Blackbringer (Dreamdark, #1) (Faeries of Dreamdark)

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Blackbringer (Dreamdark, #1) (Dreamdark #1)

by Laini Taylor (Goodreads Author)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 2,165 ratings · 350 reviews

When the ancient evil of the Blackbringer rises to unmake the world, only one determined faerie stands in its way. However, Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, is not like other faeries. While her kind live in seclusion deep in the forests of Dreamdark, she's devoted her life to tracking down and recapturing devils escaped from their ancient bottles, just as...more

Paperback, 448 pages

Published May 14th 2009 by Firebird (first published June 21st 2007)

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Nov 15, 2010 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, adventure, fantasy, youngadult, favorites

Magie Windwitch is much more adventurous than most faeries. Accompanying her scholarly parents around the world to record dying magics, she becomes a devil hunter with a merry band of crows. When she discovers a loosed devil that seems different than all of the rest, she returns home for the first time in 80 years to get answers.

I was reluctant to start this because as much as I love Susanna Clarke's fae, I was growing kind of tired of the teen faery sagas I'd run across lately. This story was c...more

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 21, 2011 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: faerie fiction readers

Shelves: faerie, fantasy, young-adult, library-checkout, audiobook, djinn, the-chosen-one, dragon, animal-character-steals-the-show, 2011-reading

Blackbringer is well done fantasy fiction with faeries. The storyline is intricate and inventive. I never thought I'd read a book that was able to combine faerie lore with djinn lore, but it was done very successfully here. I liked the characters, including Magpie, the lead heroine, and her murder of crows who she travels with. They love her dearly and their love is reciprocated in spades. And there is also Talon, a Prince of a faerie warrior clan of Dreamdark, who was born with underdeveloped w...more Blackbringer is well done fantasy fiction with faeries. The storyline is intricate and inventive. I never thought I'd read a book that was able to combine faerie lore with djinn lore, but it was done very successfully here. I liked the characters, including Magpie, the lead heroine, and her murder of crows who she travels with. They love her dearly and their love is reciprocated in spades. And there is also Talon, a Prince of a faerie warrior clan of Dreamdark, who was born with underdeveloped wings and who has always desired flight. Not only are there faeries, djinn, and talking crows, but there are also hedge imps (mostly benevolent, animal-type creatures) and devils (not benevolent--somewhere between mischevious and annoying to downright malevolent). The narrator, Davina Porter, beautifully illustrates the vitality inherent in the various characters in this novel.

Ms. Taylor has crafted her own creation myth in this story, and it was quite interesting. In this novel, the world was created through the dreaming of the djinn--which forms a tapestry which includes everything that exists in this world. However, the tapestry is unravelling through the dark methods of one who has the form of utter darkness, the Blackbringer. Fortunately, Magpie has a special ability that has kept the world tapestry together, and the potential to save it and everyone within the tapestry from the Blackbringer.

I enjoyed listening to this novel on audiobook. The creativity impressed me, and I thought Ms. Porter's narration was spot-on. Although it seemed a bit long towards the end (of course I had some long days in which I was pretty exhausted, so I can't blame that on the book alone), it was a worthwhile experience. Although this was written as a young adult novel, I think older fantasy readers would enjoy it. I am an admitted fan of YA literature, but I can fairly say that this story has elements that would appeal to older readers as easily as younger ones. I would recommend it to faerie fiction lovers, and fantasy fans in general.(less)

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Jul 08, 2012 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grew up with Disney versions of the famous Grimm collection of fairytales. Color, imagery, whimsey melded into a tapestry of beauty. I especially loved Fantasia and as an adult still love it. Blackbringer brings Fantasia to mind. Faeries, whimsical crows, impish imps, delightful crows that sing, dance. love and fight to save their world. All make for a reading experience that it just that - an experience.

Faeries. Magpie Windwitch comes from dreams, she's made from the fabric of dreams and wove...more I grew up with Disney versions of the famous Grimm collection of fairytales. Color, imagery, whimsey melded into a tapestry of beauty. I especially loved Fantasia and as an adult still love it. Blackbringer brings Fantasia to mind. Faeries, whimsical crows, impish imps, delightful crows that sing, dance. love and fight to save their world. All make for a reading experience that it just that - an experience.

Faeries. Magpie Windwitch comes from dreams, she's made from the fabric of dreams and woven into the tapestry of Dreamdark, the forest filled with all creatures bright, fanciful, dangerous and dark. It's the tiny, lovely form of Magppie whose delicate shoulders bear the fierceness of love and her destiny to save her world and those she cherishes.

I can't say too much about the plot as it's a simple one. Dark forces gather to eradicate all that is beautiful and free. One small creature delves into her newly discovered magical powers to prevent what seems inevitable. This plot is not complex but the beauty of the language and the philosophy of faith and holding tight to dreams greater than oneself guide you into a land that is Fantasia put to words.

Magpie comes to understand the depth and meaning of creation through learning that the literal tapestry of life is "energy . . . that's all around us? Like a river." And like a river this tale flows into a beautiful tale that left me thinking how much I loved the book but frustrated with my inability to explain in simple words how it touched me as deeply as it did.

The best way to state the thoughtful and lovely quality of the book comes from Magpie's mind as she contemplates what makes the impossible possible. "Love. She'd always thought of love as . . . affection, the look that passed often between her parents or the feel of their arms around her. But wasn't it this too, the core of iron in someone's soul that made them capable of impossible things? it seemed a terrifying force."

This then is the lyrical force of Blackbringer: whimsical creatures, another world within our world and a novel that moves like a symphony.

Found within the pages are beautiful pen and ink illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo that appear like gifts wrapped among the pages of the book. They're detailed and intricate. It's easy to immerse yourself in the beauty of words artistically blended to inspire the pen to create visual art as well.

One caution! I couldn't read Blackbringer quickly. I became lost in the imagery and color that flashed before my eyes as I brought words into my mind, therefore creating my own version of a Fantasia like tale. Laini Taylor's work will give you a unique reading, one that I feel confident will vary greatly from reader to reader.

I wrote an extended review of this book for Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.(less)

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Apr 16, 2012 Chemung County Library District added it · review of another edition

Shelves: staff-picks

Dreamdark – Blackbringer, by Laini Taylor
As a Youth Services staff member, I have been whittling down the list of must-reads recommended by both book review periodicals and fellow Juvenile and YA readers. I have been mired in teen angst, hurled through recycled adventures, and generally worn-out by stories that just don't wow.

This book, Dreamdark, was recommended to me by a staff member. It sounded like another rehashing of fairy-tale ingredients, but because it had earned such praise, I forged...more

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May 04, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

I have read many books about fairies this year but this was the best of the lot. Okay, while I was reading the others I thought the same thing, but this book was a stand out!

Magpie is a fairy who is a devil catcher. Humans have been letting them out to plague the world. She is the only one who has the ability to make the glyphs to rid the world of these foul beings. She finds that a new devil, one who is different and scarier than the rest, has bee...more

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Aug 10, 2009 Julia Driscoll rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: appropriate-for-middle-school, appropriate-for-upper-elementary

Magpie Windwich is a fairy who, with her band of crow companions, hunts down the devils that are plaguing the world. She has discovered a new kind of evil however in the most recent devil she found. There is nothing but darkness and gnawing hunger where she would normally expect to find filth and blood. To learn of what she has found, she decides she must chase down the djinn, the elemental forces that created the world, but they are in hiding and have not been seen for millenia. 'Pie is not sto...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Jacob Proffitt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a good book, well-written and with interesting characters. So why two stars? It just wasn't a match for me. To be fair, I didn't know that I don't really like fairy stories until I read this one. Now I know. So I want to keep the rating so that my books will take this into account in recommendations, but I need to explain, as well, that it's not Blackbringer's fault.

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Nov 01, 2007 Jackamo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: watoosa

This was a fun, back to basics fairytale. There were good guys, bad guys, fun fairy names like Poppy Manygreen and Magpie Windwitch (called 'Pie by those who love her best). There were lovely illustrations peppered here and there by the author's talented husband. It looks strongly like this will be a series unless it just bombs. It was certainly left in such a manner as to lend to its becoming a continuing saga. We'll see. All in all, it was a fun and fanciful little jaunt into the land of Faeri...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Deva Fagan added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008-read

This was the sort of book I like to linger over, just enjoying the pretty words and the vivid images. I was not surprised to learn that Ms. Taylor is an artist, because BLACKBRINGER reminds me of the sort of intricate, beautiful-with-corners-of-creepiness picture books I loved as a kid. But it was also a just plain fun story, with a fresh and spunky heroine, and ancient mysteries and magic.

Also, I just loved the crows. Unreasonably. I wish I had my own pack of cheerful, loyal, cheroot-smoking t...more

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Jan 29, 2009 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was enchanted by Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer. Laini Taylor's writing pulled me in, and the characters and story wouldn't let me go. The first bit of dialogue hooked me; I loved how the characters don't use some exalted High Language, but instead speak in a wonderful rough-and-ready dialect. Dialect is tough to pull off, and one that's largely invented even more so. But Taylor does it brilliantly; enough to add richness and flavor, not so much as to be confusing.

The main character, Magp...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Carolee Noury rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I discovered Laini Taylor via an NPR best books of the year list. (Lips Touch Three Times was top 5). She is an excellent writer and I love the bonus of beautiful illustrations by her husband, Jim Di Bartolo.

It took awhile to be grabbed by this book, which I think was due to all the characters you get to know intimately before the pace picks up. Not to say it is slow in the beginning, but it gets faster.

From the jacket:
Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, is not like other faeries....more

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Mar 16, 2013 Cassandra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

This was just so well done. It has so many good points! It was the perfect length; it didn't drag on at all but it still left me satisfied. It took it's time, but was still interesting all the way through. It was also one of few books that could pull off change of perspective perfectly. Most of the time I don't mind it, but it disappoints me when the character I want isn't speaking. In this, After a split second of disappointment, I realized that I had been waiting for the new PoV to come along...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Kaysi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had reservations about this book, but my love for Laini Taylor won out! And the fact that is also illustrated by her husband had its own appeal!!!

So, knowing my love for Laini's work, why did I have reservations? Well, because it was aimed at a younger audience, and well, because it was about faeries. The same reason I had reservations about the Wicked Lovely series... I am not a huge fae/fey/faery/faerie/fairy fan - especially those of the Tinkerbell variety.

But Laini pulled it off! As always...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Mina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy-speculative

Laini Taylor's language is vivid and poetic, as usual. She gives readers an edgy, humorous, and totally original story, as opposed to the current YA obsession with oversexed, heartless fairies who are terrible and beautiful, etc etc. Blackbringer gives us traditional Tinkerbell-esque fairies, in that they have gossamer wings, and are magical and tiny in comparison to humans/cats. Of course, Taylor makes them much more interesting- there are warrior fairies, dying brands of magic, and a beautiful...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Steve Cran added it

A long time ago when the world was relatively young the Seven Jinn who created the world along with a Faerie named Belatrix captured all the devild that lived in the world and imprisoned them in bottle. Belatrix the heroine lost her lover in those final battle and went away somewhere to disappear.

Jump ahead a couple thousand years and Magpie is born. She spends a brief childhoold time in Dreamdark a kingdom of faeiries, then her family takes off to gather all the Faerie magic before it disappear...more A long time ago when the world was relatively young the Seven Jinn who created the world along with a Faerie named Belatrix captured all the devild that lived in the world and imprisoned them in bottle. Belatrix the heroine lost her lover in those final battle and went away somewhere to disappear.

Jump ahead a couple thousand years and Magpie is born. She spends a brief childhoold time in Dreamdark a kingdom of faeiries, then her family takes off to gather all the Faerie magic before it disappears. As she grows up she end ups in the company of crows fighting any devil that get freed from their bottle. Blackbringer is one such devil that is freed from his bottle and he devours everything in sight. Literally!
Magpie and her crow friends track him to Rome where they find out that he has killed one of the Jinn. The Jinn's name is Vritra. It seems they are too late. Yet Magpie picks up a sword called "Skulldraig" a sword once wielded by Bellatrix. A sword that will kill all who try to wield it unless they are heirs of Bellatrix.

The trail leads back to Dream Dark, Magpie's former home. Upon reaching Dreams Dark they are greeted warmly by some who remember her and coldly by those who do not. THe Queen Vesper, supposedly an heir of Bellatrix is not so warm on them. Magpie has maqic that turns Vesper's hair to worms.

There are several imps in this story. THe good one is Snoshti the one who took care of Magpie and had all the animals bless her because Magpie was the prophecied one.
Batch Hangnail has a knack for finding hidden treasures and he is the one who discovers the Magruen the slumbering fire Jinn who created living things and al mankind. He is the one who created the tapesty which ios now falling apart.

Blackbringer is the one who sent Batch to to fnd a pomegranite from Magruen. But batch gets thrown out. Blackbringer is alos eating the fairies unles they are in Nver Haven which is magically protected. Blackbringer is not any devil he is a being that helped the Jinn create the world.

Eventually Magruen wakes up from his slumber and the final battle begins. Magpioe is the product of dreams and has a special destiny. Remeber that Faeries can live forever and when they dies they go to the moonlit garden.

THis is a great book for children. This is one I would reccomend.(less)

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Jan 25, 2011 Rhiannon Ryder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Last April, while in Books of Wonder, I ran into signed copies of the two first books of this enchanting series. For some reason, that I no longer remember, I had heard of this series and thought it impossible to find, so I was super excited to run into both copies in hardcover, signed by the author Laini Taylor and the artist Jim Di Bartolo (her husband).

Alas, as every bibliophile knows, even the most exciting book can sit on your shelf for 8 months while you work your way to that perfect momen...more Last April, while in Books of Wonder, I ran into signed copies of the two first books of this enchanting series. For some reason, that I no longer remember, I had heard of this series and thought it impossible to find, so I was super excited to run into both copies in hardcover, signed by the author Laini Taylor and the artist Jim Di Bartolo (her husband).

Alas, as every bibliophile knows, even the most exciting book can sit on your shelf for 8 months while you work your way to that perfect moment when it's the book to read. Having now read it I'm infinitely sorry I spent 8 months ignorant of just how enchanting it and it's sequel Dreamdark; Silksinger are!

Epic in scope, like Lord of the Rings, filled to the brim with wild and fantastic creatures like Fablehaven, and rich with it's own legends and histories like Harry Potter this series is yet so individual that it's hard to describe just how fantastic it is.

Magpie Windwitch, a faerie unlike any other, with a merry band of gypsie crows for brothers in adventure, and a wind as a Grandfather, is a force unto herself. A hundred some years old, she's just a sprout by faerie standards, but she'll change the world as the Faeries of Dreamdark know it through her sheer willpower and stubbornness alone. In an effort to end a terror known simply as the Blackbringer, she'll raise the sleeping Djinn King from his 25,000 year slumber, and by so doing discover that as unusual as she thought she was there is much, much more she is yet to discover.

This book was action packed, lyrical, funny and so completely engrossing that I was completely swept away by it. The characters are so lovable and endearing, even the bad ones held me captivated by their stories and adventures. Laini Taylor has developed such a huge, rich world with only glimpses of Humans, and I was immediately swept away by it in a way that bespoke of the singular richness of Lord of the Rings. And her husbands art, sprinkled throughout the book was such a beautiful counterpoint, I can't imagine the story without it.

Obviously open to a vast and sweeping story arc reaching into many books to come (fingers crossed), I couldn't wait to jump into Silksinger and join Magpie and the boys on the next great part of their adventure.

Kudos to Laini for creating one of the most captivating books I've read in 2010. The Dreamdark collection will definitely be some of my favourite books, landing on the honoured shelf with Harry Potter, Hunger Games and other epics.
Make your New Years reading resolution to read this ASAP if you haven't already!

(less)

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Aug 03, 2010 Maureen E rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, simply-superb, young-adult, middle-grade-and-younger

by Laini Taylor

Okay, so yes, this book has been out for three years and I'm just now reading it. Pshaw! It's still a wonderfully written whammy of a story.

There were several things I really enjoyed. First, the way in which the fairies as a culture have lost something. This is a theme which resonated strongly with RJ Anderson's books and which is equally powerful here. Without making them like us, it does evoke that sense of having lost something, whether it's a connection to the natural world,...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fantasy, heroines, spec-fic-imaginary-life, magic, myths-fairytales-retellings, youth-fiction, female-and-queer-issues, europe, fae

Review from my blog, http://rosesandvellum.blogspot.com.au/

An amazing tour de force for a first novel, Laini Taylor's world of Dreamdark is a wonderfully written world with its own creation myths, creatures and magics. A rich, thoroughly engrossing book that will grab you at the start, and not let go until the very finish!

At just over 1000 years of age, Magpie Windwitch is barely more than a sprout (the faerie world for child), yet she has already killed several demons, along with the seven crow...more Review from my blog, http://rosesandvellum.blogspot.com.au/

An amazing tour de force for a first novel, Laini Taylor's world of Dreamdark is a wonderfully written world with its own creation myths, creatures and magics. A rich, thoroughly engrossing book that will grab you at the start, and not let go until the very finish!

At just over 1000 years of age, Magpie Windwitch is barely more than a sprout (the faerie world for child), yet she has already killed several demons, along with the seven crow brothers who she travels with, and who are like family to her. When a new and terrible creature, far worse than any demon ever seen before, is released from its bottle by the foolish tamperings of men, it takes her back to her childhood home, the forest of Dreamdark, and adventures she never could have imagined.

Magpie Windwitch is just the kind of heroine I love: independent, able to take care of herself, and fiercely loyal to those she cares for. She has a warrior spirit. I love her kinship with the crows, and her spunky character.

I also liked the secondary character of Talon Rathersting. A young faerie man from a warrior tribe, his improperly grown wings make it impossible for him to fly. He has always been left out of raiding parties and battles, and really looked down upon. But he soon proves that, despite his disability, he is as able to fight as the others, and he has other talents, far beyond that of those that surround him. I find him an inspiring character, dealing with the lot that fate dealt him and finding a way to move beyond it, to become more than he would have been had he been born normal.

The crow characters threw me a little at first. I have come upon a lot of anthropomorphic characters, and I am used to furry animals that can use their paws like hands and wear clothes, but I had never come upon bird characters that were as humanised as these. The crows can use their claws to sew, they like coffee, and smoke cigars and dress up in costumes to perform plays. I liked the characters of the crows once I got used to this. I think the cigar thing was the most confusing to me, probably I just don't watch enough cartoons, where, apparently, animals do things like this all the time. Not that this book was at all cartoonish, it was very vivid and imaginatively written.

I also enjoyed the language in this book. Taylor used what seems to be a mix of mostly mild Scottish accents and vocabulary, 'ye', 'ye ken', 'lass', 'lad', and vocabulary for an imaginary faerie and creature language that included things like 'feather' as a polite way to address a bird, 'shivered' for scared, 'sprouts' as children, and 'skive' as a curse word. The names of the faeries were also good, not too pretty. These weren't pretty little useless faeries (at least, not the main characters). While the warrior faeries had tougher names like Talon Rathersting, Nettle, while Magpie Windwitch, a traveller has the name of a bird and the wind. They are all names of things the faeries would see everyday about them, and are both appropriate, and not too cutesy.

There is probably so much more I could say about the book. I love the mix of mythologies, with the faeries, the Djinns and the demons. I loved the idea of the Djinns dreaming things up and the tapestry, but I don't want to give too much away. This is definitely a book you should go read!(less)

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Oct 04, 2011 Kristen Tucker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved it! This is a great tale for a wide range of ages. Although I am not one to choose fairies as a genre, I soon found these are not your typical fairies. Instead of Tinkerbell I was introduced to fae and imps more from Lord of the Rings.
From the very first page I was easily whisked into a fun mystery and a world that never seemed to lull. Even in backstory and world building, I was still driven to keep reading. I loved and compared this story with Robin Mckinley's Hero and the Crown series,...more

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Dec 24, 2011 Jennifer Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-lurved, beautiful, kickass-protagonist, fearies, fantasyyyy

I was pleasently surprised by this novel. I went into it hesistantly (I'm not even sure why, considering I have absolutely adored everything Laini Taylor has written so far) because of the faerie theme. I've had bad experiences with faeries (I wont name names here, but you know who you are), but this blew me away. This, right here, is how every faerie novel should be written.

Here's a little blurb about this wonderful book:

Magpie Windwitch is a fearie who travels with a kick ass group of crows, w...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Pollen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 04, 2011 Eleanor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Admittedly, what first got me interested in the book was the cover - shallow I know, but it's so fantastic! Then when I started reading the book, I was a little taken aback by the language used (eg. 'aye pet' and calling devils 'slags' and humans 'mannies') it sounds strange but I just wasn't expecting it.

Then I just got sucked into the world and the story of Magpie Windwitch. Such interesting characters and great illustrations every now and then in the book to help you picture the characters a...more

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Jan 02, 2010 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Although I first found the whimsical qualities of this book to be a bit distracting, the story soon began to increase in complexity and kept me involved. I'm not usually a reader of books with talking, cigar-smokin' crows, and the sweetness of fairy-wings, so it took me a little while to let myself go and just ride the story.

And it was a fun little ride. Magpie Windwitch is a tiny fairy taking on a grandiose world. Not alone, of course. Along the way she is supported by a flock of boisterous, ch...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Katherine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

It's dishonest for me to even say I read this, because I was so distracted the entire time. But I did make it to the end, and pretty much know what happened plot-wise.

I mostly listened to it in the car. It would have been better to read it.

Like Daughter of Smoke and Bone, this is a very complex world, this one of fey and humans and imps and devils among the normal animal creatures we know. Magpie Windwitch is a devil hunter, up against the worst of them all. Her companions are crows who love and...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Kelly Bryson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fantasy

I loved this book. Magpie is a tough little fairy who flies about with a flock of crows hunting down the devils that humans have released from their bottles, expecting to be given three wishes, of all things. When a devil that travels as a shadow, sucking up souls, heads right into the heart of the fairy world, 'Pie is the only one who can help. The old magics must be retaught and new ones invented.

I think besides the fantastic characterization and plot, the best thing is how detailed and belie...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Blackbringer, an ancient evil, has been freed from a bottle floating at sea, and is heading for Dreamdark, a little fairy kingdom somewhere up in Scotland (one presumes, based on the slightly unconvincing accents), to find the king of djinns, and Magpie Windwitch with her loyal retinue of crows (think a crow circus of doting uncles / seven feathered dwarves) is up to trying to stop this ancient evil. Along the way, she'll meet imps friendly and unfriendly (imps are basically rodents with a spark...more Blackbringer, an ancient evil, has been freed from a bottle floating at sea, and is heading for Dreamdark, a little fairy kingdom somewhere up in Scotland (one presumes, based on the slightly unconvincing accents), to find the king of djinns, and Magpie Windwitch with her loyal retinue of crows (think a crow circus of doting uncles / seven feathered dwarves) is up to trying to stop this ancient evil. Along the way, she'll meet imps friendly and unfriendly (imps are basically rodents with a spark of magic), a faery prince, a faery queen, etc. etc. etc.

I'll be honest, that summary sounds deeply unappealing. Dreamdark? Blackbringer? Moonlit Gardens? Pipe smoking crows who are a travelling troupe of actors and demon fighters? A faery Buffy, raised by the family of Kvothe (turned into crows)? This novel throws a lot of things together: the sort of faeries that flutter around Fern Gully / English paintings, a hefty slice of Buffy-esque myth-building and "chosen one" / slayer energy, some sprinkles of humour, romance, family dynamics etc. - it makes for a reasonably entertaining book.

But it also lacks something. The novel feels like I am watching an animated movie (or TV series) adaptation of a novel, or perhaps a comic book series, but it does not really feel like a novel. Does that make any sense? Everything is a little too neat, too predictable, almost shallow. There are a lot of pages and a lot of characters, but within moments of meeting them, you know exactly what they are like (Grumpy sidekick. Loyal sidekick. Enthusiastic sidekick. Too good to be true two faced bitch. Loyal best female friend. Wise old woman. Another wise old woman. Dork with a heart of gold and courage who will be a love interest and probably turn out to be quite hunky eventually, too. Selfish sneaky guide / thief...) There are some surprises (a gut wrenching one, about halfway through), but not enough to make the story come alive - and they are plotty surprises, not character surprises. In short, it does all rather feel like TV, and not like a novel.

I suppose it is a children's book - or a young adult book. I'm not sure. In length, it felt substantive, to me, but I was not fully drawn in. It's probably unfair to complain about it being a bit lightweight. But hey, who says readers have to always be fair?

It's reasonably entertaining, but a bit hollow, a bit shallow, a bit flat, and not quite imbibed with that spark of magic / life that I long for in a novel. Not bad. Just not amazing, either.(less)

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Oct 03, 2007 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fairies, djinn, crows, adventure, magic

Shelves: j-fiction, jfantasy, favorites

" Magpie Windwitch, faerie, devil hunter and granddaughter of the West Wind, must defent an ancient evil creature, called the Blackbringer, who has escaped from his bottle and threatens to unmake all creation."

Wow! Wow! And WOW again! This book was unlike any other fantasy I have ever read. I loved it! In the days where every fantasy book has some Harry Potter element, it's refreshing to read something entirely different.

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Apr 03, 2011 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, young-adult, children

Normally I avoid faerie stories like the plague, thinking them too girly and fluffy, with the exception of Spiderwick Chronicles which I thought were brilliant on an illustration and storytelling level. However, I gave this series a try after picking up the second volume and realizing that I should probably read the first book in the series first. With a recommendation on the back cover from author Shannon Hale, I started reading. Laini Taylor has created a vast new world that I dove headfirst i...more

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Apr 09, 2010 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: faeries, young-adult, favourites, own, sirens-2010

Blackbringer is simply breathtaking, it's as simple as that! After reading Lips Touch Three Times, I was mesmerized by Laini Taylor's way with words and determined to read something longer... something that would satiate me just a bit more. Blackbringer was definitely the answer to that.

Laini Taylor presents us with a story set in Dreamdark, an imaginative and beautifully constructed world where faeries co-exist in a place filled with mannies (humans), crows, Djinns, demons, imps, and dragons. B...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Alyshia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was really looking forward to reading this book. The story line sounded intriguing and the title was interesting, but once I got into the book I struggled with reading it and gave up just into the fourth chapter.

The dialogue was difficult to read. Over and over again I had to read a single line, I even tried to read it out-loud to better fit the words she used with the words she meant (like "neh" for "no"), but most just sounded foolish. I had a much easier time reading about the sparrows in R...more

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Fantasy

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Young Adult

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Paranormal > Fairies

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Fantasy > Magic

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Adventure

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Young Adult > Young Adult Fantasy

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Childrens

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Young Adult > Teen

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Fantasy > Paranormal

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About Laini Taylor

Hi there! I'm a writer of fantasy books for young people, but my books can be enjoyed by adults as well. My 'Dreamdark' books, Blackbringer (2007) and Silksinger (2009) are about faeries -- not dainty little flowery things, but warrior-faeries who battle devils. My first young adult book, Lips Touch, is a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award! It's creepy, sensual supernatural romance. . . abo...more

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Books by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)

Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #2)

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)

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Trivia About Blackbringer

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Quotes from Blackbringer

“Creatures with no dreams of their own can do naught but destroy the dreams of others.” — 40 people liked it

“I miss sunrise even more. The green scent of dawn in the forest? The color blushing back into the world, different every day.” — 19 people liked it

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title link	preview: Blackbringer (Dreamdark, #1)
avg rating	preview: Blackbringer (Dreamdark, #1) Goodreads rating: 4.08 (2165 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6383491-blackbringer-dreamdark-1?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311650155l/6383491.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6383491-blackbringer-dreamdark-1?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Blackbringer (Dreamdark, #1) by Laini Taylor[/url]

Blackbringer (Dreamdark, #1) (Dreamdark #1)

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