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Wings of Fire #5
The Brightest Night
The dragonets struggle to fulfill the prophecy and -- somehow -- end the war in this thrilling new installment of the bestselling WINGS OF FIRE series!
It all comes down to this: The Dragonets of Destiny must finally bring the epic war to an end, reconcile the seven tribes, and choose the next queen of Pyrrhia... and make it out alive.
It all comes down to this: The Dragonets of Destiny must finally bring the epic war to an end, reconcile the seven tribes, and choose the next queen of Pyrrhia... and make it out alive.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 2014
2534 people are currently reading
11506 people want to read
About the author
Tui T. Sutherland
202 books6,298 followersOkay, I know what you’re thinking. Tui? What kind of name is that? Is it short for something?
Nope. Among the many great things to come out of New Zealand (the Lord of the Rings movies, cats that paint, my mom) is a bird called the tui—not as well known as the kiwi, but a heck of a lot noisier!
I was born July 31 (same birthday as Harry Potter!) in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Asuncion, Paraguay; Miami, Florida; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before moving to New Jersey in high school, where I started doing theatre—mostly backstage work, because (a) it was fun, and (b) you got to hang out in the dark with cute boys. (Er, I mean . . . because it was artistically fulfilling, yes.)
I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).
Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.
My first two official books were beginning readers, part of Grosset & Dunlap’s “First Friends” series for kids learning to read. MEET MO AND ELLA is tough to find now, but FUN WITH MO AND ELLA should still be out there somewhere.
My first novel for teenagers was THIS MUST BE LOVE, which retells Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a modern-day high school, from the POV of the two heroines, Hermia and Helena.
And now I'm writing in a new project called SEEKERS! It's a children's book series that I'm writing with Erin Hunter. Check out my blog to find out more!
Nope. Among the many great things to come out of New Zealand (the Lord of the Rings movies, cats that paint, my mom) is a bird called the tui—not as well known as the kiwi, but a heck of a lot noisier!
I was born July 31 (same birthday as Harry Potter!) in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Asuncion, Paraguay; Miami, Florida; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before moving to New Jersey in high school, where I started doing theatre—mostly backstage work, because (a) it was fun, and (b) you got to hang out in the dark with cute boys. (Er, I mean . . . because it was artistically fulfilling, yes.)
I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).
Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.
My first two official books were beginning readers, part of Grosset & Dunlap’s “First Friends” series for kids learning to read. MEET MO AND ELLA is tough to find now, but FUN WITH MO AND ELLA should still be out there somewhere.
My first novel for teenagers was THIS MUST BE LOVE, which retells Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a modern-day high school, from the POV of the two heroines, Hermia and Helena.
And now I'm writing in a new project called SEEKERS! It's a children's book series that I'm writing with Erin Hunter. Check out my blog to find out more!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,569 reviews
August 1, 2016
This was such a great conclusion to part 1 of this series! I love these characters and already miss them so much:(
October 28, 2023
An excellent finale to this arc of the series! Sunny proves she's intelligent and capable despite her size and sweetness, and realizes that she and her friends can change things for the better. A lot happens in this book but it nicely wraps things up.
March 27, 2015
This is the fifth book in the Wings of Fire series and wraps up the main storyline of this series so far while starting a new one. It was an excellent continuation of this series. I really enjoyed it.
This book follows Sunny. Right off the bat Sunny is kidnapped by some NightWings, but she quickly escapes and ends up exploring the SandWing region and searching for her parents on her own. Sunny has many adventures and uncovers many secrets. In the end a new Queen for the SandWings will be chosen. Who will that Queen be and what sort of fallout will that decision result in?
I have been reading this series because my 8 year old son reads it and absolutely loves it. While I still think kids will enjoy this series more than adults, this series has grown on me. It's really well written and as the series has continued I have started to enjoy it more and more.
There is a lot of adventure and action in these books. All the characters are dragons and they are all characters I have come to love over the course of this series. Sunny is an excellent character and I really enjoyed reading about things from her perspective. Sunny it the little dragon and the happy dragon. Her friends love her but always underestimate her. This is the book where we get to see how tough Sunny is and watch her explore her full potential.
Additionally the Scavengers are in this book a lot more. A long time ago I figured out that the Scavengers were humans (however my son was still a bit confused about that and hadn’t realized that they were humans until we talked about it). We see a lot more about the Scavengers past and lives. This makes me think that the Scavengers will play a larger role in future books and also that the history of the Scavengers is most likely going to influence or has influenced this world in a big way.
I am very curious to see how this series progresses. It sounds like book 6 in the series starts a different storyline. This book did wrap up the whole Dragonet Prophecy storyline really well and hinted at what the new storyline will be about.
Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot. It does an excellent job of wrapping up the Dragonet Prophecy story arc. These books remind of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, but are better written in my opinion. I think middle grade readers who enjoy fantasy should definitely check this series out. It is a series I think middle grade readers will enjoy more than adults. If you are an adult I would recommend checking out Sutherland’s Menagerie series; I feel like that is a fantasy series that adults can get into a bit better. I look forward to reading the sixth book in this series.
January 3, 2021
This book was an epic and action-filled conclusion to the first “arc” of the Wings of Fire series with many twists up until the end. :)
December 19, 2014
I love Thorn. I'm so glad at least one of the dragonets had a worthwhile reunion. It's the perfect conclusion to the war. The amulet keeps the "blood" off of the dragonets' claws so they don't have to face hard choices with Burn, Blaze, and Blister. On the other hand, they are not unscathed by their efforts to bring peace, limping or blinded with battle scars forever. I wish the spectators had sung the prophecy while they watched at the stronghold. The "scavenger pets" are awesome, especially from the curious view of the dragons.
Sunny was exasperated with getting brushed off or overlooked in their adventure. When she returned, her friends more or less began to respect and listen to her. Old habits are harder to break than that. It was too quick of a transition. It's hard to see new value in people you've known a long time. Tsunami, especially, seemed to accept the idea of a "midnight talk" more easily than her character would normally do, always ready to fight to solve problems.
I wish Stonemover could be healed. He was depressing. The SandWing "prince" is very likeable, and he should be more involved in the inner circle. It's interesting how no one questions how or why males don't participate in the struggle for the throne. The school to intermingle tribes is a wonderful idea that will change their whole world!
Sunny was exasperated with getting brushed off or overlooked in their adventure. When she returned, her friends more or less began to respect and listen to her. Old habits are harder to break than that. It was too quick of a transition. It's hard to see new value in people you've known a long time. Tsunami, especially, seemed to accept the idea of a "midnight talk" more easily than her character would normally do, always ready to fight to solve problems.
I wish Stonemover could be healed. He was depressing. The SandWing "prince" is very likeable, and he should be more involved in the inner circle. It's interesting how no one questions how or why males don't participate in the struggle for the throne. The school to intermingle tribes is a wonderful idea that will change their whole world!
September 30, 2014
The fifth installment in the Wings of Fire series finally comes from the point of view of sunny, the dismembered sandwing dragonet who everyone treats like she is lesser than them, and always brushes her ideas off. In the final book of the series, the dragonets are still in the jungle with the rain wings and Glory, the new queen, trying to corral the newly placed nightwings, and trying to figure out a way to end the war, once and for all. But Sunny is kidnapped by two rogue nightwings and goes on a huge adventure to get back to the rainforest, but to also gather intel on the battling queens, not to mention finally meeting her parents! On her escapade, sunny becomes a prisoner in the stronghold of Burn, one of the battling queens, almost gets killed and stuffed to be put in her weirdling tower, meets her mother, Thorn, who is queen of the outclaws, a town of sand wings who don't wish to be caught in the battle for the sandwing throne, and her father, a nightwing, Stonemover, who is an animus dragon, a dragon with untold power, but cannot move and lives secluded in a mountain. When she finally ventures back to the rainforest, her friends weren't all too worried about her, dismissing her absence as getting lost in the forest while chasing a butterfly, but immediately grew concerned as they heard a brief summary, needing the whole story, and after hearing it, thought much more of her and her ability to fend for herself. So the five dragonets of a not-so-real destiny gather up to fulfill it, whether the prophecy is true or not, and figure out a plan. Sunny will visit each of the three rivaling queens in their dreams using a dreamvisitor Starflight, the nightwing dragonet, found. She will tell them to come to the stronghold so the dragonets can choose a queen right then and there. That will be the night to decide what twenty years of fighting and bloodshed have been leading up to. Who will rule over the sand wings when it's all over? Blister, Blaze, or Burn?
If you like dragons, war, prophecies, or all of the above, then you'll love this book!
If you like dragons, war, prophecies, or all of the above, then you'll love this book!
June 25, 2019
5/18/19 - Read a bit of this and temporarily putting it on hold due to life stuffs. Loving it, like the others!
6/23/19 - Picking it back up to finish!
6/23/19 - Picking it back up to finish!
February 5, 2015
I read the 1st 5 Wings of Fire books with my 9 yo son. This one was my least favorite - it felt like the author either couldn't relate to the narrator or was ready to move on from this part of the story. Ideally, this one would have ended the series.
These books are intense. If the characters were people, the political intrigue and treatment of POWs would mean it was not a children's book. But they are not people, they are dragons, so it works. These books are wonderfully thought-provoking around questions about destiny, war, kinship, and identity. Each book is told from a different character's point-of-view.
These books are intense. If the characters were people, the political intrigue and treatment of POWs would mean it was not a children's book. But they are not people, they are dragons, so it works. These books are wonderfully thought-provoking around questions about destiny, war, kinship, and identity. Each book is told from a different character's point-of-view.
September 7, 2022
Reading these alongside my son.
This book was better for me than theast two. Less violence more plotting the end of the war and character development of the dragon, Sunny.
Enjoyed the appearance of "scavengers" (humans) and hope to see more in the upcoming books.
This book takes you right through the prophecy being fulfilled. Quite a few plot twist. A solid middle grade read.
This book was better for me than theast two. Less violence more plotting the end of the war and character development of the dragon, Sunny.
Enjoyed the appearance of "scavengers" (humans) and hope to see more in the upcoming books.
This book takes you right through the prophecy being fulfilled. Quite a few plot twist. A solid middle grade read.
March 1, 2021
CALLED IT I knew Thorne was going to be queen
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2015
Poor Sunny! Hope her friends accept her even more after this book and into Winter Turning
August 8, 2014
My Review
THIS BOOK WAS SO AMAZING!!!!!!
I'm sure Wings of Fire fans will definitely NOT be disappointed!
After waiting in days of agony for this book, I put it on hold at our public library, and when it came I raced in, grabbed the book, and was prepared to spend the rest of the day reading. My brother, who also reads the series, kept incessantly insisting before the book came in that because I read the Dark Secret and all the other books in the series first, that it was his turn to read this one first. We argued for days over this, and finally he won the debate. But when I brought it back from the library at ten thirty in the morning, my brother was still asleep and so I found it fair that I could read it until he wakes up. So I did, devouring each page and enjoying each page, and when he did wake up, it was no use prying the book away from me because we were inseparable! And so I read for the entire day, finishing the book in one sitting, and was shrieking for the last few chapters due to untamable excitement, and especially at the end when - I shouldn't say, should I? After all, I shouldn't be the one spoiling a good book, the most unforgivable crime in the world...
But anyway, Ms. Sutherland created such a plot twist at the end of the Dark Secret, what with Morrowseer declaring that the prophecy is - I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so let's just say that if you've read the Dark Secret, you know what I mean, and in The Brightest Night, there are SO many unpredictable and shocking plot twists that just add to the awesomeness of this book! Plot is such an important factor in a book; it's the story, the point of the book, and The Brightest Night...I found the plotting incredible.
Character development of the dragonets was, I think, quite awesome since the very first book, and in this one...well, it's just as consistent, and you just end up loving all the characters! You get to know a lot more about Sunny's true personality,though (more on that later), which adds more to the development of her character, and I think that since the beginning I always thought I knew Sunny the least well...or maybe I'm just saying that because I already knew everyone else better because in the previous books they had all had their turn narrating!
And you love the characters, the main dragonets, so much that before you read The Brightest Night, you're just thinking: how can this be the END???
Well...the last page - Oh, the last page! - I shouldn't say this, even though it's not technically a spoiler, because I was so shocked and happy and surprised that I ran up and down the stairs and all around the house until my mom told me to go get a drink of water. Let me tell you, it's not a spoiler to the book, but if you think you'd rather discover it on your own, don't read this spoiler:
If you loved Wings of Fire from the start, you will love this conclusion you'd never expect!
Point of view: Sunny
This stunning sequel is told from Sunny's point of view, the harmless, sweet, optimistic and loveable SandWing, and there is a powerful insight to Sunny's personality which wasn't as visible in the other books, which might be obvious because they weren't 'her' books (the others focusing on Clay, Tsunami, Glory and Starflight), but even in the other dragonet's books, I found I still had a clear sense of their personalities, which were accurate. I thought I knew Sunny too, and I did, but in this one, I really got to know her, and I love Sunny! If you've read my other reviews for the Wings of Fire series, you'll know that I always thought Glory as my favourite, but as I was reading this, my favouritism starting shifting to Sunny, because Sunny is....so adorable and lovely!
Although really, no dragon beats Glory!
Sunny also finds out a lot about her own personality, and I find a lot of this book is actually about the precious SandWing's discovery about herself. Many of her chapters are sprinkled with thoughts about what her friends think of her. I remember she often thinks at several different parts of the book that she's the 'sweet, friendly, harmless and not-worth-listening-to' dragonet, and what I liked was that Sunny went on her own self-quest throughout most of the book, where there was just her, and none of the other four dragonets of prophecy accompanied her. Also, like I said before, our sweet little SandWing finds out so much about herself; shocking truths that will leave the readers...well, shocked!
I also said The Hidden Kingdom was my favourite of the quintet, but this might just overtake it, it was utterly amazing!
I don't really consider what I'm about to say a spoiler, because all the dragonets discover this about themselves in their own books, which is to say, discover who their parent, parents, or relatives are. So, Sunny finds her parents - I'll leave it at that - and along with that she finds out the shocking truth, which to be honest I predicted to myself at the beginning of the thirteenth chapter, why she looks different from most SandWings.
The fact that Sunny doesn't look like the dragons from her tribe kind of set her apart from the other dragonets, and this part of self discovery about herself will never allow you to think of Sunny in the same way ever again, because it's so shocking, and it's one of those things which seem kind of obvious since the start about things you didn't consider.
Also you can tell by the way Sunny 'narrates' that she's constantly thinking, thinking about what her friends would say, what they'd do if they were here, how they felt about her, what the right thing to do is...thinking about everything, and trying to see any situation from another dragon's point of view, and most of all, wanting the best for every dragon, which is so like the Sunny we all love!
Things I Liked
I actually liked everything about this book! But since the beginning to the end, I was quite hooked to it, and it was a different kind of hooking feeling. In The Dark Secret, I was hooked because Starflight's narrations always ended in cliffhangers which obviously pressed you forwards into the book; Sunny's chapters always ended with a kind of brief conclusion, which left you kind of yearning to know what happens next. Or maybe that's just me, but I liked this component of brief conclusions. I think that's what got me to finish it in a day. Also, you just had to read on after the prologue was introduced, from Queen Oasis's point of view, can you imagine? It dawns on something that had been talked about but not gone into detail about since the beginning, and it's what started the raging war between the SandWing sisters, so naturally, you must want to know more about how, and now you do! After the prologue, I'm sure you'd only set the book down with great reluctance.
Another thing that stood out to me was that scavengers - humans - were reasonably important in this book, and I liked humans being described from Sunny's point of view, especially their speech, which Sunny described as: "Yibble, yibble! Yibble, yibble YIBBLE!". Something that just made you laugh, because dragons are like the superior species in Pyrrhia, and I find it enjoyable how the dragons consider humans as beings that 'might actually be an intelligent species'.
There's a kind of 'main' scavenger in this book named Flower, who is the 'pet' of a dragon, and just this piece of information kind of made me think more about human-dragon contact.
All in all, the entire book was amazing, though!
The Conclusion!
I am NOT going to spoil the conclusion for anyone, but I must say that it is definitely not what anyone could have expected.
From the start, I was always curious about what the 'power of the wings of fire' meant, and components that Ms. Sutherland so expertly added in The Brightest Night made, I find, the conclusion fall together beautifully, and it's such a perfect conclusion, too!
THIS BOOK WAS SO AMAZING!!!!!!
I'm sure Wings of Fire fans will definitely NOT be disappointed!
After waiting in days of agony for this book, I put it on hold at our public library, and when it came I raced in, grabbed the book, and was prepared to spend the rest of the day reading. My brother, who also reads the series, kept incessantly insisting before the book came in that because I read the Dark Secret and all the other books in the series first, that it was his turn to read this one first. We argued for days over this, and finally he won the debate. But when I brought it back from the library at ten thirty in the morning, my brother was still asleep and so I found it fair that I could read it until he wakes up. So I did, devouring each page and enjoying each page, and when he did wake up, it was no use prying the book away from me because we were inseparable! And so I read for the entire day, finishing the book in one sitting, and was shrieking for the last few chapters due to untamable excitement, and especially at the end when - I shouldn't say, should I? After all, I shouldn't be the one spoiling a good book, the most unforgivable crime in the world...
But anyway, Ms. Sutherland created such a plot twist at the end of the Dark Secret, what with Morrowseer declaring that the prophecy is - I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so let's just say that if you've read the Dark Secret, you know what I mean, and in The Brightest Night, there are SO many unpredictable and shocking plot twists that just add to the awesomeness of this book! Plot is such an important factor in a book; it's the story, the point of the book, and The Brightest Night...I found the plotting incredible.
Character development of the dragonets was, I think, quite awesome since the very first book, and in this one...well, it's just as consistent, and you just end up loving all the characters! You get to know a lot more about Sunny's true personality,though (more on that later), which adds more to the development of her character, and I think that since the beginning I always thought I knew Sunny the least well...or maybe I'm just saying that because I already knew everyone else better because in the previous books they had all had their turn narrating!
And you love the characters, the main dragonets, so much that before you read The Brightest Night, you're just thinking: how can this be the END???
Well...the last page - Oh, the last page! - I shouldn't say this, even though it's not technically a spoiler, because I was so shocked and happy and surprised that I ran up and down the stairs and all around the house until my mom told me to go get a drink of water. Let me tell you, it's not a spoiler to the book, but if you think you'd rather discover it on your own, don't read this spoiler:
If you loved Wings of Fire from the start, you will love this conclusion you'd never expect!
Point of view: Sunny
This stunning sequel is told from Sunny's point of view, the harmless, sweet, optimistic and loveable SandWing, and there is a powerful insight to Sunny's personality which wasn't as visible in the other books, which might be obvious because they weren't 'her' books (the others focusing on Clay, Tsunami, Glory and Starflight), but even in the other dragonet's books, I found I still had a clear sense of their personalities, which were accurate. I thought I knew Sunny too, and I did, but in this one, I really got to know her, and I love Sunny! If you've read my other reviews for the Wings of Fire series, you'll know that I always thought Glory as my favourite, but as I was reading this, my favouritism starting shifting to Sunny, because Sunny is....so adorable and lovely!
Although really, no dragon beats Glory!
Sunny also finds out a lot about her own personality, and I find a lot of this book is actually about the precious SandWing's discovery about herself. Many of her chapters are sprinkled with thoughts about what her friends think of her. I remember she often thinks at several different parts of the book that she's the 'sweet, friendly, harmless and not-worth-listening-to' dragonet, and what I liked was that Sunny went on her own self-quest throughout most of the book, where there was just her, and none of the other four dragonets of prophecy accompanied her. Also, like I said before, our sweet little SandWing finds out so much about herself; shocking truths that will leave the readers...well, shocked!
I also said The Hidden Kingdom was my favourite of the quintet, but this might just overtake it, it was utterly amazing!
I don't really consider what I'm about to say a spoiler, because all the dragonets discover this about themselves in their own books, which is to say, discover who their parent, parents, or relatives are. So, Sunny finds her parents - I'll leave it at that - and along with that she finds out the shocking truth, which to be honest I predicted to myself at the beginning of the thirteenth chapter, why she looks different from most SandWings.
The fact that Sunny doesn't look like the dragons from her tribe kind of set her apart from the other dragonets, and this part of self discovery about herself will never allow you to think of Sunny in the same way ever again, because it's so shocking, and it's one of those things which seem kind of obvious since the start about things you didn't consider.
Also you can tell by the way Sunny 'narrates' that she's constantly thinking, thinking about what her friends would say, what they'd do if they were here, how they felt about her, what the right thing to do is...thinking about everything, and trying to see any situation from another dragon's point of view, and most of all, wanting the best for every dragon, which is so like the Sunny we all love!
Things I Liked
I actually liked everything about this book! But since the beginning to the end, I was quite hooked to it, and it was a different kind of hooking feeling. In The Dark Secret, I was hooked because Starflight's narrations always ended in cliffhangers which obviously pressed you forwards into the book; Sunny's chapters always ended with a kind of brief conclusion, which left you kind of yearning to know what happens next. Or maybe that's just me, but I liked this component of brief conclusions. I think that's what got me to finish it in a day. Also, you just had to read on after the prologue was introduced, from Queen Oasis's point of view, can you imagine? It dawns on something that had been talked about but not gone into detail about since the beginning, and it's what started the raging war between the SandWing sisters, so naturally, you must want to know more about how, and now you do! After the prologue, I'm sure you'd only set the book down with great reluctance.
Another thing that stood out to me was that scavengers - humans - were reasonably important in this book, and I liked humans being described from Sunny's point of view, especially their speech, which Sunny described as: "Yibble, yibble! Yibble, yibble YIBBLE!". Something that just made you laugh, because dragons are like the superior species in Pyrrhia, and I find it enjoyable how the dragons consider humans as beings that 'might actually be an intelligent species'.
There's a kind of 'main' scavenger in this book named Flower, who is the 'pet' of a dragon, and just this piece of information kind of made me think more about human-dragon contact.
All in all, the entire book was amazing, though!
The Conclusion!
I am NOT going to spoil the conclusion for anyone, but I must say that it is definitely not what anyone could have expected.
From the start, I was always curious about what the 'power of the wings of fire' meant, and components that Ms. Sutherland so expertly added in The Brightest Night made, I find, the conclusion fall together beautifully, and it's such a perfect conclusion, too!
February 21, 2024
Wat een spannend einde van deze serie (voorlopig)!
Alles komt samen en alles wordt opgelost.
Alles komt samen en alles wordt opgelost.
January 9, 2015
Told from Sunny's point of view, this fifth novel in the Wings of Fire series is full of revelations: Sunny finds out why she is so unusual looking, she learns the truth about the Nightwings and the prophesy, and she figures out a way to end the seemingly interminable war between the three Sandwing sisters, Blaze, Burn, and Blister.
My 11-year-old son and I read this book out loud together. We both liked seeing Sunny come into her own, think for herself, act courageously, and come up with her own plans without consulting her friends. She's a likable character, always finding the good in other dragons, and the reader can't help but hope she succeeds in her daring ventures. A new cast of characters is introduced in this book: the Outclaws, a gang of lawless dragons who live at the Scorpion Den. We also meet Smolder (Blister, Burn, and Blaze's brother), who Sunny can't help finding sympathetic even though he is her jailer, and we meet several Scavengers, including Flower, Smolder's pet, who has a thatch of fur on her head and speaks in what sounds like gibberish, "Yibble, kibble, yibble," to Smolder, Sunny, and all the other dragons.
A host of characters from previous books also reappear in this one: the fiery and terrifying Peril who burns everything she touches, Queen Scarlet (she's alive), and several others. And finally--finally!--there's a relatively satisfying climax when one of the main problems in the series is finally--finally!--solved.
Is it terrible to admit that I wish this were the LAST book in the series? As clever and popular as these books are, I dread the idea of reading five more. Or even one more for that matter. The Brightest Night would have been a good book with which to end the series.
My 11-year-old son and I read this book out loud together. We both liked seeing Sunny come into her own, think for herself, act courageously, and come up with her own plans without consulting her friends. She's a likable character, always finding the good in other dragons, and the reader can't help but hope she succeeds in her daring ventures. A new cast of characters is introduced in this book: the Outclaws, a gang of lawless dragons who live at the Scorpion Den. We also meet Smolder (Blister, Burn, and Blaze's brother), who Sunny can't help finding sympathetic even though he is her jailer, and we meet several Scavengers, including Flower, Smolder's pet, who has a thatch of fur on her head and speaks in what sounds like gibberish, "Yibble, kibble, yibble," to Smolder, Sunny, and all the other dragons.
A host of characters from previous books also reappear in this one: the fiery and terrifying Peril who burns everything she touches, Queen Scarlet (she's alive), and several others. And finally--finally!--there's a relatively satisfying climax when one of the main problems in the series is finally--finally!--solved.
Is it terrible to admit that I wish this were the LAST book in the series? As clever and popular as these books are, I dread the idea of reading five more. Or even one more for that matter. The Brightest Night would have been a good book with which to end the series.
December 23, 2023
--21 Dec 2023
my favorite parts are still how sunny is different in her head than how others see her (she's ridiculously competent!) and how the prophecy came true even though it wasn't real to begin with. the talons made it happen by raising the dragonets together the way they did so that they cared about each other more than anything else, morrowseer made it happen by making everyone else believe the prophecy, and the dragonets made it happen by simply. deciding to. even knowing it's not a "real" prophecy. no one else is going to do it. why shouldn't they?
and this is very related to how sunny herself makes things happen. her faith in the prophecy is shaken and she can't rely on everything going well because it has to go well, and she thinks this means everything she does is in doubt. but sunny's ultimate approach to everything ("well, logically, why wouldn't this work") is actually closer to how the dragonets DO fulfill the prophecy (ie simply deciding to, and that's enough), which i think is very neat.
--26 June 2021
just as clay was definitely the best choice to start the series, sunny was definitely the best choice to close it. she's so different in her head than her friends see her but somehow still also essentially the same and i loved how finally people saw her the way she wanted to be seen and took her seriously! i also love how much the five dragonets care for each other. i was a little hmst about
this series reread took (alarmingly) less time than i'd anticipated and i think i'm going to continue with the second arc!
my favorite parts are still how sunny is different in her head than how others see her (she's ridiculously competent!) and how the prophecy came true even though it wasn't real to begin with. the talons made it happen by raising the dragonets together the way they did so that they cared about each other more than anything else, morrowseer made it happen by making everyone else believe the prophecy, and the dragonets made it happen by simply. deciding to. even knowing it's not a "real" prophecy. no one else is going to do it. why shouldn't they?
and this is very related to how sunny herself makes things happen. her faith in the prophecy is shaken and she can't rely on everything going well because it has to go well, and she thinks this means everything she does is in doubt. but sunny's ultimate approach to everything ("well, logically, why wouldn't this work") is actually closer to how the dragonets DO fulfill the prophecy (ie simply deciding to, and that's enough), which i think is very neat.
--26 June 2021
just as clay was definitely the best choice to start the series, sunny was definitely the best choice to close it. she's so different in her head than her friends see her but somehow still also essentially the same and i loved how finally people saw her the way she wanted to be seen and took her seriously! i also love how much the five dragonets care for each other. i was a little hmst about
this series reread took (alarmingly) less time than i'd anticipated and i think i'm going to continue with the second arc!
January 1, 2021
It was really good! I am so happy that the war is over (for the dragnets sake:). Overall I am glad that Sunny chose her own mother Thorn, because Blister, Blaze and Burn all have some serious issues.
January 6, 2024
I think it is a great book if you are into fantasy. I enjoyed this book and i can't wait to read the next one. I love how it leaves you on cliff hangers so you want to keep reading the book.
December 5, 2018
Gelungenes Ende mit einem sehr stimmigen Finale, was zwar nicht ganz spurlos an den Drachlingen vorbeigeht ,aber doch Mut für einen Neubeginn macht. Die Hauptgeschichte um die Prophezeiung und den jahrelangen Krieg ist damit beendet, auch wenn es wohl noch weitere Bände mit neuen Geschichten gibt. Diese hebe ich mir aber für einen späteren Zeitpunkt auf. Denn um ehrlich zu sein, verlasse ich die Drachen zwar ungern, aber die Geschichte hat einen so schön runden Abschluss bekommen, dass ich getrost auch mal wieder was ohne Drachen lesen kann.. kurzzeitig ;)
September 11, 2016
While the ending was quite epic, I felt slightly dissatisfied with this as a finale.
I was so pumped for this one. I wanted to get thrown into the action but we ended up waiting nearly a hundred pages before anything happened. I also felt like Sunny's narration could be a little flat at times, which surprised me since her character usually has so much personality.
Once Thorn and Peril came into the story, things started picking up. I really enjoyed both characters and found them interesting.
The end was very action packed, as I had hoped. I was very invested in the story while reading it and found myself rooting for the characters.
Although I had a lot of fun with the ending, the epilogue annoyed me immensely. It tried to wrap up all five storylines, but it just wasn't able to! I'm left with a lot of burning questions, and I'm really hoping we'll get some sort of resolution in the next arc.
Overall, I enjoyed this but found it rather lacking in the action I'd hoped for. I'm looking forward to getting into the next arc and meeting new characters.
I was so pumped for this one. I wanted to get thrown into the action but we ended up waiting nearly a hundred pages before anything happened. I also felt like Sunny's narration could be a little flat at times, which surprised me since her character usually has so much personality.
Once Thorn and Peril came into the story, things started picking up. I really enjoyed both characters and found them interesting.
The end was very action packed, as I had hoped. I was very invested in the story while reading it and found myself rooting for the characters.
Although I had a lot of fun with the ending, the epilogue annoyed me immensely. It tried to wrap up all five storylines, but it just wasn't able to! I'm left with a lot of burning questions, and I'm really hoping we'll get some sort of resolution in the next arc.
Overall, I enjoyed this but found it rather lacking in the action I'd hoped for. I'm looking forward to getting into the next arc and meeting new characters.
May 27, 2014
#SWAGAWESOMENESSYOLO
oh my gods. Best ending ever. Ever. Except maybe Percy Jackson. that was an awesome ending. Also the Fault in our Stars. Also Diverg-Okay, well, it's one of the best endings ever. But not just the ending. The entire book-the entire series-is AWESOMESAUCE!!! I cannot comprehend how good this book was. The. Best. Book. Ever. Kidding. Eight. The. Fultano stars. Oh my gosh I can't believe how good it was though. You should totally be if you thinking about leaving it, because it's the best book in that might even come close to the Fault in our Stars. Except Percy Jackson, divergent, the hunger games, and seeker series. I might seem like a lot of books, but listen up, those are the only series that actually felt like it was worth my time reading. And this is one of them. So respect this book.
oh my gods. Best ending ever. Ever. Except maybe Percy Jackson. that was an awesome ending. Also the Fault in our Stars. Also Diverg-Okay, well, it's one of the best endings ever. But not just the ending. The entire book-the entire series-is AWESOMESAUCE!!! I cannot comprehend how good this book was. The. Best. Book. Ever. Kidding. Eight. The. Fultano stars. Oh my gosh I can't believe how good it was though. You should totally be if you thinking about leaving it, because it's the best book in that might even come close to the Fault in our Stars. Except Percy Jackson, divergent, the hunger games, and seeker series. I might seem like a lot of books, but listen up, those are the only series that actually felt like it was worth my time reading. And this is one of them. So respect this book.
October 25, 2020
Yay Sunny! Yay answers!
It was lovely seeing the supposed weakest of the dragons have her moment in the sun (pun intended).
It was great seeing more “scavenger” interaction, and some of The Wicked ones receiving their just rewards. Plus, oh my gosh, a positive parenting role model. YAY!
I also loved how the romantic feelings discussed in another book ended up as an “ I love you, but not like that” without forcing a hea onto naive, child-like characters who have only ever known imprisonment or flight from danger.
Plus, building in a perfect entry into a spin off in the same world? Kudos Tui.
Off to read book 6
It was lovely seeing the supposed weakest of the dragons have her moment in the sun (pun intended).
It was great seeing more “scavenger” interaction, and some of The Wicked ones receiving their just rewards. Plus, oh my gosh, a positive parenting role model. YAY!
I also loved how the romantic feelings discussed in another book ended up as an “ I love you, but not like that” without forcing a hea onto naive, child-like characters who have only ever known imprisonment or flight from danger.
Plus, building in a perfect entry into a spin off in the same world? Kudos Tui.
Off to read book 6
November 28, 2015
[4.5 Stars] I love this series a ton. This is the conclusion to what the first book started, but it is not the end. I think what brought this one down just a tad would be that we didn't get to see a lot of the 5 dragonets. We just stuck with Sunny on her solo adventures which were great, but I was hoping to have more time with all of them. Good thing there are future books!
July 11, 2020
This story wrapped up so nicely! I know the series continued and I can't wait for that but that was the perfect ending to the story's main plot up to this point. Moon Rising is on my shelf and ready to read!
May 13, 2022
Just when I think I’ve caught up to my son, he saunters into the house from school and he’s like, “I finished book# 6 today. It’s the best one yet! It’s easily my favorite one. Oh, but you are still reading book# 5? Too bad. Guess you’ll just be behind.” I wish I could explain to you, dear reader, how simple, yet fantastic this little interchange between us was. My son does NOT enjoy reading. We have always struggled to get him into reading from a young age. I am even an author, for Pete’s sake!!! (shameless plug Brett Salter). So, for him to be whizzing through this series sends my heart aflutter. Now, I just need to read faster with what little free time I have so we can theorize together.
Anyways, on to “The Brightest Night”! I’m not as divided as with previous books, to be honest. While I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite, because this book DID resolve the majority of the series thus far AND gave us more political intrigue (which I like), it lacked action sequences which I always say are the main reasons I read. If there’s action, I’m here for it. This book did not have too much action. Mostly talking and grandstanding. Buuuuuut, it did give me all the political scheming I could handle. Also, we finally get resolution to the biggest question of the series…Who will be the next Sandwing queen? So, in this case, the good outweigh the bad, and I resolutely give this book a positive review.
I’ve found the choice to use different narrators of this series fascinating. What a great way to get the reader behind the five dragonets! It’s almost like forced characterization since you get to see the inner workings of all five dragonets through their own eyes. Their reasons for doing what they do and their goals are spelled out right in front of us through inner dialogue and thought progression. So smart of Sutherland to do this. I mean, who does the audience make the most tangible connection with during a story other than the narrator? And Sunny was no different than the others. I’ve always seen her the same way the other dragonets do. Weak, and silly, and kind of flakey, but here we get to see that she realizes this and makes headstrong decisions which bring her character to the forefront. I feel Sutherland really nailed this character, and after finishing this book, she jumped into my top 3 characters surpassing Clay. Sorry dude!
Other than Sunny being the “brightest” star of the book, there were plenty of other positives to take away as far as character development. The new characters introduced all had important roles in the overarching narrative. In some of the previous books, we had hordes of dragons thrown at us with hardly any memorable or relatable glue attached to them. In this book, characters like Stonemover, Thorn, and the other Outclaws all had pivotal roles in the plot of not only this book, but also in ending the war! There were no wasted character introductions that just felt like fluff. No extra dragons to meet that just padded the chapters. Quick question, what is it with most of the dragonets having at least one really crappy parent? I feel for these guys, man!
Anyway, overall, I thought this one was better than #3 and #4, and I place it as third in my list of the first 5 books. 4 ½ stars out of 5! The selling points for me were that we got a “mostly” clean wrap up of The War of Sandwing Succession, and the dragonets appear to have a new mission. One that will involve all their friends and push them into new territory as far as character development. With 2 of the 3 Sandwings gone, Scarlet on the hunt, and blossoming relationships between the group of friends, I can only see plenty more inspiring writing in the near future. Plus, apparently, book #6 is “the best one yet”, so I guess I gotta get to work!
Anyways, on to “The Brightest Night”! I’m not as divided as with previous books, to be honest. While I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite, because this book DID resolve the majority of the series thus far AND gave us more political intrigue (which I like), it lacked action sequences which I always say are the main reasons I read. If there’s action, I’m here for it. This book did not have too much action. Mostly talking and grandstanding. Buuuuuut, it did give me all the political scheming I could handle. Also, we finally get resolution to the biggest question of the series…Who will be the next Sandwing queen? So, in this case, the good outweigh the bad, and I resolutely give this book a positive review.
I’ve found the choice to use different narrators of this series fascinating. What a great way to get the reader behind the five dragonets! It’s almost like forced characterization since you get to see the inner workings of all five dragonets through their own eyes. Their reasons for doing what they do and their goals are spelled out right in front of us through inner dialogue and thought progression. So smart of Sutherland to do this. I mean, who does the audience make the most tangible connection with during a story other than the narrator? And Sunny was no different than the others. I’ve always seen her the same way the other dragonets do. Weak, and silly, and kind of flakey, but here we get to see that she realizes this and makes headstrong decisions which bring her character to the forefront. I feel Sutherland really nailed this character, and after finishing this book, she jumped into my top 3 characters surpassing Clay. Sorry dude!
Other than Sunny being the “brightest” star of the book, there were plenty of other positives to take away as far as character development. The new characters introduced all had important roles in the overarching narrative. In some of the previous books, we had hordes of dragons thrown at us with hardly any memorable or relatable glue attached to them. In this book, characters like Stonemover, Thorn, and the other Outclaws all had pivotal roles in the plot of not only this book, but also in ending the war! There were no wasted character introductions that just felt like fluff. No extra dragons to meet that just padded the chapters. Quick question, what is it with most of the dragonets having at least one really crappy parent? I feel for these guys, man!
Anyway, overall, I thought this one was better than #3 and #4, and I place it as third in my list of the first 5 books. 4 ½ stars out of 5! The selling points for me were that we got a “mostly” clean wrap up of The War of Sandwing Succession, and the dragonets appear to have a new mission. One that will involve all their friends and push them into new territory as far as character development. With 2 of the 3 Sandwings gone, Scarlet on the hunt, and blossoming relationships between the group of friends, I can only see plenty more inspiring writing in the near future. Plus, apparently, book #6 is “the best one yet”, so I guess I gotta get to work!
December 31, 2021
Good.
Good.
GOOD.
EPIC.
Tui, she was only on her fifth book, and she had already improved SO MUCH since the first book!
The plot is epic, Sunny is on a quest, to find her mother, and finally fulfill the prophecy, even if it is fake! Honestly, the way that Tui wrote the "Queen Choosing" (idk what to call it) was really interesting, and I really do like the descision they wrote. Also, the idea of her being a hybrid is sweet, it's our first look into what everything really can become. Sadly, while I was still on the second book, I was looking up something on google about Sunny, and...
I found out...
that she was a hybrid, and that she was a princess. I WAS SO MAD! I got half the book spoiled, so Google, you are very very annoying. But, after I did actually find that out, I had a theory that she would become the queen. I was close though! It was Thorn.
Another note: I used to love Sunny, and her optomistic nature, the way that she cheered everything and everyone up in the trying times of war they were in. But, I read this book, and I realised she was NOT happy AT ALL. She was so depressed on the inside, and I really do hope that she doesn't get too depressed. The pressure of having to prove yourself to everyone is just horrible to have to live through, and on top of all that Sunny was going through, really did make a great book!
Back to hybrids: Stonemover and Thorn's relationship is just so tragic. I just don't know how Thorn could still like that guy anymore, does she even now?! Stonemover basically just gave up, from what I remember.
Seriously, read this book. It was an excellent end to the arc, and was amazing and awesome and terrific and so many other words that mean EPIC to read, so please, read this!
NOTE: Do not read this book on its own, this series you have to read in order, otherwise you'll get like fifty spoilers for another book so... read the others and then THIS masterpiece!
Good.
GOOD.
EPIC.
Tui, she was only on her fifth book, and she had already improved SO MUCH since the first book!
The plot is epic, Sunny is on a quest, to find her mother, and finally fulfill the prophecy, even if it is fake! Honestly, the way that Tui wrote the "Queen Choosing" (idk what to call it) was really interesting, and I really do like the descision they wrote. Also, the idea of her being a hybrid is sweet, it's our first look into what everything really can become. Sadly, while I was still on the second book, I was looking up something on google about Sunny, and...
I found out...
that she was a hybrid, and that she was a princess. I WAS SO MAD! I got half the book spoiled, so Google, you are very very annoying. But, after I did actually find that out, I had a theory that she would become the queen. I was close though! It was Thorn.
Another note: I used to love Sunny, and her optomistic nature, the way that she cheered everything and everyone up in the trying times of war they were in. But, I read this book, and I realised she was NOT happy AT ALL. She was so depressed on the inside, and I really do hope that she doesn't get too depressed. The pressure of having to prove yourself to everyone is just horrible to have to live through, and on top of all that Sunny was going through, really did make a great book!
Back to hybrids: Stonemover and Thorn's relationship is just so tragic. I just don't know how Thorn could still like that guy anymore, does she even now?! Stonemover basically just gave up, from what I remember.
Seriously, read this book. It was an excellent end to the arc, and was amazing and awesome and terrific and so many other words that mean EPIC to read, so please, read this!
NOTE: Do not read this book on its own, this series you have to read in order, otherwise you'll get like fifty spoilers for another book so... read the others and then THIS masterpiece!
September 14, 2021
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce tome! :) Une belle conclusion et SUNNYY!!! Petite guimauve sur patte. J'ai adoré la suivre.
February 13, 2025
Kocham tę serię. Kocham każdego z pięciu głównych bohaterów mega mocno, uwielbiam Groźbę i Skrytobójcę, kocham to jak różne, piękne i prawdziwe są relacje między bohaterami, kocham to jak seria "dla dzieci" jest tak uniwersalna, mądra i fenomenalna. Kocham tę serię całą sobą, totalnie trafia do moich ulubieńców, napewno będę ją polecać.
Szybko się ją czyta przez duże litery i gruby papier, bo każdy tom ma do 300 stron. Jest mnóstwo zwrotów akcji, a to że każdy tom jest pisany z perspektywy innego smoka, sprawia że poznajemy każdego i rozumiemy dlaczego tak się zachowują, możemy się z nimi utożsamić i polubić.
Nie mogę się doczekać kolejnych tomów<3
Szybko się ją czyta przez duże litery i gruby papier, bo każdy tom ma do 300 stron. Jest mnóstwo zwrotów akcji, a to że każdy tom jest pisany z perspektywy innego smoka, sprawia że poznajemy każdego i rozumiemy dlaczego tak się zachowują, możemy się z nimi utożsamić i polubić.
Nie mogę się doczekać kolejnych tomów<3
September 19, 2024
I had no idea this was the end the main storyline and now I'm a little sad (yes I'm an adult sad over the finish of this story, so what?) But at least there's still more adventure.
Spoilers ahead
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I adore Sunny and I'm so glad someone finally had a good meeting with a parent of theirs.
I have to say though, I am devastated Sunny didn't reciprocate feelings back to Starlight. Poor Starlight. 🥺
Spoilers ahead
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I adore Sunny and I'm so glad someone finally had a good meeting with a parent of theirs.
I have to say though, I am devastated Sunny didn't reciprocate feelings back to Starlight. Poor Starlight. 🥺
August 28, 2024
OH MY GODDDD😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 i am so utterly unbelievably gagged right now. THEY PUT CRACK IN THE WOF BOOKS. I think sunny is my favourite character she’s such a compelling sweet compassionate protagonist and such a good narrator to wrap up the first arc. The plot twists and turns literally had me in a chokehold (the death bite viper… Blister you fucking snake but god she’s such a good character) and I truly had the best time reading this book EVERYONE READ WOF NOW FOR ME PLS
November 20, 2024
I forgot how much I liked these, but how dark they are. These books are for second graders, and yet there is a lot of talk about killing things. ]
Eh. I don't really care. It's a good series.
Eh. I don't really care. It's a good series.
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