Flight of the Griffons

by Kate Inglis, Sydney Smith (Illustrator)

In Flight of the Griffons, the sequel to Kate Inglis's bestseller The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods, we follow young Missy Bullseye as she ventures from her pirate crew's adopted home base in the Maritimes.

From deep northern woods to great western prairies, Missy wanders far on a secret mission--one that will turn her against her own. She's tracking and spying on a blacklisted pirate crew who disappeared from union radar years before. They've been pulling apart pipelines to sabotage corporate interests in the name of nature, and she's determined to find them.

Along the way, Missy encounters mechanical moths, an outlawed tilt-rotor airship, a mega-pipeline and the unexpected sound of grassland drums. She soon discovers heroes can look like villains and crimes can look like profit.

Includes fifteen full-page illustrations from artist Sydney Smith.

Praise from Tanita Davis, curator of the "Finding Wonderland" literary blog:
"If you're looking for a thoughtful, fast-paced, mad-cap, entertaining novel which will delight you, pick this up. You will not be disappointed, and you'll come away thinking -- which is never a bad thing."

Genres: Canada

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2014

About the author

Kate Inglis is an award-winning author who writes books about pirates and giants and mermaids and all the stars and all the ways we love each other. Most recently, frogs in a teeny-tiny folk band. Sometimes for kids and sometimes grown-ups, Kate’s novels, non-fiction, and poetry are infused with the salt, woodsmoke, and fresh air of the North Atlantic coast.

“Her writing style is taut, crisp and, in places, overpoweringly beautiful. Inglis conveys wisdom and deep emotion at the same time.” —CM Magazine

“Notes for the Everlost is the most beautifully written book I have read in ages. This book is great company for terrible times.” —Elizabeth McCracken, author of Thunderstruck & Other Stories

“Kate Inglis has a humor akin to Roald Dahl at his most satirically anti-establishment, and evocative language that echoes Goldman’s The Princess Bride.” — Lois Rubin Gross

“Kate Inglis is a wise, flexible, and ultimately hopeful guide through the inhospitable country of mourning. She is also fierce—fiercely angry, fiercely funny and, most of all, fiercely loving.” —Katherine Ashenburg, author of The Mourner’s Dance

“Notes for the Everlost is a delicate, playful handbook for people who feel they might disappear into grief forever. Valuable to anyone facing bereavement or supporting a loved one through it.” —Times Literary Supplement

Reviews

[Dave Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. My son and I have been looking forward to the sequel to Dread Crew for a long time. All of our favourite characters return and are expanded upon in Flight of the Griffons.

Both Dread Crew and Flight of the Griffons take their young readers seriously. Kate Inglis isn't afraid to use big words or emotions to tell a story. Her narrative voice is both wise and strong without getting in the way of the nuts and bolts of telling the story.

There are a lot of characters in this book, but they only serve to create a richer world. The crew of the Avenger is illustrated on the flyleaf--I think my son spent as much time studying those pages as he did reading the book. The illustrations and words work together perfectly.

The story builds nicely. I was genuinely worried for Missy when she was sent out on a sabotage mission by a captain who was secretly questioning her loyalty to her blacklisted crew mates.

I loved it. I recommend it. Read it, and you'll learn to measure kilometres in blinks, too.

[Richard Levangie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Inglis has destroyed my street credibility in the rough and tumble Dartmouth neighborhood where I live. Three times in the last fortnight, while waiting for the bus to whisk me away to my writing residency at the University of King’s College’s MFA in creative nonfiction program, Flight of the Griffons made me cry.

That’s not just the sign of a very good book. It’s the sign of blessedness.

Flight of the Griffons is, by every measure, a rip-roaring and rowdy juvenile adventure and a very tall tale that will delight readers of every age even as it tackles the most serious issue of our day: the destruction of Planet Earth by capitalism gone awry. At the same time, Griffons portrays the unconscionable plight of Canada’s First Nations with both grace and delicacy, and I will be eternally grateful for the author’s decision to write this modern parable.

Flight of the Griffons is Inglis’s sequel to the bestselling The Dread Crew, and it exceeds the original in every way. That’s no small thing. While we enjoy spending some time with the old Dreads, a motley crew of land pirates who know how to have a good time, we’re quickly immersed in the latest adventures of Missy Bullseye who was, for me anyway, the most intriguing character in the first book.

What can I say? I love Missy. I mean, I really love her. She has the heart of a swashbuckler and the soul of a poet. She’s profoundly deaf, but skilled at reading lips — and emotions. In the best traditions of juvenile fiction, she is afraid of nothing, repeatedly proving that she is resourceful, quick, and inventive. I was beguiled. Girls, and more than a few boys, will want to be just like her.

Missy’s adventure with the Griffons begins when the head of the pirate union co-opts her into spying on a blacklisted crew that has fallen off the radar. Nobody is sure what the Griffons are doing, though rumours abound. With pluck and ingenuity, Missy finds her way aboard, and starts spying for the Chief.

But the Griffons are not anything like she expects, and Missy quickly learns that these renegade pirates, under Captain Rasmus Krook now serve Mother Earth. Travelling around Western Canada in a jury-rigged Hercules transport plane, they wreak havoc on the suits who wish to crisscross Canada’s pristine hinterlands with oil and gas pipelines.

I won’t give more away. But I will say that, in the tradition of authors like Roald Dahl, Flight of the Griffons is a wonderfully seditious read. Kids will love it.

Better still, Inglis writes beautifully, and her second offering is both lovely and lyrical. I love Inglis's sense of humor. Throw in a handful of whimsical, old-school illustrations by NSCAD-trained Sydney Smith, and you have the makings of a fabulous book.

I just hope this isn’t the last time we see Missy Bullseye. She does terrific work with the Griffons, but she needs a ship to call her own.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a free copy of Flight of the Griffons by Kate Inglis and Illustrated by Sydney Smith in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. Thank you!

If I could have, I would have finished this novel in one sitting. Unfortunately life doesn't always allow for those kinds of things. So I had to put up with only having time to read this in the morning before tearing myself away to get ready for work.

Now that I've read Flight of the Griffons, I’m going to go down to our locally owned book shop and ask them to order in book one of this series, The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods. I know, I know. I read the second book in the series first, not really something you are supposed to do. But you know what? Flight of the Griffons was well really written. I jumped into a series halfway through, and I wasn't lost by all of the characters and past events. Kate Inglis does a wonderful job giving us little hints of the first book without it being blatantly obvious that she’s doing a recap. Brilliant!

So I know I've already said it, but I truly enjoyed this book. So much so that Flight of the Griffons has earned a place on my shelf next to the Harry Potter series. Which reminds me, when I go downtown to order The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods, I’m going to recommend this series to the manager. I think she’d like them.

I was tickled to read about these wonderful pirates creating delightful havoc in familiar places and doing things that I would love to be doing myself. Especially the Griffons, if I had the chance, I would want to be a part of their crew.

I haven’t said much about the storyline because I don’t want to give away anything. This review is spoiler free!

I am definitely going to recommending Flight of the Griffons to friends and family.

(This has nothing to do with the story itself, but I was very excited to find out that the illustrator graduated from NSCAD University, Halifax which is exactly where I went to post-secondary!)

Last note I promise – I love the illustrations! Especially The Griffons Roster in the front.

[Geoff Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

If my only wish for The Dread Crew was an additional 40 or 50 pages to let the story deepen further, than its sequel, Flight of the Griffons, delivers by providing extra time to linger in this (again) magical world. This is helpful because the story this time around is more expansive both geographically and culturally; Inglis introduces a litany of new characters, explores more nooks and crannies in some lesser-outposts of rural Canada, and raises the stakes socially by nibbling around the edges of some pretty progressive issues including environmental activism and Aboriginal rights. But do not worry, this is not a heavy slog but a story that maintains the breezy pace and old-fashioned adventure so beautifully imagined in the first book.

However, it is evident that Inglis has evolved her craft as a writer and stylistically this book allows the action itself to flourish more cleanly than The Dread Crew, while still retaining the cadence that made the first novel such a delight. And with such vast ground to cover that’s a good thing. The big stage of a cross-country chase allows room for more people and places, all described in Inglis’ trademark style of finding charming details and whimsical traits rather than stating the obvious. There are some charming descriptions of places that don’t often get described at all, and therein lies the joy of this series: Inglis can create magic by describing a tree stump, a road sign, or a vintage airplane all the same, and that sense of wonder and of innocence is refreshing.

Like the beloved Tin Tin series or even Harry Potter, with Flight of the Griffons we now have an established cast of core characters with the room to introduce fresh role players for each new adventure. Someday, I am looking forward to the box set of 4 or 5 or 6 of these precious stories, beautifully illustrated and impressively bound. The armchair adventurer in all of us would be well served by that.

[Jamie Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The right mix of tenderness, poetry and adventure, I think. And nicely done with the environmental theme... effective, and not preachy. Perhaps the closing scene was a tiny bit, um, didactic? A great read, and a brave and clear-eyed foray into ethically challenging terrain.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate's book was remarkable! How many books for young people exist that focus on environmental conservation in such a playful and poetic way? And PIRATES! And a female protagonist! Seriously, this should be required reading for all, young and old.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Flight of the Griffons arrived in my mailbox, I was really excited to crack it open. It was a small “fun” size, had great graphics in it, and wasn’t too long. It looked like the perfect read.

Flight of the Griffons is actually the sequel to The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods. This is a series of books under the genre of Young Adult Fantasy.

I am not usually a fantasy reader, but thought I would give it a try, for as I mentioned, it looked like an easy, fun read for teens.

However, as soon as I cracked the book, I realized that I was completely lost. I had no idea who any of the characters were, and I kept reading more trying to get some sort of grasp of what the storyline was.

I should mention that I have not read The Dread Crew, so I was not familiar with the characters or the plot. Often times, when picking up a book in the middle of the series, the author will recap, but this was not the case. It feels like it picked up where the other story might have ended.

By page 35 I felt I had a sense of what the story was about; however, I kept getting lost in a sea of characters. There were far too many characters for me to keep straight. The book has wonderful drawings of each of the pirates from the Griffons crew, but does not list the other characters in other crews who you come across.

Despite this, the book had a really interesting running theme. In essence, the Griffons are a band of, what I call, vigilante environmental pirates. They set out to sabotage various, usually government sanctioned, projects that are harmful to the environment from pipelines to tar pits and mines.

The book teaches us to really look at the motives behind someone’s actions, and those that you think are bad, may not actually be so! It’s about doing what and fighting for what is right. It’s also about sticking together and helping each other out.
Here’s the description from the website: In Flight of the Griffons, the sequel to The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods, we follow young Missy Bullseye as she ventures from her pirate crew’s adopted Nova Scotian home base to begin probationary work terms along the road to union-certified junking. From the deep northern woods of Ontario and Quebec to the great western prairies, Missy wanders far on a secret mission—one that turns her against her own.
While tracking and spying on a blacklisted crew, Missy encounters mechanical moths, an outlawed tilt-rotor airship, a mega-pipeline, and the unexpected sound of grassland drums. What she discovers along the way is that heroes can look like villains, crimes can look like profit, and heights aren’t so bad—as long as a true-hearted pirate is holding the rope.
Overall, my recommendation would be to start with the Dread Crew before heading on to the Flight of the Griffons!