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A review by faeonyx
Moon Rising by Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
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?