Deserter

Wings of Fire: Winglets #3

by Tui T. Sutherland

Fans of the New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series won't want to miss this all-new story set in the dangerous and thrilling world of dragons!

Six-Claws is a happy and industrious SandWing, always working hard and loyally for his queen. So when the youngest SandWing princess, Blaze, wanders off during a sandstorm, Six-Claws doesn't think twice before trying to rescue her. But it turns out that loyalty isn't always enough to stay safe in the Sand Kingdom...

Before the war of SandWing succession, there were three SandWing princesses... and a queen.

Discover the New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series with this ebook exclusive origin story! Author Tui T. Sutherland soars further into the world of Pyrrhia's dragons than ever before! In these brand-new short stories, fans will meet old friends and new ones, uncover shocking secrets, and learn more about the terrible challenges that will test all dragonkind!

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Short Stories

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 29, 2016

About the author

Okay, 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!

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate burn. End of review lol

[Ethan the Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh dang it, can Tui T. Sutherland ever fail? (Besides The Poison Jungle.)

This was impeccable. I mean, it was perfectly paced, it was about Six-Claws, one of my favorite adult characters in this world, and it had beautiful backstory aspects...

IN UNDER 50 PAGES!!!!

(Yes, I'm adding this to my book goal of 2022 because I'm trying to rack up the highest page number that I can.)

We got to see what happened the night that Queen Oasis died (from the dragons' POV; we saw it before, but that was in the POV of a human), which was amazingly done, and super entertaining. We got a brief look into Six-Claws's backstory, AND DUNES, WHICH WAS FRICKING AWESOME, and they were both super entertaining.

Besides that, Tui T. Sutherland perfectly brought back her old characters. Burn, Blister, Blaze, Smolder, and Six-Claws were all exactly as I remember them being in the original series. This includes Pyrhia, how it functions, the rules and laws, and how to bend those. It was all brought back so perfectlyyyy--such a delightful blast to the past!!

If you liked the original arc of Wings of Fire (it would make more sense if you've read through book 10, since there are mentions of Palm and Smolder, but you'd be fine having never read the second arc), I would highly, highly, highly recommend this. READ ALL OF THE WINGLETS!!! But this one's good too.

Idk if anyone ever read this review or will read this or if they made it to the end or if they enjoyed it or if they even wanted to read this or if they even like Wings of Fire, but if you do (heyyy), thank you for making it through the review!!

-Me✌🏼

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wings of Fire Winglets book three Deserter a fantasy novel by Tui T. Sutherland. At the start of this book, it grabs you, I couldn't stop reading until I finished it. although it's a small book, if you read books one and two, it makes it a little longer. I would say that if you like young adult fiction, this would be the book for you. Also, if you like this book you will also enjoy reading the Warrior cats, and Wings of Fire series.
A little more about the book, as you start to read, you start to sink into, how would you put it, like watching a film take place, it's like your watching a movie, the way Tui T. Sutherland writes just sucks you in, I could read his books countless times over without getting the least bit bored.
Altogether, this is a great read that most anyone will enjoy.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this a 4.5. It was so good! Also, Six-Claws is very high up on my list of favorite characters. It was so cool to hear the back story of them! Excellent!
PS. DUNE!! BACK THEN BEFORE EVRYTHING THAT HAPPENED!! 😭

[Simone Mathers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been wondering which side Dune supported in the great war

[hafna ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love love love six-claws
also DUNE

[Niffty · Rating 4 out of 5]

-six claws makes a good protagonist. He gets more flushed out.
-we get to find out more about how the queen died.
-we learn about Dune and it changes my view slightly on him

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the backstory of Six Claws. It also has the back story of Queen Oasis's death. Sorta. A lot of that is covered in books 1-5 but this adds some glimpses that really flesh it out.

I love Six Claws. I hope we get to see more of him in the novels. He always comes across as a very loyal dragon, trying to do what is best.

Also this book shows Dune in a different way. I want to reread the book now and see if I just missed that stuff.

My nephew fell in love with Kindle. Boy I hope she has some mention in 6-10.

[Yub Yub Commander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually didn't think I'd like this ebook all that much, but learning about six-Claws past was really fascinating, also since you got to see the Sand Kingdom before Oasis died, and after during the war. This story did a great job setting up the insanity in the SandWings' lives as well as just how awful Burn and Blister were. This story makes Burn an even more despicable creature and a creep. I didn't think that was possible.

[Jeene Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Claws

This is the third novella associated with the Wings of Fire series. It provides great detail to the story of how the war to be Sandwing Queen started.

Better yet, it tells the back story of Dune and Sux Claws. Loyalty vs. Conscience. A lot of information in a short read.

[Georganne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hit!

The Winglets - Deserter is another background story of how life made and decided the future road that a dragonet would follow. Life is full of decisions that make you who you are. The dragonet's are no different. Read Deserter to find out who is the deserter and why. You would probably make the same decision!

[Nicole Miskel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six-Claws remains one of my favorite characters in the series, from his own POV or as a side character, and I feel his story is one of the most insightful into a tribe. We see so much of the older SandWing lore coming together and get a wonderful look into the tribal dynamics. Always a pleasure to revisit his origins.

[Michael Kitazaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice story that added some insight and lore on Pyrrha before and during the war. The story behind Dunes wounds, made me hate burn even more. The story connected itself with the other winglets book "Assassin" very well.

[Caleb Block · Rating 5 out of 5]

This so far is my favorite of the Winglets, mainly because it is the farthest back in time out of the first three (I haven't read past three yet), and it also gives a little more of the backstory of Dune, who fans of the series which this is a add-on to (Wings of Fire) will know who it is.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

August 2016 Great book! I'm looking forward to the next Winglet for sure!

September 2018 This is another really good novella. Poor Six-Claws.

[Deacon Yeager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Claws should just tell them all he isn't any different just because he has six claws!

[Avery Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it

I loved it so much because it was just a short little time consumer and something to look forward to while at home

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed the insight on Six-Claws and Dune's past. Always wondered how Dune came to be disabled and how Six-Claws became an Outclaw.

#Kin-Claws
#Palmder
(what is their ship names?)

[Loang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 6 out of 10

Six-Claws isn't a Wings of Fire character I was very interested in knowing more about before I read this book. I just wanted to finish the Winglets collection and move on to reading other books, and thought going through this was going to feel like a chore. Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun!

While centered around Six-Claws, this book also explores SandWing life and more importantly, its royalty! We get to see more of the SandWing princesses and learn about how they were like before the events of the first Wings of Fire arc.

The interactions we see include the ones between Burn, Blister and Blaze, which I consider to have been peculiarly fascinating! Burn and Blister teaming up to presumably kill Blaze said a lot about who they were and their morals from the very beginning.

About the characters, I was a big fan of Six-Claws and Dune's friendship during the story! I could feel how much Six-Claws cared about him, and the eventual sacrifices he made for his friend's well-being were heartbreaking. Being such a short book, there wasn't enough time for their relationship to develop on page, but I think the author did a good enough job building it.

Burn's weird obsession with Six-Claw's talons and her wicked desire to own them once he was dead was a really nice detail and helped the reader understand how Burn's worldview was like.

The only complaint I had about the book was Kindle. I know she becomes Six-Claw's wife later on, but they barely talked once during the whole book. I'd make their relationship more important or simply not have her appear at all. Honestly, there were times I forgot they were going to be a couple and Six-Claws wouldn't end up with Dune.

The themes about loyalty, authority and respect were, in my opinion, perfectly chosen for this specific story, as they fit Six-Claws character very well. It was quite interesting seeing him struggle with having to decide between being loyal to his principles or being loyal to his queen, and made him a lot more likable as a protagonist.

As always, a really good book! I don't think there was anything super special about it, hence why the three stars, but it was still very entertaining and a short but interesting addition to the Wings of Fire series.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this not too long ago, so I can still make a pretty detailed review. I really liked this Winglet, because I felt like it gave us a needed break from the rest of the series to zero in on one character's life story, and that it was short enough, to kind of remind you of past events and motives and characters in the series, and get introduced to new ways to view the series you didn't think about before. I liked that Six-Claws had humble beginnings, and I certainly expected something different to happen with Blaze. I am pleasantly surprised that it impressed me with the fact that one action from Blaze deeply influences Six-Claws to never pick her as the one he would want to be Queen of the SandWings. Somehow I never thought about Burn having an obsession with his claws, but it only makes sense. I liked how subtle the ending was, with Six-Claws, Kindle, and Dune. It was sort of inspiring and hopeful. The one thing I think threw me off was that the Winglets never truly reveal anything further...such as here it doesn't reveal any hint on how Dune could have gotten from the Scorpion Den to the Talons of Peace. Other than that, would definitely recommend this Winglet to Wings of Fire readers and I give it a five stars because it impressed me. I was somehow surprised to see that Dune was actually not as serious as he was when he was older, and that he liked to jump to doing cool missions and be a soldier. I thought it was funny that Dune's parents wanted him to become a teacher, especially when he sort of ends up doing so for the Dragonets of Destiny in the original series.

[Kurami Rocket · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great and emotional read. Despite being so short, this book captured perfectly the tragedy and horror of war. It also captured perfectly the theme of anti war due to the nature, bloodiness and pointlessness of war as well as the pointlessness of following someone unworthy to lead due to their authoritarian and cruel manner of being a ruler.

Since this is still my first time reading all of the books in the WoF series I had to go back and look up info to remember who Sixclaws and Dune were in the first arc Lol. And knowing how and where each ends up is really sad and tragic. Just urgh, my heart in this one too.

I like how it ended up in such a bittersweet tone with their being hope for a better future queen, someone worth following since we all know who becomes queen after the Sandwing Succession war.

Overall, another great addition to the Wings of Fire series.

[beanbop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deserter by Tui T Sutherland is a Wings of Fire short story that explores the backgrounds of Six-Claws (can you guess how many claws he has? Wow what a surprise) and Dune. Although I honestly never really thought about them much, I was very very happy to read this book because (1) it's Wings of Fire and (2) it was absolutely AMAZING! (and sad, of course- Burn is so totally absolutely evil). And a mystery-dragon-hiding-in-shadows turns up, whom I suspect to be our favorite NightWing assassin...
Like all Wings of Fire books, Deserter was funny and well-written. I was glad to see that it covered multiple years instead of a month or two, like Deathbringer's book. And although I was sad that they didn't meet Thorn, I would say that this is a must-read for all Wings of Fire fans!

[Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same as all the Winglets to be honest. Though I do like Six-Claws. I feel bad for him, his parents were feeling real creative when they named him. He’s a good character, but the plot isn’t the best.

Basically Princess Blaze goes off and then there’s a sandstorm and Dune and Burn being rough and all that stuff. Nothing more to say. If you’re reading Winglets, there’s no point in skipping this since it’s so short. Not a bad short story, but not my fave.

[Carlos Baro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Backstory

This short story gives a great backstory of Dune, a caretaker for the dragonets, was injured and why he ended becoming part of the Talons. It also explains Six-Claw's story becoming general and the ending of Assassin is also displayed her. I found it to be just an amazing book.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to hear the full story of how the war started. Six claws is a great dragon, think he secretly likes Blaze. If you want to learn about the war of the Sandwing succession I think you should read this book.

[Taco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story just makes me so happy that none of the daughters became Queen of the Sandwings, and my heart breaks for Dune, his life was absolutely awful from the moment Burn destroyed his wing to his death by Queen Scarlet. At least Six-Claws and Kindle helped him escape with them.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even after rereading the entire series I don't remember who Sixclaws was exactly. Yet, after reading this book (for the first time) I am interested in his story. It was entertaining and I am sure that if I were to read it again, that I'd pay more attention to who Sixclaws is in the story.

[Mireille Wojtanek · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I still love the Wings of Fire collection. We took a little reading break recently to enjoy some other other activities, but we are back into the Wings of Fire now. Great read for kids, young adult, adult, family, and really anyone who likes fun books, fantasy, magic, and dragons.

[Charles Hawes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Winglets series is such a fun snippet of dragons who we never got to figure out what their deal was. More of how bad Burn is, the set up for the War of Sandwing Succession, and finally hear Dune's backstory! That being said, sadness warning ⚠.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I wish they could have added more about them at them at the scorpion den it was still a great boo