Unsorted WOF thoughts part 233:
Wings of Fire books ranked by their opening sentences.
15. Darkness of Dragons
"Qibli stood on one of the peaks of Jade Mountain, watching the group of seven dragons fly away to the west."
The following sentences let you know what's going on inside Qibli's head, but this opening sentence alone serves only to establish where we are in the current order of events.
Perfectly serviceable, if a bit plain as far as opening sentences go.
14. The Poison Jungle
"Sundew sometimes liked to imagine that she could fly all the way around the world without stopping, using nothing but her fury to keep her going."
It establishes that Sundew's rage is more or less the only thing that really keeps her going. But not much else that I can tell.
13. The Flames of Hope
"Luna wanted to change the world."
Short and sweet, but kind of boring.
It essentially just serves to tell you that Luna is the protagonist. But it did gain some points in its favor for the weight of being the opening sentence to what I previously assumed would be the final WOF book.
12. The Lost Heir
"A wave roared onto the beach and crashed around Tsunami's talons."
Establishes the location, and intends to put you in the mind of Tsunami, experiencing the calmness of the beach for the first time in her life.
Doesn't do much else, but I like the idea of Tsunami experiencing only a few sentences of peace before the others drag her back down with their chaos.
11. Winter Turning
"The first time Winter disappointed his family, he was 2 years old."
It's kind of a funny way to open the book, but I don't know if it's supposed to be.
It loses some points with me for sounding a bit generic, but it does establish the entire internal conflict that Winter faces for the rest of the book.
10. The Dragonet Prophecy
"Clay didn't think he was the right dragon for a Big Heroic Destiny."
Also a bit generic, but charmingly so.
I like the touch of capitalizing the words 'Big Heroic Destiny'. Almost mocking in tone, as if Clay is just a bit tired of being told that he's the chosen one.
9. The Lost Continent.
"Blue was a dragon who liked things the way they were."
Tells you exactly who Blue is and why he's so averse to anything that has to do with disobeying authority.
He just wanted things to remain okay. But his arc is about realizing just how 'not okay' things have been all along.
8. Talons of Power
"The nightmare rose out of the mountain, vast and glittering."
Exactly what Darkstalker is. A nightmare.
Throws you right into the terror that Turtle is experiencing.
7. The Hive Queen
"For most of her life, Cricket's best friends were books."
Fucking relatable.
That's the only reason I have it rated this high.
6. The Dark Secret
"Where is she?"
Doesn't explain anything yet.
No location. Nothing about Starflight. We just know that he's wondering where "she" is.
It's a very disorienting and confusing opener to a book, which makes sense, considering it opens with Starflight waking up in a scary new location that he's supposed to be calling his home.
And the literal first thing on his mind is Sunny's wellbeing.
Like. Dude. Worry about yourself first.
Which is the point of his arc throughout this book.
5. The Hidden Kingdom
"It had been raining for five days."
Establishes their location, and that they've been there for a while.
The tone of the sentence feels like someone complaining. Especially since it's Glory.
And the fact that she doesn't seem to like the rain feels jarring, considering she's a RainWing. It sets up the huge disconnect she feels toward her own tribe.
Straight to the point, with just the right amount of attitude. Just like Glory herself.
4. Moon Rising
" "I don't want you to leave me here," Moon said."
Still makes me feel sad to read. Especially after that powerhouse of a prologue.
You may not know exactly where she's being left yet. Secretkeeper could be dropping her off at Jade Academy, or this could just be another time that she leaves her alone in the rainforest.
Either way, it reminds you of how lonely a life Moon has already led thus far.
3. The Dangerous Gift
"The youngest queen in the history of the Ice Kingdom was going to be the very best queen of the IceWings ever."
It's a bit of a redundant sentence, but that works in its favor. It sounds like a child REALLY trying to emphasize just how great her reign as queen is going to go.
It reads like Snowfall giving herself a pep talk in the mirror.
She is fully in denial from the very first sentence, and I love that.
2. Escaping Peril
"Deep in a cave in Jade Mountain, the most dangerous dragon in Pyrrhia was hiding."
This one's actually kinda layered.
For one, it establishes that Peril is hiding. From the law, from other dragons in Jade Mountain, from the outside world in general.
The juxtaposition of the most dangerous dragon in Pyrrhia being in hiding from something makes it clear that Peril is feeling ashamed of her position.
And on the other hand, the ultimate irony is this: we know by the end of the book that Peril is not the most dangerous dragon in Pyrrhia. Darkstalker is.
And yet.
Although the sentence in question refers to Peril, it also perfectly applies to Darkstalker.
It's kind of brilliant.
1. The Brightest Night
"Sunny had always known that she was the right dragon for a Big Heroic Destiny."
Flawless. 10/10. No notes.
It takes the mocking capitalization of 'Big Heroic Destiny' and makes it feel like something grand to aspire to instead.
But this sentence is great even when removed from the fact that it is an explicit parallel of Clay's sentence.
It also tells us exactly what separates her from the other dragonets.
There is a huge sense of dramatic irony, thanks to the monumental reveal of there being no 'Big Heroic Destiny' to fulfill after all. But there's still an entire book left to fill. So now what?
And that's exactly how Sunny is feeling at the beginning of this book.
Lost and confused, with no support from her friends because none of them even liked being the Dragonets of Destiny like she did.