Book Review - Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy

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Title: Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy
Author: Tui T. Sutherland
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: July 1, 2012
Version I Read: Paperback

Rating: 4/5

It's been so long since I've read children's books, because, you know, I'm not a kid anymore. For the most part, I find children's literature to be a little simplistic for my tastes, and it's not the genre I predominantly write in. But come on. This one's about dragons. I had to give it a shot.

And I wasn't disappointed. Sure, it's a children's book, but like the Warriors series, there are a lot of non-child friendly elements to the story, the characters are fun and have potential to grow, and the world and society that have been set up are complex and genuinely interesting.

In the land of Pyrrhia, seven tribes of dragons of different species with unique characteristics live. After Scavengers (humans) killed the Queen of the Sandwings and stole her treasure, her three daughters began vying for the throne. Each daughter reached out for allies and drew other dragon tribes into the dispute, which led to a massive war that has lasted twelve years. However, there is hope: a prophecy that states five dragonets of destiny will arrive to end the fighting.

Thus begins the tale of these five dragonets of destiny, who were taken by the Talons of Peace, an underground peace movement whose goal is to end the war, to hatch and grow up isolated from the world, protected by their "guardians." When one of their own is threatened, however, the dragonets decide they're done waiting around and choose to run away from their captivity to find their own destinies.

Spoilers ahoy.

I think the book started off kind of slow, but it did do some of the necessary things in storytelling, such as setting up the characters and the world they live in. It's kind of clever how the reader doesn't know much about the world outside the caves in the same way the dragonets do until the dragonets begin to experience it themselves. The plot really shifts into gear when the newly freed dragonets are captured by Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings.

The first book is narrated by Clay, the gentle MudWing. Like the others, he desperately wants to know where he came from and who his parents were, and dreams of a happy reunion with them. He likes food and dislikes violence, and isn't so sure about his adequacy for the prophecy. We do get basic framework for the other four main characters, who each get to narrate the sequels: Tsunami, a bold and brave SeaWing; Sunny, an eternally happy but odd-looking SandWing; Glory, a sarcastic and snippy RainWing who was kidnapped to replace the SkyWing that was supposed to be in the prophecy but killed; and Starflight, an intelligent but cowardly NightWing.

The different species of dragons are nothing short of original. Sure, you have your SkyWings, who most closely resemble traditional European dragons. But then you have MudWings and RainWings, the likes of which I've certainly never seen before in fiction. Even the SeaWings (we've all seen water dragons before) have characteristics such as their luminescent scales that I haven't seen before. It's a joy to learn about and experience these tribes, their allegiances, and what makes them different as well as the same.

One thing that stood out immediately to me about the series is how feminist it is. In fact, it actually goes the other way and ends up as kind of sexist against men, since male dragons are generally seen as less important than female dragons in that they cannot be rulers of their respective tribes. On top of that, of the five main characters, there are two males to three females. Usually in books, when there are five main characters, the ratio is basically the opposite. I do appreciate the number of female characters, but I do wonder why none of the main characters wonder why males can't rule, because clearly, they're just as capable.

Back to the plot of the book. The gladiatorial matches Queen Scarlet holds for "fun" are genuinely horrifying and not much is glossed over - some pretty intense stuff for the first book in a children's series. I certainly feel sorry for Fjord, the nameless SeaWing Tsunami ends up killing, and Peril, though Peril is a complicated character whom you simultaneously feel sorry for and yet have a hard time forgiving. Fjord's death is the single reason Glory is not my favorite character (she is shown to be conflicted about it later, however), leaving that honor for Starflight.

Anyway, I went out and bought the next three in the series in paperback and am awaiting the fifth and the second series' release in paperback. So if that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.

Why four stars? This first book can be slow or unevenly paced in places, especially the beginning, and the writing can be a bit simplistic. But overall, these aren't huge problems once the plot kicks in.

Verdict: An enjoyable beginning to an enjoyable new children's series. I highly recommend.

Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use. 

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