The Wind Singer: The Wind on Fire Trilogy, Book 1

The Wind Singer was the first book I ever read and truly enjoyed. I later was introduced to Harry Potter, but could never let this book come second to them. For anyone who has recently read the Hunger Games and enjoyed the story, I have a feeling you will enjoy this book as well. While it is very much a teen book, it is not so immature that it is impossible for an older reader to enjoy. I am 20 now and am truly enjoying my second read-through.This is one of those books which I believe has been unfairly overlooked by readers, as well as one which I hope to see in the limelight someday. To anyone willing to give it a chance, enter the world Nicholson created for this series. I promise, you won't be sorry.

This book hasn't gotten old. Its clear statement about what is our humanity and the limitations of freedom accorded by a society which controls and judges us, all of it through the perspective of almost-magical children, is worth a read from anyone from 9 to 99+.

Great book. So descriptive I can totally visualise it. Someone (Peter Jackson?) needs to make it into a movie. Now onto the second one

My ten year old had just started to read it, and he is already half way through. He said it is really interesting. We got him book two and three also. So he can't wait to read all of them. He also said that it is weired so far, but nice and keeps him want to know more.

I expected more after having read the glowing reviews. The writing style is fine, but not great. The story is less about how the children can figure out how to solve the situation and more about how the author can think up something bizzare to solve it for them. I considered quitting half way though, but stuck with it thinking it would get better....it didn't. It was a somewhat fun read but I have certainly read much better in children's literature (Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time", "A Wind in the Door", etc. Time Quintet comes to mind). I had purchased Book 2 and Book 3, but put them in the "give away" box unread.....there are much better things to spend my time on.

This was a great book to read. Kept me interested right through to the end. The author has an awesome imagination.

Great

First, a little housekeeping, because almost every book site I've seen gets the three books in this series mixed up and mislisted. The series is "The Wind on Fire Trilogy". The three books, in order, are "The Wind Singer", then "Slaves of the Mastery", then "Firesong". Especially if you are ordering a used book pay attention to the title and description, (and just to make it more challenging, there are multiple editions of each title).This is a review of Book One, "The Wind Singer". Of note, a whole story arc and all loose threads wrap up by the end of this book, so there are no cliffhangers. The next two books are further adventures, but Book One struck me as basically a standalone. That's nice because it means you could experiment with this book and not risk being committed to the whole series. And you might be undecided by the end of this book, mainly because I could easily see a younger reader either being captivated by the trilogy, or happy to call it one and done.The book starts slowly. We have a creepy "utopia" where everyone is "happy" because everyone is assigned a place in society, and reassigned every year, based on a huge examination that classifies and judges each individual and overall family units. It's very efficient and soulless. The system also fosters a keen and hardedged competition in which community is very much a zero sum game. (Allegory or metaphor anyone?) Our heroine rebels, and that sets everything into motion.I feared this was going to be a grim dystopian tale, and that is certainly a theme and the opening feel. But, our feisty heroine, Kestrel, rebels early on and the action takes off. Of great importance, Kestrel's twin brother, Bowman, is totally with her, and they make a rock solid team. Maybe more important, their mother and father are also rebellious and are proud of their kids. So, this isn't a black sheep shaming the family tale. The family is strong, loving, and mutually supportive, and that strength and love runs through every page. (Putting the whole magical adventure angle aside, this may be one of the better nuclear family books I've read in a while.)After the rebellious acts have played out their consequences, it's all adventure. Kestrel and Bowman pick up a sad sack traveling companion classmate, (who will end up being a powerful object lesson about friendship and about being the kid with the runny nose who no one likes), and then they all have to travel through many perils in order to find the thingy that will go in the whatchamacallit, (the titular Wind Singer), and that will wake everyone up so they can throw off the tyrannical examination yoke.Some of the threats and dangers are creepy and scary. Not in a gory or gruesome fashion, but as pretty bracing examples of dread and darkness. While the adventures and perils are creative, well imagined, and thrilling, they are also bite sized and manageable for the heroes and the younger reader. If the book has a fault it is that there is always someone or something that happens along to save the kids just in the nick of time. I didn't have a problem with that since I liked the fast pace and the wild variety of challenges that such an approach allowed for, but that may be the one aspect of the book that makes it so clearly aimed at youngsters. (Of course, on the other hand, lots of classic adult fantasy adventures turn on lucky magical coincidences. It's just that here there's no attempt to hide the fact. Indeed, at one point Bowman actually says a line like, "Oh, we go on. Something will happen.".)So, my bottom line was that this was a fast paced, well structured adventure with straightforward underlying themes, remarkably perceptive, engaging and well-realized heroes, and an assured command of the basics of a good fantasy quest. This struck me as a fine book for an early fantasy reader.

Was my favourite novel as a kid and now passed one to my niece who also loves it

男子中学生の夏休みの宿題のために購入しました。数日で読み終わり感想文も書き終わったそうです。内容はあまり好みではなかったらしい。

For a reading mother the battle scenes are dead boring, but the rest is intersing, a good page turner, my son loves it

I read this as I wanted to use it in class as a group read for my level 5 pupils. This was a very gripping, adventurous story, very well written - a little like the hunger games but it was written before it! Strong girl, as the main character, goes on a quest to find the WInd SInger. She lives in a society that classes you according to how well your family do in tests. She hates this and rebels against it. The WInd SInger is the solutions to her problems. The journey she takes and the characters she meets are so well described I can visualise them in my head - especially the mud people! Please buy this for your child as it is this type of book that will help nurture the readers of our future.

This book was chosen to be read and discussed at a book group I belong to. We sometimes choose children's/young adult books to read; we are all Dads with teenage children so it's quite interesting to find out what they are reading.When my 18 year old saw the book arrive, I recall the look of pity on her face as if wondering why adults would read such a book.Having now read it over 24 hours (I had a weekend with not much to do - both children were away), I would place it as a book for children aged between 11 and 14 but less interesting if they are older.I did enjoy the experience of reading it although I was not particularly challenged. I like the description of the stratified meritocratic society in which social advancement was based on diligent study and success in exams. Incidentally, the whole concept of a meritocracy has always had its limits as those in charge tend to shape to tests of entry to their own talents rather than recognising other complementary ones.In some ways it reminded me of the Orwell book, 1984.However, it has a mythic quality in which three children, a pair of twins boy and girl as well as one of their classmates break out of the comfortable but suffocating existence as they learn of a terrible secret about the city they live in and go to seek out a relic that will bring harmony and happiness to the city.The adventures they had reminded me quite a lot of King Solomon's Mines, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Gulliver's Travels, books that you hope the young readership of this book might want to explore. I only read these books in late 30s/early 40s and wish I had read them earlier.I liked also the closeness of the twins and their distinctive characters. Other reviewers have noted that it is the sister, Kestrel, who has the feisty impulsive character of a boy and the brother, Bowman, who has the empathy and sensitivity associated with girls. I enjoyed seeing how their characters developed through the book.I am looking forward to our discussions and will recommend that one of my children reads this book.