Starborn

The Flaxfield Quartet #4

by Toby Forward

When diabolical wizard Ash escapes from her prison, the fate of the world falls to wizard apprentices Sam and Tamrin. But old magic is fading fast, and even with their faithful dragon Starback by their side, they may not be able to stop Ash before she razes their home.

Sam and Tamrin find an unexpected ally in Tadpole. Tadpole isn't a wizard or even a hero, and he only ventured aboveground to see the stars. But fate has other plans for him. Tadpole must find the courage to fight Ash, or all the magic in the world could disappear forever.

The epic Dragonborn quartet concludes in this sweeping story that expertly combines classic fantasy sensibilities with fresh storytelling, and it is sure to appeal to fans of Angie Sage and Cressida Cowell.

Awards for Fireborn
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Magic, Dragons

449 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Toby Forward is the author of many books for children, including Shakespeare's Globe. He has also written for adults. Toby Forward lives in Liverpool, England, with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Goodreads Giveaway Winner** This was a great end to a series. I enjoyed reading all the books in this series.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a strong and beautiful conclusion to a very fine series. I had mixed feelings about the first book (Dragonborn), but the subsequent books have increasingly grown on me as we've been reading through them. A marvelous "poetry" to the prose, so to speak. Not sure how to describe the series other than "high fantasy" for younger readers/listeners. Others have compared the series to the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (one of my longtime favorites), and I can see similarities. A closer comparison, to my mind, would be the Hobbit, or perhaps even the Lord of the Rings trilogy, though for a younger audience. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking at times, but a joy and a pleasure to read from start to finish. Excellent, endearing characters, and a truly charming finish. Certainly well worth it and highly recommended.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike any series or book I have ever read.

[Sean Michael Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starborn

A brilliant end to the siries, with action and magic at it's heart. I recommend this book if you liked the previous ones.

[Zane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad at the end, but definitely one of my favorite books I have ever read. Still sad though! :(

[Jacob Wittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starborn is the last in the Dragonborn series by Toby Forward. This is a magic fiction book like the others in the series. The first book in the series started with Flaxfield dying and this last book started with Flaxfold dying. Sam was Flaxfield’s wizard apprentice and Flaxfold helped take care of Sam when he was young. This book reveals that Flaxfield and Flaxfold are one in mind and thought just like Sam and Tamrin are. A new roffle, Tadpole, ventures out of the Deep World, his underground home. All he wanted was to see the stars in the sky, something that he couldn’t see from his home, but he got pulled into a war. Sam and Tamrin join forces with the old wizards from the previous books and Tadpole for the final war with Ash as she tries to escape from Boolat Castle, her prison. To help them in this battle, Flaxfield and Flaxfold both come back from the dead to help the younger apprentices. All the wizards lose their power with the exception of one in their group who isn’t even a wizard or human. This non-wizard helps them defeat Ash forever and a new magic is born.

Starborn was a good book to end the series with, but I didn’t like the surprise ending. I would have liked for Sam and Tamrin to be able to continue to do magic, so I would change that part. The ending allows the author to take up the story and start a new series with a new group of magicians if he ever wants to do that.

I would definitely recommend this book to teens and adults because this book has big and long words that a little child couldn’t understand. Both boys and girls would enjoy the story line because this book has a boy main character and also a girl main character.

[BAYA Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tadpole, a roffle, can't resist the urge to go explore the world above ground in spite of the dangers caused by Ash, a bad wizard whose selfish magic has run wild. These days even other wizards are in danger, never mind a magic-less roffle in search of magical wonders and stars. When he runs into a band of good wizards, it takes Tadpole a while to find answers. But they see from the beginning that the riddle-loving, questioning roffle may have quite a part to play, even in spite of himself.

Readers who have not read previous Dragonborn books may have some difficulty with this book. For instance Tadpole’s persistence in spite of not receiving any forthcoming information seems suspicious. But the constant questioning and self-inquiry encouraged in Tadpole was a strong story element. And there are messages here for teachers and librarians as well as students:

"A word to wizards:
"You do not choose your apprentice. Your apprentice chooses you....
"Magic is not your property. It is your responsibility.
"A word to apprentices:
"You did not choose your wizard. Your wizard chose you..."

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the plot of the this series. I want to love the characters. But there's just something that doesn't click: I can't get near enough. This is like a plot that would have been written by Patricia A. McKillip in intricacy and style, with lots of marvellous interfolding world vignettes, but it's just not coming through in the writing enough. Maybe it needs more polishing, more refining, or more maturity to write; it's all in there, but it's so hard to get it out.

[Conor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm slowly working my way through Gordon Askew's recommended list on his excellent blog magicfictionsincepotter. I'm so glad I discovered this quartet there. Excellent writing, an engrossing and ultimately touching storyline and cast of characters, highly original. Really disappointed at the ending (read: heartbroken) but only because of how real and honest it was. Would highly recommend for all ages.

[Jax · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the writing of this series, sparse and eloquent, put me in mind of Wizard of Earthsea in some way. But I found this particular book not quite satisfying, perhaps it was the ending which just felt like trying to tie up loose ends for the sake of it and not completely fitting with the rest of the set.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe it's all over. That being said, I have to say that this is the only one in the series I can't give six stars to. It's still great, it's just not as much fun as the others. I definitely didn't see the end coming, which was nice. I enjoyed getting all of the threads tied up, I just hate that there won't be more.

[J.R. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried more than laughed through this book. The hard life lessons of being a friend and accepting change were tough to read. Even good endings can leave you feeling a little sad. The journey is over, loved ones are gone with the past, and Sam is an older wiser man who lives with no magic.

[Virkey]

Awesome!!

[Christine Ditzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have done without the final chapter/epilogue, that brought rating down to something between 3 and 4 stars.