Wings of Fire Book One: The Dragonet Prophecy (edition 2013)

I picked this up because after the Arenson books, which were trying so hard to be grimdark, I wanted something light and fun that was still dragons. This YA fantasy novel seemed to fit the bill.

Its the first book of a series, and while its not Sutherland's first published book by a mile, it has the feel of a first book. Its a little clunky, a little graceless, a little on the nose. But it sports a large cast, most of whom has developed relationships with each other. The dialogue feels mostly natural, although the 'voices' of the characters and their word choices will immediately make you think of middle schoolers, not young dragons.

I was surprised at the violence. I'm not against it by any means, but wasn't expecting it from a YA novel geared for its age level. We have suicide, burning to death, torture, gladiatorial combat, acid burning faces and eyes out, just as examples. Overall I thought the violence was realistic and maturely handled and the main characters felt genuinely threatened.

I wanted a little bit more worldbuilding, and the ending with Clay made sense for his character arc, but didn't feel like a natural part of the plot, so the ending felt a bit dragging. ( )

"The Dragonet Prophecy" was recommended to me by a Year 7 student who was reading the eleventh book in the series. I must say, it was fun and the five dragonets stole my heart, especially Clay and Sunny. There was action and fights all the way through which made for an exciting read. The world building was detailed and I loved all the different types of dragons. A great read for younger readers. ( )

Great fantasy combining war, turmoil, prophecies, and dragons into a spell bounding adventure. Wonderful read for reluctant readers.

What a fun story. A bit cliche. A bit gory. ( )

Five dragon eggs are taken on the brightest night so that the prophecy on peace will be fulfilled. As they grow up under a mountain and learn history and battle tricks, they form their own family but don't stop thinking about their families of origins and how they will one day find them.

I enjoyed this book. The world building is great as we learn about the dragonets and their clans. The young ones are not happy with their circumstances and do what they feel they must to fulfill the prophecy earlier rather than later. Of course, they run into problems but they start to discover their strengths and talents as well as those of the other dragonets. There is violence and death. Some of it I was not prepared for.

I particularly loved Clay, the Mudwalker. This seems to be his story. He is not what the others think nor what their instructors believe him to be. The others also are more than their instructors believe about them.

This is an interesting group of characters and I cannot wait to continue the series ( )