Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer (Hardcover)

by Laini Taylor (Author) "Devils!" screamed the fishermen, pointing at the sky..." (more)
Key Phrases: falcon skin, old scorch, two faeries, Never Nigh, Djinn King, Moonlit Gardens (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Magpie, granddaughter of the West Wind, is born of dreams. When Humans—"mannies"—start letting loose devils in the world, faerie Magpie and her band of rough-and-tumble, cheroot-smoking crows must start hunting them down. The tale takes its time in unfolding, with lovely echoes of its literary antecedents from Tolkien on down. Magpie also learns it is she who must keep the dark from swallowing the world. She finds where the dragons, and her ancient heroine, Bellatrix, have gone, and she wakes an ancient djinni.The tapestry of the world needs reweaving, and a blond, tattooed princeling needs a way to remake his malformed wings. This all braids together into a radiant conclusion. Vibrant language overcomes a surfeit of telling rather than showing. 'Pie is one tough faerie, and the way is open for more tales about her to come. DeCandido, GraceAnne A.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Featuring both an uncommonly well-conceived setting and buckets of high-energy action, Taylor's debut tale...belongs at the top of everyone's fantasy must-read list. -- Kirkus, starred review

Taylor's debut fantasy...is a fresh take on a well-worn milieu, and the author's knack for faerie dialogue...makes for engaging escapism. -- Publisher's Weekly

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 437 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (June 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399246304
• ISBN-13: 978-0399246302
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Mother's Faeries, October 9, 2007

By	Melba G. (Redwood City, CA) - See all my reviews

I don't think I've ever read a book about Faeries. Wizards, Djinn, Vampires, yes. Faeries, no. They just have this boring reputation of sitting by a river making things grow and didn't seem very interesting to me. Well, that's all changed now, who knew Faeries were so interesting?

I love to read books that approach magic in a way that is fresh and original, and this one does. It is a fully fleshed out world with history and fables and magical beings with different abilities and traits. And the plot is engaging - full of surprises and edge-of-your seat action. I highly recommend this book for both boys and girls who love fantasy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the title fool you, July 4, 2007

By	E. Siegal (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked up this book for my daughter upon the recommendation of a friend (who in full disclosure, is married to the brother of the author's best friend). Figured I would look over a chapter or two to see if she could read it...and then hand it to her. Wrong. Once I got started, I was hooked. This book may be written for adolescent girls, but this 40 year old man couldn't put it down.

Which leads me to the title. As the father of an eight year old girl, I am well acquainted with cloying world of faeries. I wasn't ready to be impressed. As for this book...fuhgeddaboutit. Taylor's faeries are anything but sickly sweet. Instead, she's conjured up tough, resourceful critters who hunt devils and attack vultures 10 times their size. And the heroine, Magpie Windwitch, is the baddest of the bunch.

I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that the plot is wildly inventive, the characters are fascinating, and the dialogue is fabulous (The charactes speak in a sort of a punked-out pseudo-Gaelic). Simply wonderful.

Oh yeah. One final bonus. My kids aren't quite old enough to read the book themselves. Which means that I get to read it aloud to them all over again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Debut Novel About Fierce Fairies Saving the World (Cutesy Fairies Need Not Apply), January 19, 2008

By	B. Calhoun (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Hurry home, love, through the dream-dark glade/ where moontime beasts lurk in darkling shade/never linger, love, where the shadows grow/the Blackbringer hunts where the light fears to go."

Once upon a time, the Djinn wove the Tapestry of the world, creating forests and animals, mountains and fairies. Thousands of years ago a Devil War was waged when the horrific devils were created by snags in the Tapestry. The brave and beautiful fairy Bellatrix was the great heroine of this war and in the end she and her fellow warriors were able to trap all the devils in unopenable bottles. But then Bellatrix disappeared and the years passed, and something that not even the Djinn had forseen arose: mannies (humans). And mannies, with their insatiable curiosity began opening the bottles, expecting genies but instead releasing devils. Magpie Windwitch is the only fairy who seems to be hunting these devils, forcing them back into bottles. Most of the other fairies have forgotten the old ways, content to live in the safety of their villages. But then a bottle is opened that should never have been unsealed, one containing the awful shadow creature of legend known as the Blackbringer. The Blackbringer is more powerful than even the mighty Djinn and indiscriminately devours everything in its path, pulling devils and fairies alike into the darkness. Magpie, along with her comical crow companions, sets off to find the Djinn King, the only one powerful enough to stop the Blackbringer--but no one has seen him for centuries.

I began this book not expecting much: the tall, edgy faerie of Holly Black's Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale are one thing, but Tinkerbell-sized creatures are another. Tiny little winged fairies seemed as tough and adventurous as dragonflies to me. Consider me a convert. Little Magpie Windwitch may be tiny, but she sure has spunk. Talon Rathersting, a fairy who joins Magpie on her quest after the Blackbringer kills his father and brothers, is another non-stereotypical fairy. He is a prince of a warrior clan who has been hindered all his life with stubby wings. However, he does have a talent for knitting, and can create "skins" which he can wear to transform himself into a bird and finally have the chance to fly. Blackbringer is sprinkled with other such well-developed characters and Magpie's crows in particular provide a good dose of humor.

One of the most striking things about this book is Taylor's beautiful writing. She creates passages that are best described as lyrical and gives Magpie a unique voice by having her use a lot of fairy slang, like the word "skiving." It is even more impressive that this is her first book--it doesn't have any of the rough edges one would expect from a first time author.

Don't let the fear that a book about fairies will be too cutesy hold you back. This is a spectacular debut novel and absolutely engrossing. Highly recommended.