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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
i love autism and social anxiety <33
dark stalker is sus af <_<
dark stalker is sus af <_<
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
A fantastic beginning to the next arc of the Wings of Fire story. I loved all of the characters (especially Qibli and the title character Moon) and was not disappointed with the many cameos by the main characters of the first five books (their character direction was excellent). The plot was intriguing and provided a good setup for the next few books (I assume it will probably be another five).
Some SPOILERS to follow.
The mind-reading ability of the main character, Moonwatcher, made for an interesting and very enjoyable point of view. This ability allowed for a huge amount of character development, insight, and background to be provided for the other characters. In fact, I am somewhat worried about losing out on this insightful position in future books. I am also worried about losing the character of Darkstalker, who we only heard because of Moon's ability. His faint narcissism and snarky sarcasm were absolutely delightful, and a very good subversion of the ancient villain imprisoned only to rise again character trope.
One disappointment was the death of Carnelian, a skywing dragon: I was excited at the possibility of finally getting a book in a skywing's point of view, and there was a great deal of wasted potential I saw in the character (although I still do love the other characters dearly).
Wings of Fire in general touches on some pretty mature themes for a slightly younger-audience series, and Moon Rising seemed to up the ante in this regard, touching on the many psychological traumas that can result from a long and grueling war fought partially by youths. Peril, Sora, and Flame especially struck me as very tragic characters, but pretty much all of the characters seemed to have some major issues involving the war and I hope that these theme threads will be continued in the future books of this series arc. Witnessing the healing the characters go through would be very rewarding, considering all of the pain and loss the war caused them.
End SPOILERS
Overall, this book was fantastic and made me very excited for future Wings of Fire books (despite starting off with a whole new set of main characters). The characterization is and always has been my most favorite part of this series (funny how these dragons seem more human than most of the human characters in other books!). Looking forward to Winter Turning!
Some SPOILERS to follow.
The mind-reading ability of the main character, Moonwatcher, made for an interesting and very enjoyable point of view. This ability allowed for a huge amount of character development, insight, and background to be provided for the other characters. In fact, I am somewhat worried about losing out on this insightful position in future books. I am also worried about losing the character of Darkstalker, who we only heard because of Moon's ability. His faint narcissism and snarky sarcasm were absolutely delightful, and a very good subversion of the ancient villain imprisoned only to rise again character trope.
One disappointment was the death of Carnelian, a skywing dragon: I was excited at the possibility of finally getting a book in a skywing's point of view, and there was a great deal of wasted potential I saw in the character (although I still do love the other characters dearly).
Wings of Fire in general touches on some pretty mature themes for a slightly younger-audience series, and Moon Rising seemed to up the ante in this regard, touching on the many psychological traumas that can result from a long and grueling war fought partially by youths. Peril, Sora, and Flame especially struck me as very tragic characters, but pretty much all of the characters seemed to have some major issues involving the war and I hope that these theme threads will be continued in the future books of this series arc. Witnessing the healing the characters go through would be very rewarding, considering all of the pain and loss the war caused them.
End SPOILERS
Overall, this book was fantastic and made me very excited for future Wings of Fire books (despite starting off with a whole new set of main characters). The characterization is and always has been my most favorite part of this series (funny how these dragons seem more human than most of the human characters in other books!). Looking forward to Winter Turning!
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This series is my not-so-guilty pleasure. Entertaining, awesome characters, mysteries and suspense, and best of all SO MANY DRAGONS!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I definitely thought that this book wouldn't be anywhere near as good as the previous books because it seemed like there was such a good and such a definite end to the others. This one, however, takes place at the very beginning of an experiment dealing with the school that the dragonets of destiny have set up. I also didn't think I would like the main character of this book, but she turned out to have a very interesting personality and a strong, clear voice. It made it a lot easier to get into than I had initially thought it would be.
This book starts with Moonwatcher being dropped off at the school by her mother. She is given a very strict warning to keep her powers a secret because no one believes that the NightWings have the powers of mind reading or prophecy anymore. This leaves Moon to struggle with a secret that she can't share with anyone. It leaves her open and vulnerable to all of the influences around her, including one that might (or might not) be sinister. She has no idea how to use, interpret, or control her powers. She is left defenseless against the onslaught of people's thoughts. Her reluctance to tell anyone about her powers also doesn't win her any friends in the beginning. She can't turn off the ability and the only lessons she gets are from the voice of Darkstalker. Moon has, of course, never heard of him before, but he is something of a NightWing ghost story, and he is the only other NightWing that can help her understand. The problem is that he is trapped somewhere because of what his friends did to him, and she doesn't know where that is. He talks to her in her mind.
Moon, as well as the reader, doesn't really know what to believe. Darkstalker tells one story about himself and his immensely powerful gift of foresight in which he can see all of the possible futures spread out before him. He makes the case that all he ever wanted was to be a benevolent ruler. He found a way to make himself immortal, and there are stories saying that he has murdered countless dragons and used his animus powers for evil. Having never heard anything about him, Moon (and the reader) don't know what to believe. He has an ominous feeling about him, but there's not been a lot of information about him before now. He was mentioned once in the last book, and all of the NightWings seem to be afraid of him and his power. With the immortality, there was no way to kill him and they were only able to imprison him, but he has woken up.
This leaves Moon dealing with her own thoughts and discomfort as well as the thoughts and guidance coming from Darkstalker. She does her best to hide her powers until she gets a vision of the history room exploding. Her warning comes too late, however, and two of the dragons that were inside ended up dying. Suspicion is planted firmly on her until the members of her winglet realize that she had a vision of it happening. She begs them to keep her secret, but they are all suspicious of her and a little angry. She resolves, with the help of Turtle and Qibli, to find out who had really caused the attack and see what can be done about it. When she succeeds, she not only outs Sora as the murderer, but finds out a sinister secret about Icicle, as well. Icicle flees the school, and Winter is close behind her, heading out to look for his brother. With no other choice, the other dragonets of Moon's winglet head out to help Winter. Moon has also learned that the pieces of the comet that fell to earth keep her from hearing other dragons' thoughts. She gives each of them a piece of it from Turtle's armband.
Something that I have really grown to appreciate about these books is that it is so hard to tell which characters you can and can't trust. The author has done an incredible job keeping their motivations hidden and secret, and this book is a shining example of that. Darkstalker is a mysterious figure, and there are hints at his power and what he thinks about that power, but it is hard to be sure if he is helping Moon or manipulating her. It is so hard to see what his ultimate goal is aside from simply getting out of his stony prison. Moon has her own motivations, but she seems like the sort of dragon that COULD be manipulated by someone like Darkstalker. However, once she found the solid comfort of her friends, it seems like she might be able to make her own choices, after all.
Scarlet is still part of the equation, too, but at least we know she is a truly evil dragon and not someone that could turn out to be anything. She seems to have more help coming from other places, however, and it is difficult to tell who it might be beside her this time. Peril is at the school. Icicle hasn't had time to get to her yet. Sora and Umbra also disappeared due to Sora's outburst and attempts at revenge. Once again, the book raises more questions than it answers, and ends with Moon delivering her first real prophecy. If they can't bring about the end to something and find the night city, the academy will fall. The question is, was it truly a prophecy, or was it something else that Darkstalker has been using to manipulate Moon with?
This book starts with Moonwatcher being dropped off at the school by her mother. She is given a very strict warning to keep her powers a secret because no one believes that the NightWings have the powers of mind reading or prophecy anymore. This leaves Moon to struggle with a secret that she can't share with anyone. It leaves her open and vulnerable to all of the influences around her, including one that might (or might not) be sinister. She has no idea how to use, interpret, or control her powers. She is left defenseless against the onslaught of people's thoughts. Her reluctance to tell anyone about her powers also doesn't win her any friends in the beginning. She can't turn off the ability and the only lessons she gets are from the voice of Darkstalker. Moon has, of course, never heard of him before, but he is something of a NightWing ghost story, and he is the only other NightWing that can help her understand. The problem is that he is trapped somewhere because of what his friends did to him, and she doesn't know where that is. He talks to her in her mind.
Moon, as well as the reader, doesn't really know what to believe. Darkstalker tells one story about himself and his immensely powerful gift of foresight in which he can see all of the possible futures spread out before him. He makes the case that all he ever wanted was to be a benevolent ruler. He found a way to make himself immortal, and there are stories saying that he has murdered countless dragons and used his animus powers for evil. Having never heard anything about him, Moon (and the reader) don't know what to believe. He has an ominous feeling about him, but there's not been a lot of information about him before now. He was mentioned once in the last book, and all of the NightWings seem to be afraid of him and his power. With the immortality, there was no way to kill him and they were only able to imprison him, but he has woken up.
This leaves Moon dealing with her own thoughts and discomfort as well as the thoughts and guidance coming from Darkstalker. She does her best to hide her powers until she gets a vision of the history room exploding. Her warning comes too late, however, and two of the dragons that were inside ended up dying. Suspicion is planted firmly on her until the members of her winglet realize that she had a vision of it happening. She begs them to keep her secret, but they are all suspicious of her and a little angry. She resolves, with the help of Turtle and Qibli, to find out who had really caused the attack and see what can be done about it. When she succeeds, she not only outs Sora as the murderer, but finds out a sinister secret about Icicle, as well. Icicle flees the school, and Winter is close behind her, heading out to look for his brother. With no other choice, the other dragonets of Moon's winglet head out to help Winter. Moon has also learned that the pieces of the comet that fell to earth keep her from hearing other dragons' thoughts. She gives each of them a piece of it from Turtle's armband.
Something that I have really grown to appreciate about these books is that it is so hard to tell which characters you can and can't trust. The author has done an incredible job keeping their motivations hidden and secret, and this book is a shining example of that. Darkstalker is a mysterious figure, and there are hints at his power and what he thinks about that power, but it is hard to be sure if he is helping Moon or manipulating her. It is so hard to see what his ultimate goal is aside from simply getting out of his stony prison. Moon has her own motivations, but she seems like the sort of dragon that COULD be manipulated by someone like Darkstalker. However, once she found the solid comfort of her friends, it seems like she might be able to make her own choices, after all.
Scarlet is still part of the equation, too, but at least we know she is a truly evil dragon and not someone that could turn out to be anything. She seems to have more help coming from other places, however, and it is difficult to tell who it might be beside her this time. Peril is at the school. Icicle hasn't had time to get to her yet. Sora and Umbra also disappeared due to Sora's outburst and attempts at revenge. Once again, the book raises more questions than it answers, and ends with Moon delivering her first real prophecy. If they can't bring about the end to something and find the night city, the academy will fall. The question is, was it truly a prophecy, or was it something else that Darkstalker has been using to manipulate Moon with?
I think jumping in at book 6 pulled this down for me -- I kept getting distracted by trying to figure out dragon anatomy -- opposable thumbs? 4 limbs or six? Moon's power seemed pretty horrific, and her solution rather short-sighted.