Book Report - 'Wings of Fire - The Dragonet Prophecy' by Tui T. Sutherland

My kids have been reading the Wings of Fire series, so I decided to pick up the first book and see how it was. Dragons are cool and I like high fantasy, so it seemed like a decent option in the young adult fiction realm.

The general premise as described by the prophecy itself is that five dragons of destiny will come forward to end the war. It's maybe a little cliché, but I think high fantasy gets a pass for that in a lot of cases. A group of unlikely heroes bands together to do something that seems impossible. It's a concept we've heard countless times before, and the quality of the work comes down to the execution.

One curiosity with Sutherland's presentation is the anthropomorphism of dragons and the zoomorphism (I had to look that one up) of humans. The dragons talk in plain English, they have cultures in a complex and nuanced society, they ARE the main characters. Humans (or "scavengers" as they are called in this book) appear in some capacity, usually captives forced to fight dragons for sport, and they speak in squeaks and grunts. It's interesting to have the traditional pattern of high fantasy dragons turned on its head.

Like with a lot of young adult fiction, the characters can seem juvenile at times. Yes, the core characters are youth and you would expect it with them, but even adult characters are somewhat over-simplified for the sake of the intended audience. Sutherland does touch on some difficult topics with grace, so I do have to applaud her ability to be accessible without losing depth. Still, don't read this series as an adult expecting an adult book.

The first arc contains five books: one for the perspective of each destined dragonet. There are also subsequent arcs, for a total of 15 current books and a 16th book from a fourth arc to be released in March 2026. If you like The Dragonet Prophecy, there is fortunately a TON of material already available and Sutherland continues to write more.

One thing I found really cool is that there are also graphic novel editions for at least some of the books. Audiobooks are standard fare and my preferred method of consumption, but I think graphic novels are super accessible and something that might get younger kids into reading. Start them on something really digestible and maybe they migrate to the novels when they want something more dense.

I don't know if I personally will read the rest of the series (maybe The Dragonet Prophecy arc at least), but I love to see anything that gets kids into reading, and I'm so glad that Sutherland has met with some success and continues to write sequels. Whatever sparks that first literary love is always important, and I'm glad to see my kids have found a series that they really enjoy.

Resources:
Sutherland, T. T., & McManus, S. (2012). The dragonet prophecy: Wings of fire, book 1. Scholastic.