Wings of Fire

Wings of Fire

I was obsessed with this book series back in fourth and fifth grade. It consists of fifteen books broken up into three pentalogies. Each book has its own protagonist, and the characters from the previous pentalogies are used in each new one. 

The plot of the first pentalogy revolves around a whole-continent war. All the characters are dragons. There are seven species of dragons, each split into their own tribes and territories: IceWings, MudWings, NightWings, RainWings, SandWings, SeaWings, and SkyWings. However, a prophecy states that five dragonets of different species will together stop this war. The dragonets (called the Dragonets of Destiny) live in a cave, raised by three guardians. In this pentalogy, the dragonets escape from their cave and visit each of their respective territories and families. Each book covers a different perspective. However, while doing so, the dragonets find that their tribes and families are much more different than they expected… As each book progresses, the dragonets are closer to uncovering the mystery surrounding the war and the prophecy.

In the second pentalogy, five different dragonets attend a school founded by the Dragonets of Destiny after the war. However, Darkstalker, the pentalogy’s main antagonists, begins manipulating dragons and wreaks havoc throughout the continent. Darkstalker seems impossible to defeat: he is an animus (meaning he can basically do anything with magic at the expense of his soul), immortal, and charming. However, he harbors secrets, and the dragonets must uncover them to use to their advantage.

In the final pentalogy, a new continent with three new species are introduced: LeafWings, HiveWings, and SilkWings. The HiveWings dominate the continent, and the SilkWings serve them. The LeafWings are in hiding after being almost wiped out in a war with the HiveWings. However, the LeafWings cross the ocean to seek help from the other continent. This pentalogy involves all dragon tribes to defeat Queen Wasp of the HiveWings (who is being controlled by a mysterious figure).

While this series has fifteen books, each book is unique to itself. Additionally, I think the whole concept and setting is quite creative. My favorite book in the series is probably the fourteenth book, The Dangerous Gift. I think Snowfall’s point of view is enjoyable to read, and I like her character development. However, I would say my favorite pentalogy would be the first one. While the individual books aren’t my favorite, I enjoy the plotline, and its many plot twists never make it boring.

While there are many aspects I like about this series, there are a couple of things that don’t make sense. One major example is the animus magic. It gives dragons the power to do anything they want, although they are extremely rare. While I like the way it is written out (especially the portrayal of its detrimental consequences mentally) I think it gives the dragons too much power. Although this isn’t too big of a problem, the dragons could have done so much more with their power than they did in the book. For example (spoiler alert) Darkstalker could have just told a piece of paper what happened to Clearsight instead of just wondering what happened. And if he was really desperate, he could have just gone back in time. These are all things I thought of in fourth/fifth grade, and it doesn’t make sense that a full grown dragon couldn’t have thought about it.

Overall, I think it is a really good book series! Despite the few plot holes, the plot is creative and captivating. Each book has its own personality. There are a couple of special edition books I would also recommend (Darkstalker and Dragonslayer). Darkstalker gives some background to the second pentalogy, and Dragonslayer is all about human relationship with dragons.

-Joyce Zheng