Warning Cry

Guardians of the Wild #2

by Kris Humphrey

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer – a guardian of the wild.
Word of the Narlaw invasion is racing through Meridina. The shape-shifting demons are on the attack and Dawn has called the Whisperers to a council of war. Nara and her leopard companion, Flame, have never left their savannah home but now they must journey to the palace… Will the threat reach them first? Nara and Flame will need all their skills to survive…
A dramatic and fast-paced new series, perfect for fans Michelle Paver, Gill Lewis and the Warrior series.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Animals

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2015

About the author

Kris Humphrey is the author of the Guardians of the Wild fantasy series for young readers.

Hailing from a medium-sized city in the far south-west of England, Kris grew up with the sea on one side and the beautiful bleakness of Dartmoor on the other. Despite moving around the country and doing his fair share of interesting jobs (cinema projectionist, blood factory technician, bookseller...) he has always been writing - or at least thinking about writing - or at least pretending to be thinking about writing. In 2012 Kris graduated from the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, winning the award for Most Promising Writer. He now lives in south-east London.

Reviews

[Zainab Iqbal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t anything amazing, but I think I have this opinion because this book is suitable for 11 - 13 year olds and I am older, so it was just a bit boring and underwhelming in my opinion. I do think that if I were a bit younger then I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book, but overall this was an okay read for me.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was easy to read through and the story compelling. It ended on a cliffhanger though

[Book Gannet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea when I picked this book up that it was the second in a series. Nothing in the description even hints at that (in fact it implies that it’s the first), and while this isn’t a problem when it comes to Nara’s side of the plot, it definitely left me confused about Dawn. Mostly because this is a fast-paced, action-fuelled story that is pretty light on details. It’s enjoyable and quick to read but left me with so many questions.

What makes a Whisperer, and how does the raven know? How does it feel when they use their powers? Are they all female? Are they all young? If so, why? These are just a few questions that came up while I was reading – and none of them were answered.

Which is a shame, because Nara’s side of the story is quite good. We meet her at home on the farm, just about to leave for the war council. She’s young (about twelve, I think) and has never fit in with her family, thanks to her Whisperer powers and training. Instead her only real companion is Flame, the leopard that she whispers with.

I liked Nara, though she’s very mature for her age and takes on the role of mentor with surprising ease since she doesn’t always know what she’s doing herself. She’s competent and no nonsense, knows her duty and does what she has to in order to get it done. I liked Flame too, though barring one trip up a tree and a bit of gruff noise that was a sort of purr, she wasn’t particularly cat-like in her behaviour. She could just as easily have been a dog or a wolf as a big cat, but I liked her friendship with Nara and how she offered encouragement and support in dangerous moments.

The side of the story with Dawn, however, was a different beast altogether. While Nara is clearly a new character with a nice introduction and a little bit of world-building to help set the scene, Dawn is simply thrown into the story without any explanation whatsoever. She’s in the palace, dealing with a princess, but she’s younger than the guards around her… and I have no idea why?

Is she really the most senior Whisperer in the kingdom? Or is she the most powerful? Is her raven, Ebony, the one that goes about with the white feathers? Why doesn’t the king like Whisperers? And what on earth is going on with the Narlaw at the palace? That last question is mostly explained, thankfully, but the rest isn’t. Which made every scene Dawn was in a whole lot more confusing than it needed to be and lessened my enjoyment of the book considerably.

So overall this is an okay read. It has an interesting idea at the heart and I liked the idea of an African Savannah setting, but neither the magic nor the world/culture itself is explored, it simply is and the story moves on to the next bit of action and a different, more conventional fantasy setting. This is fine for less confident readers, or ones with short attention spans, but more confident readers might find it a little lacking. If you do decide to read this series, start with A Whisper of Wolves – hopefully then this one will make a bit more sense.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

[Lucy Saint-smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like several others I didn't realise this was the second in a series until I had finished the book, but I don't think it had a great deal of impact on my reading of it.
I really liked a lot of the ideas in this book - the African-style bits, the large number of decent female characters, and the animal companion characters.
I found, however, that there wasn't enough detail about the world, that the writing style was quite boring in places and overall I wasn't as gripped by it as I wanted to be.
This book would probably be enjoyed by 10-12 year olds with good imaginations but it could have been better.

[Anastasiya M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a faster pace and a little more action going on. I really liked that it’s not overly detailed with light references to everything. Nara has to be my favourite character from the series, she makes and great team with Flame. Nara is mature and smart, a little different from Alice, and I liked that more about her. One thing I do need to mention is that there’s a lack of information about the magic in the world and where it comes from. It could’ve been explained in bits and pieces to give some context.

Read the full review here: https://sincerelyyoursannie.com/2022/...

[Beth Kemp · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't realise that this book is part of a series, and not the first book. I feel that you would need to read this series in order to fully follow the story. Personally, I was disappointed with the story overall, as it felt very much incomplete. Of course, I understand that a series book will leave some threads to be developed/concluded in future instalments, but I really felt like no main plot threads were wrapped up here. The story itself was enjoyable and there are many interesting ideas here, but you'd clearly need all the books in order to get any sense of closure.

[Charlotte Latham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to the first in the series in that the female characters are strong and the illustrations striking. I think the book stands alone, although it is part of the larger story of the Whisperers converging on their capital city to try to banish the shape-shifting Narlaw who are threatening to overwhelm the country.