Wings of Fire: Legends

Caramel has always been an avid fan of Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series. He is also a lover of graphic novels. So he has already reviewed the graphic novelizations of the first eight Wings of Fire books (The Dragonet Prophecy, The Lost Heir, The Hidden Kingdom, The Dark Secret, The Brightest Night, Moon Rising, Winter Turning, and Escaping Peril) for the book bunnies blog. Today he reviews the graphic novel adaptation of Darkstalker, published just yesterday! As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel by Tui T. Sutherland and Jake Parker. — Caramel reviews *Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel* by Tui T. Sutherland and Jake Parker.

Sprinkles: Here we are with a brand new Wings of Fire graphic novel! I knew you would be happy to get your paws on this book!

Caramel: Yes, you know I had to get my paws on it.

S: Well, it was just published yesterday, and here you are, ready to talk about it already. I am guessing that is a good sign.

C: Yep, it sure is. I’m very lucky to have it, and I’m glad we are talking about it.

S: Okay, so you had already read and reviewed the original Darktstalker.

C: Yep, I have, and both are awesome.

S: So can you remind our readers a bit about what the deal is with the Wings of Fire books and this book especially, given how it is not one of the standard series, but rather belongs to the associated Legends series?

C: Ok, so the Legends, the Winglets, and the Wings of Fire are all different series. The Wings of Fire are the original books; there are fifteen of them and they are about many different dragons who live on different continents on a planet and have many different adventures and challenges. The Legends are more sort of books that fill in gaps in knowledge missed in the original series, about historical and legendary events and characters. And the Winglets books are like that, too, but they are more about some of the side characters from the main series.

S: Alright, that is a good summary I think.

Caramel is reading Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel by Tui T. Sutherland and Jake Parker. — Caramel is reading *Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel* by Tui T. Sutherland and Jake Parker.

S: So then this book is a graphic novel adaptation of one of the Legends books, about a historical character named Darkstalker, right?

C: Yep, but he also shows up in the Jade Mountain story arc. That is the story arc that covers books six to ten.

S: Wait, so he is historical in a way because he is really old and ancient, but he is still affecting the main story line?

C: Yes, this book is basically his origin story.

S: I see. That’s cool.

C: And this also contains the thoughts and storyline of him and two other characters, Clearsight, and Fathom, his friends who were forced to go against him..

S: They also show up in the original version though, right?

C: Yep, but I was sort of wanting to see what they looked like, this being a graphic novel and all. And this was very close.

S: That is so neat! So why don’t you tell me a bit more about the graphic part of the graphic novel? I noticed that the main illustrator is Jake Parker, and not Mike Holmes, who was the one from the graphic novelizations of the main series.

C: Yeah, but it’s still good; I like this artist’s style too.

S: I am guessing the other books kind of set up a standard, a set of expectations for the reader, and this book is in line with those expectations.

C: I guess you could say it that way. I just say I liked them both.

S: Okay, sounds good to me.

C: Somehow, his style is familiar to me. Not sure why?

S: It might be because you already read some of his other work. Remember Kepler’s Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships?

C: Oh, yeah! That was a cool book! I told you somehow his style felt familiar.

S: Good for you! By the way, did you know that there will soon be a book sixteen for the original Wings of Fire series?

C: Yesss! I heard that a fourth arc is starting and I really really can’t wait! I really want to read it.

S: It is apparently titled The Hybrid Prince and will come out some time in March 2026.

C: It is so hard to wait!

S: It is apparently about a MudWing brother of Clay named Umber.

C: Really, ooooooooooooo, now I really need to read it.

S: I love your enthusiasm Caramel. I think it is certain that you will read and review it when it comes out.

C: Yay!

S: Okay, I think this is a good time to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews! And I can’t wait till March!!

Caramel loved reading Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel by Tui T. Sutherland and Jake Parker and can't wait for more Wings of Fire books! — Caramel loved reading *Darkstalker: The Graphic Novel* by Tui T. Sutherland and Jake Parker and can’t wait for more Wings of Fire books!

Caramel is a big fan of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series and has already read and reviewed all fifteen books in the series. [In fact, he reviewed some of them twice! See his review of the very first book of the series, The Dragonet Prophecy, and then its graphic novel version, The Dragonet Prophecy.] Today he reviews Darkstalker, a book in Sutherland’s Wings of Fire: Legends series, that was published in 2016, in between books eight (Escaping Peril, 2015) and nine (Talons of Power, 2016). As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Darkstalker by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel reviews *Darkstalker* by Tui Sutherland.

Sprinkles: So here we are again, back with the dragons of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series. Please tell us a bit about this book, Caramel.

Caramel: This book is about Darkstalker and his friends Fathom and Clearsight. He is a half-NightWing, half-IceWing hybrid.

S: I did not know there were hybrids in this world That’s cool.

C: Well, he is one of the very few that we saw so far.

S: I see.

C: Fathom is a SeaWing and was born in the Sea Kingdom. Clearsight is a full NightWing, born in the Night Kingdom, and she has the ability to see the future. Actually she does not see one future, but every single possible timeline in the future.

S: Well, does she know which will come to happen?

C: No, because a tiny tweak in an event today can change the future.

S: So the future is not determined yet.

C: True. What I say today, say I like pizza, maybe that will change someone’s view and that will change the future, because that person will decide to go out for pizza one day instead of something else. And see, I just changed the world.

S: Hmm, I see. It is cool. But so she does not quite have the sight, but can see all possible consequences. Like a really good chess master.

C: Kind of. Back to Darkstalker though. He also has a sister, named Whiteout. She is a hybrid too but looks a lot more like an IceWing. And she plays a big role in turning Darkstalker evil.

S: Yes, I seem to recall this Darkstalker, and he was bad.

C: Yes, he was mentioned in the fifth book, The Brightest Night, and showed up for real in the books of the second arc. He is only mentioned in Moon Rising, but rises from the ground in Winter Turning, and then he is present in the rest of the books of that story arc. And he is evil.

S: So the main character of this particular book is not a nice character.

C: Well, his friends Fathom and Clearsight are also main characters, and they are much better.

S: But the book is named after Darkstalker, so we learn a lot about him in it, right?

C: Yes, we see his rise and fall, how he becomes very powerful and then loses it all. He can’t die, he makes himself unhurtable, and then makes himself immortal. But the good dragons figure out a way to neutralize him and it involves Jade Mountain. But I won’t say more.

S: Maybe it is good because you are already giving away a lot of plot clues and spoilers!

C: Okay, so I will stop talking then.

S: No, don’t stop talking. Let us just move away from the plot and onto other things.

C: Sure.

Caramel is reading Darkstalker by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel is reading *Darkstalker* by Tui Sutherland.

S: Remember this book got out in between books eight and nine. Is the story happening in the time between those two books?

C: No, it is more like a backstory. The events in Darkstalker happened two thousand years ago and they explain his origins.

S: That is interesting. So is he at all a likeable character?

C: Well, he is evil, and he kills his own father, so I don’t think so. But we do learn his part of the story, and you can see how he slowly gets worse and worse as he becomes more and more powerful.

S: I see. Then if you had read this before reading Moon Rising, too much would be spoilt, because there, at least in the beginning, Moon does not yet know Darkstalker is evil.

C: Well, actually he makes himself look like he became good.

S: I can see how readers of the regular series might like to learn more about this ancient evil character. So did you enjoy the book?

C: Yes. Without a doubt. These legends books are neat. You get to learn a lot more about the world of the dragons.

S: So maybe you will tell us about the other legends book some time.

C: Yes, I had to read it as soon as I finished this one. So maybe we can talk about it next week.

S: We will see. But now it is time to finish this review. Can you give me three words to describe the book?

C: Handy-dandy. That means convenient and useful. It tells you how Darkstalker became evil so it is informative. And very interesting.

S: Okay, those are good words to summarize your thoughts and feelings about this book. Thank you. What do you want to tell our readers as we wrap things up?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Darkstalker by Tui Sutherland and learning some more of the backstory of the characters of his beloved Wings of Fire series. He's clearly not done with this series! — Caramel enjoyed reading *Darkstalker* by Tui Sutherland and learning some more of the backstory of the characters of his beloved Wings of Fire series. He’s clearly not done with this series!