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![The Burning [With Earphones] by Kathryn Lasky](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/vkyk4rzmpq12e4507kmscg2ycut7)
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
medium-paced
This one had me hooked far less than the previous book, sadly. Which it shouldn't be because this is the climax and end of Soren's story and the first arc, or at least it is implied to be (I haven't read past this book yet).
There's some good here, such as the world-building of the north, Dewlap thankfully not being a big player in this book (I hate that owl with a burning passion) and of course the final conflict with Soren and Kludd but the rest...I genuinely couldn't care less what was going on. Pirate shenanigans, learning how to fight with ice weapons... I was very bored throughout a lot of this book. Which, again, is supposed to be the <i>climax</i> of the arc. I was left disappointed, sad.
Also I personally think it should've beenSoren who ended Kludd's life, not Twilight. Their sibling rivalry has been built up since book one and to have it resolved like this is a bit unsatisfying for the reader.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2023/06/book-review-burning-by-kathryn-lasky.html
There's some good here, such as the world-building of the north, Dewlap thankfully not being a big player in this book (I hate that owl with a burning passion) and of course the final conflict with Soren and Kludd but the rest...I genuinely couldn't care less what was going on. Pirate shenanigans, learning how to fight with ice weapons... I was very bored throughout a lot of this book. Which, again, is supposed to be the <i>climax</i> of the arc. I was left disappointed, sad.
Also I personally think it should've been
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2023/06/book-review-burning-by-kathryn-lasky.html
With The Burning comes the end of the series' focus on Soren, the Band, and the Chaw of Chaws. (At least so far as I've read at this time of writing, which is up to To Be a King. The focus changes again after that, but from where we seem to be going, it looks like it's going to be Coryn's story from The Golden Tree to the end.) It's a massive disappointment, of course, as the Chaw of Chaws was the single best aspect of the story. As a matter of fact, they're just about the only aspect that make any sense.
Exhibit A: The Guardians of Ga'Hoole, an ancient order of owl-knights, act like they don't have any more experienced or trusted warriors than the adolescent protagonists. The King and Queen, the teachers, all the other Guardians--they all leave every important aspect of the story up to the main characters with zero in-universe justification.
Exhibit B: Kludd's initiation into the Pure Ones inexplicably demands the murder of a family member, ignoring the fact that there couldn't be a more counterproductive method of proving one's worth; if the Pure Ones want to build a pure race/society of Tyto Albas, why would they purposefully kill off the potential breeders?
Exhibit C: There's no sense of time flow to the series. The narrative skips over massive periods, giving off the impression that only a few weeks are passing. And then a single line will suddenly clarify that years have gone by without so much as a nod.
Exhibit D: The protagonists are just as prejudiced and ruthless as the antagonists, and yet the narrative never once hints at the possibility that maybe the war isn't as morally black-and-white as the protagonists think. When the protagonists do something, it's good. When the antagonists do something, it's bad. No one questions this. Not the snakes that the protagonists have enslaved. Not the other birds that they spend so much time insulting. Not even the vultures that Twilight threatens to maim (in order to get them to join the Guardians in fighting the Pure Ones).
So I'm hoping that with the shift of focus that's coming in the next book, things will start to improve again. Unfortunately I'm starting to suspect it's not the Ga'Hoole series that doesn't work for me so much as it is Lasky's writing in general. I'm honestly wondering if what this series needed was just a brutally honest editor. There's enough here that it could have been great: an awesome team of characters at the core of the story, a secret society of owls who can use their specialized training and intellect for both war and humanitarianism (well, the owl equivalent of the term) depending on which needs doing, two opposing Big Bads to give the story some hints of moral ambiguity and opportunities for awesome team-ups and war tactics, a Cain and Abel aspect to explore psychologically, etcetera, etcetera. Instead, everything was handled in a rather clumsy fashion, and what could have been a great plot has thus far been lost on me.
Maybe I'll have better luck with Warriors.
Exhibit A: The Guardians of Ga'Hoole, an ancient order of owl-knights, act like they don't have any more experienced or trusted warriors than the adolescent protagonists. The King and Queen, the teachers, all the other Guardians--they all leave every important aspect of the story up to the main characters with zero in-universe justification.
Exhibit B: Kludd's initiation into the Pure Ones inexplicably demands the murder of a family member, ignoring the fact that there couldn't be a more counterproductive method of proving one's worth; if the Pure Ones want to build a pure race/society of Tyto Albas, why would they purposefully kill off the potential breeders?
Exhibit C: There's no sense of time flow to the series. The narrative skips over massive periods, giving off the impression that only a few weeks are passing. And then a single line will suddenly clarify that years have gone by without so much as a nod.
Exhibit D: The protagonists are just as prejudiced and ruthless as the antagonists, and yet the narrative never once hints at the possibility that maybe the war isn't as morally black-and-white as the protagonists think. When the protagonists do something, it's good. When the antagonists do something, it's bad. No one questions this. Not the snakes that the protagonists have enslaved. Not the other birds that they spend so much time insulting. Not even the vultures that Twilight threatens to maim (in order to get them to join the Guardians in fighting the Pure Ones).
So I'm hoping that with the shift of focus that's coming in the next book, things will start to improve again. Unfortunately I'm starting to suspect it's not the Ga'Hoole series that doesn't work for me so much as it is Lasky's writing in general. I'm honestly wondering if what this series needed was just a brutally honest editor. There's enough here that it could have been great: an awesome team of characters at the core of the story, a secret society of owls who can use their specialized training and intellect for both war and humanitarianism (well, the owl equivalent of the term) depending on which needs doing, two opposing Big Bads to give the story some hints of moral ambiguity and opportunities for awesome team-ups and war tactics, a Cain and Abel aspect to explore psychologically, etcetera, etcetera. Instead, everything was handled in a rather clumsy fashion, and what could have been a great plot has thus far been lost on me.
Maybe I'll have better luck with Warriors.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My son loved these! He read them in about 3rd grade. I didn't share his love, but then I'm an adult and I experienced the story from a totally different point of view (I mean, fighting owls??! It was hard for me to get into.) I was willing to let him read whatever it took to get him to reading fluently and I was just happy to see him immersed in a book.
There has been a veritable parliament of owl books in the series now with this being number six, and I can't say that they are really riveting, they areOK, not terrible, but I would not be sad if I didn't read the next one fore a month, mind you since I have the next couple out, they will be read shortly, but the point is, they are not that gripping you want to put all else aside to read them. Decent but not dynamic.
This was yet another great book in this series. Although this series is for kids, it has a lot of great messages and I think really important ones that kids need to know, presented in a fun, exciting way. This book was just a continuation of that journey. I loved the split perspectives of the many owls on their many missions. I liked the idea that the other owls didn't have to be brave together, but could be brave and act noble on their own, especially Gylfie. I liked that we got to see different sides of the owls, especially Twilight and Soren. The new characters were always useful and I liked seeing more of Ruby and Martin, who we don't see enough of.
In a nutshell, a wonderful book for kids that explores why "purity of race" is a REALLY BAD THING.
I know that this is the end of the war against the Pure Ones, so I'm curious on how there's more books in the series? How can this go on longer? In any case, I'll probably start the next one tomorrow, or at the latest on Monday!
In a nutshell, a wonderful book for kids that explores why "purity of race" is a REALLY BAD THING.
I know that this is the end of the war against the Pure Ones, so I'm curious on how there's more books in the series? How can this go on longer? In any case, I'll probably start the next one tomorrow, or at the latest on Monday!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A great escalation. Again, lovely to see these characters grow.