job at bringing this complex and rich world to life, each with different backgrounds, social norms, and governing. It blew my mind, to be honest!!

If you enjoy epic fantasy, I definitely recommend it!! The writing and worldbuilding are brilliant!! And a woohoo for non-European settings!!

Struggled with the writing in this as it was quite dense. Dense detail AND story in books can be fantastic if there is more clairt but this wasn't entirely clear for me.

This had so much going for it: the worldbuilding was rich, the politics and religions were super intriguing, and the gryphons? Absolutely wild. But I did struggle with the pacing and found the writing a bit distant, which made it hard to fully connect with the characters. The last chunk really picked up, but overall I just wish I’d felt more emotionally invested. Still, if you’re into morally grey characters and complex fantasy settings, it’s worth checking this one out.

While this wasn't my favorite, I think this would make a good intro to high fantasy for those looking to elevate their fantasy reads.

I was definitely seated for the violent battle scenes and the MCs' questionable decisions. Neither Bataar nor Nohra were 100% likeable. So if you're into morally (and ethically) questionable characters, then you might like this novel. If you need a clearcut character to root for, then this ain't it.

I'm a very visual person and this is the type of book that I wish were a movie or TV series instead. There was a lot of description and detail that would lend well to a visual adaptation. But since this is a novel, a lot of times I would get lost in those details and I found it difficult to make out which detail was important to the story and which detail was just fluff.

There was a time jump from the two MCs' childhood to adulthood. And honestly, I'd rather read about what happened in that time period so I could actually understand how the characters became who they were now. The way it was written made it feel impersonal. I was kind of disappointed tbh.

While I had a good time reading this, I'm not sure if I'll pick up the sequel anytime soon. There were too many lulls in between the more exciting scenes, and I found myself nodding off and wishing that the story would move faster or that one of the characters would transform into someone likeable enough for me to really care for. It became a lot more interesting in the last 25%, but at that point it was a little too late in the story to care about anything.

Also, this was pretty much a colonizer romance and I wasn't really into that portion of the story. The relationship didn't make sense to me.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for this arc.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. The world and the characters are richly developed, and I was very invested in them. I found the religious element especially intriguing. The two main cultures depicted in the book have clear and distinct religions, both of which I found fascinating - on the one hand, the almost cosmic horror of Preeminence, and on the other, the Goddess in her twin aspects of order and chaos.

However, the richness of the world is also one of the shortcomings of the book. It felt like more and more things kept being added, with gryphons and pegasuses and sea monsters and ghouls and plague and demons and gods... and I'm not not into it, but I think that streamlining a bit would have helped give this more of a shape and an overarching plot. It felt like a lot of things happened rather than there being a clear plot structure.

I appreciated having two complex POV characters in Bataar and Nohra. I wanted to see more from Qaira, as she's so important to both of them but she remains a slightly enigmatic background character. I'm looking forward to seeing how those relationships develop in the future.

I was absolutely not prepared for the level of gore and violence (although I did read and appreciate the list of content warnings, so maybe that's on me). When a child got graphically eaten by a gryphon in chapter 1, I started to realise what I was in for. So I do recommend this, but caveat lector.

All that said, I'm pretty mad the sequel isn't available yet, because I would be reading it already.

I've been excited about The Gryphon King ever since I first heard about it, and it did not disappoint!
This is a great epic fantasy novel with amazing worldbuilding, complex characters and layered storytelling.
I love the Southwest Asia inspired setting and I thought it was really well done.
I really loved how there was so much political complexity on the one hand, and unique fantasy elements on the other. The gryphons and the other (more spoilery) fantastical beasts and creatures were so cool and perfectly incorporated into the story.
The characters had a lot of depth to them and I enjoyed that the relationship dynamics were quite unique. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romantasy, but it was so refreshing to read a book with a married MMC, whose relationship to the FMC is quite complex with the added layer of his wife trying to establish a relationship with her as well.
The plot was great too and I enjoyed the story progression and seeing the different threads getting woven together.

For me personally, the writing style felt a bit distant, which stopped me from getting as invested in the story as I would have liked to be.
Objectively, all the elements are there and done well, so I think it was just some disconnect on my part.
However, I highly recommend the book to any fan of epic fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The first in a grimdark adult fantasy series inspired by Southwest Asian Turkic cultures.

The first 1/3rd of this is very much low fantasy with lots of war and conquest. One of our main characters, Bataar, is driven to conquer the world - his legend beginning when, as a child, he manages to kill a gryphon. Our other main character is Nohra, a pegasus-riding Harpy Knight to her father's court, and her land is next on Bataar's list to conquer. Following the murder of her father the zultam, Nohra and her sisters are forced to grudgingly cooperate with Bataar.

I have to say that I really wasn't in the mood for a war/conquest story, so it took me a while to get into this, even though it's an interesting story. Eventually, I did become more invested and I thought it really picked up in the second half when the action moves to the abandoned and supposedly haunted city of Anhabar. This is also the part where the fantastical elements start to really be developed as well and soon there aren't just gryphons and pegasuses, but also ghouls and djinn.

This is such an interesting and richly developed world and there's clearly a lot more that has yet to be explored in this book. The fantastical elements were really great (and creepy) and I'm looking forward to learning more about those in further books.
My main frustration throughout the book was the limited explanation given for Bataar's motivations, something I'm sure will be expanded on later, and maybe that I couldn't really get a grip on his real character. He's definitely morally grey; he's a conqueror - ruthless and bloodthirsty. But he also has a more sympathetic side. Nohra is also not an easy character to like - she tends to act first and think later but she's dedicated to her family and friends.

Although it took me a while to get into, I ended up gripped and look forward to seeing more of this world.

Fair warning: this book immediately grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go. Within the first chapter, there is a somewhat graphic depiction of child death. Despite being absolutely horrified by this (so quickly into a book??), it sets up the reality of the author's world perfectly, and well establishes an early warning to readers: this book is going to be brutal, emotional, and the circumstances violent. That said, Sara Omer has created a rich, intricately layered world that feels very real, and it's a marvel to experience.

Told in two alternating viewpoints, The Gryphon King follows the events leading up to and through the sack of Dumakra's capital city by a legendary warlord. Bataar has become famous due to his territorial expansion, with the goal of creating a better, more unified world that cares for its people. His reputation as a gryphon killer lends itself to more fantastical rumors, and he hides a secret that shines a light on his bloodthirsty ways. But all Nohra, the pegasus-riding Harpy Knight and daughter to Dumakra's zultam, can see in Bataar is her father's killer, and the man who took over her city. Nohra seeks revenge, and to protect her remaining family, but her growing connection with Bataar's wife Qaira complicates matters. Fighting against each other leads to them fighting together in opposition to greater, dark and chaotic forces that are rising, possibly signaling the horizon of another godswar humanity may not be able to win. But can they trust each other long enough to save the world they're both trying to create?

So... I loved this book. As I said previously, it is absolutely violent. The depiction of war and the accompanying suffering and volatile emotions of those involved feels terribly accurate, and the characters feel incredibly multidimensional as a result. This is the first in a saga, and it is obvious that it's going to be epic in scope. The worldbuilding is expertly done, conveyed through backstory and religion and none of the dreaded info dumping some lore-heavy books contain. Even if the characters are not always likable, their morality makes sense and fits the world. No one is entirely innocent in the events of war. They're all just trying to survive, and it's easy to paint your enemy in a singular light when you don't know them or their story. Omer has truly made a masterwork of demonstrating that.

My single gripe is that some backstory is reiterated needlessly, but that could easily be attributed to certain scenes moving around during the editing process. It does not in any way affect the story or its intricate, and at times ghastly, beauty.

One of the best things about this book is I have absolutely no idea what's coming. I am so excited to get the next installment whenever it comes out. Despite the inherent darkness of the world and the events depicted, this is easily one of the most engrossing books I've read this year.

So many thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for giving me a digital copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

🌶️

Rating: 4.25 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph: July 8, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/742c2fb1-9fa5-45e6-b688-880edf7b431e?redirect=true)
Review posted to Instagram: PENDING