Review – The Lost Heir (Wings of Fire, Book 2) by Tui Sutherland (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre:Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-0545349246
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd volume in the Wings of Fire series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the 2nd book in the Wings of Fire series. Right now there are six books in that series, although the first five books are supposed to be one self contained story with the sixth book starting another 5 book story arc. This book was a pretty easy read and was well written. I still think this series is something kids are going to enjoy a lot more than adults (unlike Sutherland’s Menagerie series which I think a much broader range of ages will enjoy).

This book features Tsunami and in it we meet her family along with the second of the Sandwings vying for the position of Queen of the Sandwings, Blister. Tsunami and her friends journey to the SeaWings palace and there they meet Tsunami’s mom Queen Coral. As in the first book, they discover that the situation with Queen Coral is not as peaceful and straightforward as it first seems. Blister is allied with Queen Coral and is manipulating Queen Coral in ways that don’t benefit the SeaWings.

I have been reading these because my son is reading them and absolutely adores them. He wants me to read them so we can talk about them. He just started book 4 and I will be starting book 3 shortly.

This series reminds me a lot of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter (clans of animals and lots of battles and war). I continue to enjoy the humor in these books and the different types of dragons and their magical powers. I like how the dragons all learn important lessons throughout their adventures and learn to work as a team.

This series is set up so that each book features a different dragon. The first book featured Clay, this one Tsunami, and the 3rd book features Glory (the Rainwing). The books are pretty formulaic. The dragonets journey to one of the dragonet’s parents (in this case Glory’s), find out the situation there isn’t ideal, meet one of the contenders for the Sandwing crown (in this case Blister), have a big battle, and then set up to journey to the next dragonet’s parents.

I do have a couple complaints about these books. The first is that all the adult dragons are incompetent or evil. I prefer middle grade books where the “kids” and adults can work together. My second complaint is that these books are pretty darn violent for middle grade reads. Dragons are tortured, dismembered, and killed with disturbing regularity. I understand that these dragons are animals, but it gets pretty violent.

Overall this is a good addition to the Wings of Fire series. I continue enjoying to read about the different types of dragons and their powers. I wish there were more helpful or “good” adults in this book. If you are a fan of the Warriors series I would recommend checking this series out as well; I think this series is better written and more creative than the Warriors series. I’ll be reading this series up through book 5 and then I will probably stop. They aren’t my favorite, but my son loves them and likes to talk about them with me.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge