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jessthanthree's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Confinement
z3r0sit's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jasper_savannah's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
20zarar16's review
4.0
Not the best ending but not the worst. I really enjoyed the epilogue and I’m really exited to read the next chapter of this series. New species, tribes, exiting!!
onespaceymother's review
5.0
Read aloud to kids. Their reviews:
Eleanor (age 8): I’m so excited about the end and about the romance! I think Moon picked the best one because I think the other one (no spoilers) wouldn’t be a nice dad someday.
Max (age 11): I like Quibli. He’s a great character. I liked the decision Kinkajou made at the end.
Eleanor (age 8): I’m so excited about the end and about the romance! I think Moon picked the best one because I think the other one (no spoilers) wouldn’t be a nice dad someday.
Max (age 11): I like Quibli. He’s a great character. I liked the decision Kinkajou made at the end.
chamomiledaydreams's review
4.0
I love reading the Wings of Fire series. There is so much drama and intrigue stuffed into each book, and I like how previously mentioned characters are reintroduced as narrators and given a more complex backstory, while still expanding upon familiar characters and events.
I have a couple of reservations about this book, however, and I will be delving into them here, without holding back on any spoilers. If you plan on reading this series and do not want to know what happens at the end of the second arc, then please stop reading here.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
There are two main issues that I feel conflicted about. The first is the love triangle between Moon, Qibli, and Winter. In the first two books, I didn't even know that Qibli was in the running. In "Moon Rising," the novel from Moon's perspective, I didn't catch on to any hints that she reciprocated Qibli's affection or that he cared for her romantically. Winter and Moon, while not my favorite pairing, seemed to have the most canon material, although out of the love triangle, Winter and Qibli interested me the most, especially when Qibli joked about marrying Winter, and his mother Cobra took a moment to seriously consider the match, perfectly content with Qibli marrying another guy. (This begs the question: If dragons can so casually be gay, why haven't we seen it in the series yet? If there's no homophobia, then why do things still seem so heteronormative? But I digress... I can dig into that monster another time.)
I don't mind that Moon chose Qibli, necessarily. I think that he's the nicest guy and therefore "the best" for her. Not that Winter isn't cool, but I would trust an all-around sweet guy to be in a healthy, loving relationship more than I would trust someone like Winter, who has a temper and snaps at his beloved quite frequently. Still, hearing about Moon's affection for Qibli came out of left field for me, so much so that Qibli had to have flashbacks to a moment in between the books to establish a few tender moments that they'd shared on their journey. I hope that, in future installations, we see more of Moon, Qibli, and Winter. My dream would be that Winter grows as a person, overcomes his self-doubt and insecurities, then joins the Moon + Qibli polycule. There is definitely a lot more to be said about all of their stories, and I want to see more about Winter's love and fascination for scavengers.
My second big issue with "Darkness of Dragons" is the resolution to the Darkstalker conflict. I felt similarly at the end of the first arc: Everything was resolved so fast that it made my head spin. This arc was a little slower, which I appreciated. But I was still reeling by the time I finished, and I didn't get as much closure as I would have liked (although the epilogue with a section from each POV characters' perspective was a lovely idea and improved the overall cohesion of these five books).
I think that it's clever to "defeat" Darkstalker by removing his powers from the equation, rather than killing him outright. Despite all of Darkstalker's crimes, I didn't want to see an ending where he was brutally slaughtered by Moon's friends. I wanted him to talk through his feelings and resolve to be a better person, especially since we've seen as early as "Moon Rising" that he isn't a completely evil guy. He has redeemable qualities that, if expanded upon, could make him a valuable friend to many of the characters.
The strawberry idea, where Darkstalker could willingly choose to turn over a new life, seemed perfect. There were, of course, kinks to sort out. I agreed with Darkstalker that it would be terrible for him to lose his memories of Clearsight, Fathom, and the rest of his life. It would make him feel like nothing he did had mattered and that the people he had loved were truly gone, with no memories to sustain them.
When the story progressed to Darkstalker forcibly being changed through a trick, I was horrified. Haven't we seen through characters such as Hailstorm/Pyrite and Peril that messing with someone's mind through animus magic is cruel and unnecessary? Why is it okay to do that to Darkstalker? He essentially died when he was transformed into Peacemaker. Everything that made him himself vanished.
If I were to tweak this ending, I would make it so that Darkstalker chose to be transformed into a "normal" dragon and retained his memories, so that he could grow as a person and forge relationships no longer grounded in a severe power imbalance. I'm not sure how old Darkstalker is (discounting the thousands of years that he was trapped under the mountain), but he seemed rather close to the main characters' ages, in terms of childishness and immaturity. What if he could start over as their equal and truly learn what it is to be their friend? Moon wanted to trust him so badly, and wouldn't it have been fun to have a villainous character doing his best to be kind, yet failing miserably for quite some time? Darkstalker would have to learn that killing is bad, and there could be a lot of comedy in his attempts to become a kinder dragon. (Yes, I am imagining the episode of Spongebob where Man Ray learns how to return a stranger's wallet.)
Despite my complaints, I really enjoy the Wings of Fire series, and this book was no exception. Yet I struggle with the endings a lot of the time, since they don't always feel like endings. This makes sense, considering that so many of the characters return with more drama to be resolved in later novels. But some major plot points deeply unsettled me, and I don't feel completely satisfied about this story arc. I plan to read Darkstalker's super-edition next, then I will move on to the third sets of five books. Fingers crossed that some of my concerns are addressed in those installations, but if not, I will settle for the fan-made world of headcanons and AUs.
I have a couple of reservations about this book, however, and I will be delving into them here, without holding back on any spoilers. If you plan on reading this series and do not want to know what happens at the end of the second arc, then please stop reading here.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
There are two main issues that I feel conflicted about. The first is the love triangle between Moon, Qibli, and Winter. In the first two books, I didn't even know that Qibli was in the running. In "Moon Rising," the novel from Moon's perspective, I didn't catch on to any hints that she reciprocated Qibli's affection or that he cared for her romantically. Winter and Moon, while not my favorite pairing, seemed to have the most canon material, although out of the love triangle, Winter and Qibli interested me the most, especially when Qibli joked about marrying Winter, and his mother Cobra took a moment to seriously consider the match, perfectly content with Qibli marrying another guy. (This begs the question: If dragons can so casually be gay, why haven't we seen it in the series yet? If there's no homophobia, then why do things still seem so heteronormative? But I digress... I can dig into that monster another time.)
I don't mind that Moon chose Qibli, necessarily. I think that he's the nicest guy and therefore "the best" for her. Not that Winter isn't cool, but I would trust an all-around sweet guy to be in a healthy, loving relationship more than I would trust someone like Winter, who has a temper and snaps at his beloved quite frequently. Still, hearing about Moon's affection for Qibli came out of left field for me, so much so that Qibli had to have flashbacks to a moment in between the books to establish a few tender moments that they'd shared on their journey. I hope that, in future installations, we see more of Moon, Qibli, and Winter. My dream would be that Winter grows as a person, overcomes his self-doubt and insecurities, then joins the Moon + Qibli polycule. There is definitely a lot more to be said about all of their stories, and I want to see more about Winter's love and fascination for scavengers.
My second big issue with "Darkness of Dragons" is the resolution to the Darkstalker conflict. I felt similarly at the end of the first arc: Everything was resolved so fast that it made my head spin. This arc was a little slower, which I appreciated. But I was still reeling by the time I finished, and I didn't get as much closure as I would have liked (although the epilogue with a section from each POV characters' perspective was a lovely idea and improved the overall cohesion of these five books).
I think that it's clever to "defeat" Darkstalker by removing his powers from the equation, rather than killing him outright. Despite all of Darkstalker's crimes, I didn't want to see an ending where he was brutally slaughtered by Moon's friends. I wanted him to talk through his feelings and resolve to be a better person, especially since we've seen as early as "Moon Rising" that he isn't a completely evil guy. He has redeemable qualities that, if expanded upon, could make him a valuable friend to many of the characters.
The strawberry idea, where Darkstalker could willingly choose to turn over a new life, seemed perfect. There were, of course, kinks to sort out. I agreed with Darkstalker that it would be terrible for him to lose his memories of Clearsight, Fathom, and the rest of his life. It would make him feel like nothing he did had mattered and that the people he had loved were truly gone, with no memories to sustain them.
When the story progressed to Darkstalker forcibly being changed through a trick, I was horrified. Haven't we seen through characters such as Hailstorm/Pyrite and Peril that messing with someone's mind through animus magic is cruel and unnecessary? Why is it okay to do that to Darkstalker? He essentially died when he was transformed into Peacemaker. Everything that made him himself vanished.
If I were to tweak this ending, I would make it so that Darkstalker chose to be transformed into a "normal" dragon and retained his memories, so that he could grow as a person and forge relationships no longer grounded in a severe power imbalance. I'm not sure how old Darkstalker is (discounting the thousands of years that he was trapped under the mountain), but he seemed rather close to the main characters' ages, in terms of childishness and immaturity. What if he could start over as their equal and truly learn what it is to be their friend? Moon wanted to trust him so badly, and wouldn't it have been fun to have a villainous character doing his best to be kind, yet failing miserably for quite some time? Darkstalker would have to learn that killing is bad, and there could be a lot of comedy in his attempts to become a kinder dragon. (Yes, I am imagining the episode of Spongebob where Man Ray learns how to return a stranger's wallet.)
Despite my complaints, I really enjoy the Wings of Fire series, and this book was no exception. Yet I struggle with the endings a lot of the time, since they don't always feel like endings. This makes sense, considering that so many of the characters return with more drama to be resolved in later novels. But some major plot points deeply unsettled me, and I don't feel completely satisfied about this story arc. I plan to read Darkstalker's super-edition next, then I will move on to the third sets of five books. Fingers crossed that some of my concerns are addressed in those installations, but if not, I will settle for the fan-made world of headcanons and AUs.