The Wind Singer

The Wind on Fire Trilogy #1

by William Nicholson

I hate school! I hate ratings! I won't reach higher! I won't strive harder! I won't make tomorrow better than today! Pongo to exams!

In the walled city state of Aramanth, exams are everything. When Kestrel Hath dares to rebel, the Chief Examiner humiliates her father and sentences the whole family to the harshest punishment. Desperate to save them, Kestrel learns the secret of the wind singer, and she and her twin brother, Bowman, set out on a terrifying journey to the true source of evil that grips Aramanth.



Cover illustration: David Scutt

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Dystopia, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult Fantasy

341 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

William Nicholson was born in 1948, and grew up in Sussex and Gloucestershire. His plays for television include Shadowlands and Life Story , both of which won the BAFTA Best Television Drama award in their year; other award-winners were Sweet As You Are and The March . In 1988 he received the Royal Television Society's Writer's Award. His first play, an adaptation of Shadowlands for the stage, was Evening Standard Best Play of 1990, and went on to a Tony Award winning run on Broadway. He was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay of the film version, which was directed by Richard Attenborough and starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.

Since then he has written more films - Sarafina, Nell, First Knight, Grey Owl , and Gladiator (as co-writer), for which he received a second Oscar nomination. He has written and directed his own film, Firelight ; and three further stage plays, Map of the Heart , Katherine Howard and The Retreat from Moscow , which ran for five months on Broadway and received three Tony Award nominations.

His novel for older children, The Wind Singer, won the Smarties Prize Gold Award on publication in 2000, and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award in 2001. Its sequel, Slaves of the Mastery , was published in May 2001, and the final volume in the trilogy, Firesong , in May 2002. The trilogy has been sold in every major foreign market, from the US to China.

He is now at work on a new sequence of novels for older children, called The Noble Warriors . The first book, Seeker , was published in the UK in September 2005.The second book, Jango, in 2006 and the third book NOMAN, will be published in September 2007.

His novels for adults are The Society of Others (April 2004) and The Trial of True Love (April 2005).

He lives in Sussex with his wife Virginia and their three children.

from williamnicholson.co.uk

Reviews

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! I read this book when I was about eleven years old and I've been searching for it every since. No, really. You know those books you read as a kid that kind of stayed with you, but you can't remember the title? That was this book. I searched for it in the library, rooting through the orange coloured books. I scoured titles for something with "Wind" in it. That's all I could remember.

And then, by some bizarre chance, a friend asked, "Did you ever read the Wind on Fire trilogy?"
Me: "Never heard of it. What's it about?"
She goes on to explain it, and I get more and more excited because It's the book.

So, she lent it to me and I reread it, and now I have warm happy, fluttery things in my chest and stomach. It was as good as I remembered it, and left me with nostalgic fuzzies to boot!

Obviously, I'm a bit biased in this review. When it comes to my childhood... Well, let's say that while I'm usually not a romantic, (Well, I am kind of, I just like to pretend that I'm not half as much a romantic as I actually am) I tend to romanticize my childhood and almost everything that has to do with it now contains some sort of special aura around it that brings me happiness. And sadness. And pretty much the whole spectrum of feelings that one associates with their childhood. Anyway. This book was part of my childhood, albeit a very small part, and taking what I've just said, you can be pretty certain that this review will be kind of gushy and biased.

I love it. The setting, the word, the richness of sand that I can practically feel, and the characters. I just get myself lost in the wonderful description and setting. It's like how I viewed the world of The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumier. The world had such charm, and character. Also, both worlds would make an awesome setting for a Studio Ghibli movie.

The plot is exciting, and though a bit juvenile and lacking in a whole lot of controversy, it's easy to stay engaged in. The characters are charming, relatable, and, well, simply darling. They're characters that I really wanted to pick up in a big hug and squeeze and squeeze. Especially Mumbo. And Bowman. And Pinpin. And Kestrel. And almost everyone.

I have little to complain about. Obviously, this is for younger readers, but I still enjoyed it now as a young adult. The characters weren't super deep, but like I said, they were sweet and likable. This is one book that I will definitely be purchasing and then forcing on the kids/younger teens of my acquaintance. So good.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's books about the horrors of standardized testing are increasingly popular these days. From Edward Bloor's well-intentioned, Story Time to The Report Card by the otherwise talented Andrew Clements, these books have attempted to capture the dangers of this destructive teaching tool. Both books have fallen short, leaving some people to wonder if there could ever be a book that discusses this controversial subject well. What few people know is that there's a fantastic well-written and beautifully put together fantasy series that begins with the horrific results of what happens when a society bases all decisions on testing. Regular methodical testing. In William Nicholson's, "The Wind Singer", (the first in his "Wind On Fire" trilogy), the term "distopia" takes on a whole new look and meaning. In a book that is simultaneously wise, beautifully penned, and deeply moving, "The Wind Singer", gets to the bottom of rigid test-based communities and show us a great worst-case scenario.

Aramanth is a community that loves its tests. Living by the daily pledge, "I vow to strive harder, to reach higher, and in every way to seek to make tomorrow better than today", its citizens embody the ultimate caste system. Based on strict standardized testing, people live according to how well they test. The nicest homes belong to those members of society that answer quizzes effectively and intelligently. For those people who don't like tests or don't do well on them for a variety of reasons, they live on the bottom rungs of society. There's very little rebellion in Aramanth due to its rigid control of any possible insubordination on the part of its citizens. That is, until the day little Kestrel Hath decides that she doesn't want to live in a world based on testing anymore. Suddenly she's endangered her family and herself. There seems no escape from Aramanth's rules and regulations, until the ancient Emperor, a disused ruler, tells Kestral about the Wind Singer. This gigantic and ancient construction of pipes that towers over the town was once given the ability to sing to its citizens, calming their hearts and making them happy. When the key to the Wind Singer's voice was stolen, the society became cold and hardened into its current state. With her twin brother Bowman and their initially unwanted tagalong Mumpo at her side, Kestral and company embark on a quest to save Aramanth from itself once and for all.

I nominate this book for the title, Perfect Distopian Novel. I've not fallen for a fabulous fantasy in a long time, and this book has everything you could want in it. A great (and little used) moral. Characters you care about deeply. A gripping plot. Everything. I greatly appreciated that the parents of the heroes in this book were not only both alive (not usually the case in fantasies) but also active, amusing, and subversive aids to their kids' efforts. Too often parents fret and flail in children's novels, adding nothing to the story but woe. In this book Mr. and Mrs. Hath recognize the quest their children are on and decide to raise a little hooplah in Aramanth on their own. The results are quite fabulous.

The most recommended fantasy book in schools nation-wide is undeniably Lois Lowry's, The Giver. I suggest that, as good as it is, we give, "The Giver", a break for once and encourage our kids to read "The Wind Singer" instead. Those children that suffer under the strain of repeated testing will appreciate the book's strong message. Children who like great action sequences and heightened danger will fall for the book's fast-paced escapes and battles. And those children that simply like a good story with good writing will be entranced. I say with conviction that this is probably one of the strongest British fantasy book for children written in the twenty-first century. It's simply the best.

[Rusty's Ghost Engine (also known as.......... Jinky Spring) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can describe this book in one word. Strange. In fact it was so strange I could hardly relate to any characters as they and their situations were so unbelievable.

but let me start the things I did like. The dystopian fantasy world where long ago the manth people, who were settlers found salt mines and made their wealth. Travellers from the desert plains built the wind singer a contraption that when the wind blows a tune is played that keeps the manth people happy. But the morah an all powerful spirit lord (which appeared to consist of a legion of consciousness') threatened the city long ago so they were forced to give a part of the wind singer away leaving it non functioning. So its up to our 3 heroes to retrieve it!

I liked the city of Aramanth descriptions where exams are everything and everyone must sit the same exam in order to get a rating which will determine theirs and their family's status in society and where they live. The leaders of this society believe the exams are fair, giving equal opportunity to all. For me this reminded me of my school days and how our education system is today and it may also raise questions on whether this type of testing today really is fair on everyone..
In fact at one point some characters did point out that if they were tested on things they knew then their whole rating would be different.


But that's basically it when it comes to good development. I do appreciate that this book is aimed for much younger audiences but strongly do feel it could have been made more believable. Nearly all the situations the characters were in were extremely far fetched which had me eye rolling and cringing most of the time. The characters themselves were seriously 2D cutouts that lacked all kinds of depth. I mean they did dramatic things without even a thought for the rest of their family nor did they seem to care about themselves and their own wellbeing. Talk about self destruct! I also felt this book was sugarcoated too much for my liking too with violent scenes bogged down and heartwarming moments that made me want to throw the book across the room. I should also mention that the last quarter is so fast paced its like the author wanted to rush and get the book finished. Huh, he probably realised what a crappy job he'd done and decided he wanted out lol.

I would not recommend this book to anyone over the age of 12 as the young and unbelievable characters are more likely to appeal to children and young children at that.

[Pamela Lloyd · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in The Wind Singer by William Nicholson. It seems to be an overly simplistic "message" book about the value of nonconformity, but that message is garbled by many other messages, many of which I can only hope were unintended. How this ever won an award is beyond me.

I didn't mind the prologue while reading it, but it did bother me that the central questions raised in it (Who are the mysterious strangers who came to Aramanth and built the wind singer? Why did they build it? How did they come by the silver object that gives the wind singer voice? Etc.) are not answered, nor do they seem to be central to the story. Instead, the wind singer seems to hold much the same function as a deus ex machina, except that instead of solving a problem within the story, it's used to kick the whole thing off.

Then we get into the first chapter, in which we meet the Hath family, and which starts with a string of nonsense words that we soon discover are intended to be cuss words. To make matters worse, the speaker is Ira Hath, mother of the children who are the main viewpoint characters, Bowman and Kestrel, and their baby sister, Pinpin. Ira's entire dialog in the first chapter consisted of these cuss words and simple, two or three word sentences bewailing fate, plus she was incapable of dressing herself, thrusting her arms through the seams of her dress instead of into the arms, leaving me to wonder if we were supposed to interpret her as mentally challenged. Then the whole family heads off to Pinpin's first test, an extremely important and public event, with Ira still wearing the torn gown and no one worried or making a comment about it, not even the snippy neighbors or the arrogant officials, in a society where one's clothing (or at least its color) is indicative of one's social standing.

I was bothered by social issues that were not directly, or only peripherally, related to those at the core of the story's message. The Hath parents were kind, loving, and understanding, but Ira Hath in particular was incapable of regulating her own actions and this was contextualized as a good thing, even though her actions put her family at risk. The mud people who lived underneath the city, covered in mud that created by the effluvia of the sewers seemed a naive and simplistically rendered version of the stereotypical "happy savage," while the Ombaraka and Omchaka came across as a cross between nomadic peoples and clueless sports fans playing silly games.

Near the end of the children's journey, the reader is told that Bo has become the natural leader of the group, although in many ways it was Kestrel's courage and steadfastness that kept them going. I surprised and bothered me, not just because from that point forward, Bo (a boy) displaced Kestral (a girl) from the leadership position, but also because it wasn't in keeping with my interpretation of the story and the relationships between the children up to that point. They each had their roles and worked very well together as a team, but none of them would have made it on their own.

I also found the actions of the "heroes" in defending themselves against the "old children" and the Zars to be disturbing. But, it wasn't really their actions, so much as their lack of emotional consequence for their actions. Each of the children kills, and none of them suffer emotional consequences as a result. For anyone, much less a child, to kill and feel no real remorse or upset is psychopathy. This was especially disturbing to me after Mumpo and Bo were turned into Zars and then rehabilitated, for it suggests that the Zars are just as much victims of the Morah as anyone else, perhaps more so.

Finally, the Morah, and the hold she held upon the people of Aramanth, is problematic, for it suggests that the people of the city were not responsible for their actions, right or wrong. If all of the people in the city were victims of mind control, then we can hold none accountable for their actions, with the possible exceptions of Kestral, Bo, and, maybe, Mumpo.

All in all, I found this book intensely dissatisfying. It was competently enough written, but it struck exactly the wrong political and social notes for me, over and over again. While I chose not to restrict my now-grown children's reading, this is not a book I would have put in their hands, and I would have felt the need to talk with them about my concerns.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the city of Aramanth, the lives of its citizens are ruled by a color-coded caste system of standardized tests. How well one does on the yearly “High Examination” determines what you do for work, where you live, and even what color clothing you wear. Those that test poorly find themselves consigned to the dismal one-room tenements and menial labor of the Grey district, while those who test well can eventually aspire to life in the mansions and illustrious careers of the White district. Free thinking and creativity are unheard of, but most of the city’s residents are content with their way of life. One family, however, is not. The Haths, Hanno and Ira, have raised their three children, the twins Kestrel and Bowman and baby Pinpin, to believe that there are more important things in life than moving up in society’s ranks. They teach their children the old stories that everyone else has forgotten, such as the legend of the strange, archaic structure that still stands in the middle of Aramanth, known as the Wind Singer. The tales go that once the Wing Singer made beautiful music that made everyone in Aramanth happy, and kept away evil. The Wind Singer’s “voice”, however, was lost long ago, causing the conditions in the city to deteriorate rapidly. When one day Kestrel rebels, tired of the endless rules, regulations and tests, and her entire family is put in jeopardy, she finds that the only way to save them and the entire city from their horrible fate is to find the Wind Singer’s voice and return it to its rightful place. Armed with only an old map, she and her brother Bowman, and their friend Mumpo, must set out on their quest, which will bring them face to face with a more sinister evil than any they could have imagined.

I picked this up from the library because I have been in kind of a slump as far as reading goes. I have a bunch of books that I’m in the middle of right now that I just can’t seem to slog through past a certain point. I wanted something fun that I could read quickly, and I figured this would be just the thing. While overall I thought this was a pretty good book, I did have some issues with it. The main thing I didn’t like about it was that it seemed, even for a YA book, to be very thinly fleshed out. I thought that the set-up for the kids’ big quest was very good, but once things got moving I felt like the author glossed over too much. After Kestrel, Bowman and Mumpo get started on their journey, they have various adventures, of course, but I felt like these were rushed through and there wasn’t enough detail given about the places they go and the people they meet on their journey. It’s like the author was too focused on getting them from point A to point B to tell us what was happening in-between. This frustrated me, because we’re given glimpses of a unique, interesting world outside the walls of Aramanth, and we’re told next to nothing about it. Also, I felt at the end that things were tied up just a little too neatly. Various problems were resolved too easily to be believable. This seemed to be a problem throughout the book. I didn’t like how most of the time things just conveniently fell into place. The characters would get into a scrape, and instead of finding a way out of it themselves, some miraculous solution would just fall into their laps. With those negative things aside, this book did have a pretty good message at the heart of it, and the characters were essentially likable and easy to root for. Probably the things that bothered me about this book wouldn’t bother a reader more in the age group it was intended for. Also, it did accomplish what I wanted it to. It passed an afternoon quite quickly and got me out of my slump of not being able to finish anything. I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the trilogy, though.

[Molster]

In year 7, my class was split into reading groups. There were six people in my group and we were the more capable group of the class. When it came time to select the book we would read and discuss, our group was divided in regards to what we should choose. The four boys in my group wanted to read this book (I assume just to spite us) and my friend and I wanted to read another book (the title escapes me at the moment). After much heated debate about how good our book would be, purely because of the blurb and cover (our badass younger selves ignored the wise words 'don't judge a book by it's cover') we came to a vote, as pleasant democracy abiding citizens would. Sadly because of 'majority rules' we were subjected to read 'The Wind Singer'.
But as fate would find me, I actually enjoyed this book, it was a bit freaky and could be boring and slow at some scenes, but I really liked it.
The Irony comes when I was the only one in my group to actually finish the book and the guys (whom claimed it to be superior to any book in existence) begged the teacher to let us chose another one.

[LisBirdLove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall Honest Book Review: (I read this book years ago, may not be as concise of a review)

characters:
The Hath family is a very supportive loving family.

Kestrel Hath is a little girl who has more courage to stand up for what she believes in then the whole town. She is cute, spunky, intelligent, fair and honorable.

Bowman Hath is Kestrels twin brother who goes on the quest with her.

Mumpo tags along, he doesn't take no for an answer.



Protagonist:
Kestrels is a little girl who is a great protagonist. She sticks to her guns and with the help of her family takes on an idea that the government of her town has made up. She doesn't do it for herself; she doesn't it for fairness to all.


Plot:
This book brought a fantasy adventure to a new dystopian idea. We have a world based on testing. If you are wealthy, then it's because you need extremely well on your tests. If you did poorly, you were weak and unimportant to society. Your thoughts did not matter. Then there's this little girl and her family who decide to go against all this to bring upon fairness. She goes to find the singing tree to make everyone happy.

dialogue:
The character dialogue was done to perfection.

Emotion:
The emotions were nicely scattered in this story. You had humor, suspense, anger, worry and sadness. I wanted to jump right in the book and help her on her journey. The author made me believe in the purpose of the quest. I cared deeply about what happened to the characters.

Ending: What can I say, the ending was absolute brilliance for tieing up the whole story. You will not be disapointed.

[Ebehi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book when I was much younger (about six or seven) and I was hooked. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish it until much later (about three or four years later) and it still had me hooked. The book made me happy. Of course, there wersome unaswered questions especially about the old children and the windsinger but the rest of it was really charming. I didn't really mind the made-up words because they just added a lighter tone towhat could have been a depressing story. I especially loved Mumpo, and a few of the twins' character traits.
The violence in the book didn't really bother me because of the way the author didn't dwell on it. I
was surprised that there would be books after it because it had a pretty tidy ending. Anyhow, it just provides an opportunity for a more abckstory, plus I would love to see how Aramanth fared after they inhabitants gained their freedom.
If was to critically analyse it now, I would probably find disturbing messages or plot holes but reading it as a child, it made me happy. And that's what a children's book should do.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this trilogy many, many years ago. Mumpo and Kestrel were my favourite characters. However, the most I remember about it is just how weird it is. Like, really weird. With creepy bald children that want to eat you soul kind of weird.

I might be tempted to reread this if I can dig it out at my mam's house.

[Ash Ebrahim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Recommended to: People who don't have a life, people who didn't read books, people who are around 7-9 years old ONLY.
I feel Sorry for: people who read it, People who counts it as a big part of their childhood, people who thought of reading it, people who bought it, people who enjoyed the whole thing.
So I made this WHOLE new shelf just for this stupid book. to-hell (I LOVE IT).
So from where to start... oh yeah the prologue, wasn't intresting it was a nice prologue a good one, a total normal start.
First Chapter.... STUPID, STUPID STUPID AND STUPID
Second and Third Chapter. Kestrel CRIED her HEART OUT because she doesn't care about family ratings and stuff so she was drunk and cursed everything Aramanth praised. OVERLY DRAMATIC, try living in Hunger Games world, you will commit suiced BITCH.
chapters 4-9, and this is why the book got THE STAR, if it wasn't for them the book would be minus something stars.
The rest, BORING I RIPPED MY HAIR FOR REAL.

So I couldn't finish this crappy book BECAUSE.
1- He narrates as he's narrating to a 7 year old kid with a CHILDISH voice (I thought he was telling the story to a poodle not a human)
2- Writing sucks as hell, trust me I read many books this was the worst thing I've ever read.
3- Characters were as flat as the book's paper.
4- The fact that one of the main characer is retarded and he's in love with the bitch and the bitch got attracted to him in a second because he was jumping into the mud lake GRACEFULLY, tell me about it -_-
5- The whole story they were walking and stuff just happen around them and to them and they just watch everything like Oh NO. THEY DONT DO ANYTHING they are just FLAT, no charisma no character NOTHING WAS SPECIAL ABOUT THEM, like NOTHING.
6- Mr. Hath was one of the Gay-est fathers on earth.
7- The story wasn't intresting ( I can tell you the ending they will find the wind singer and people will live happily and there will be sacrfices in order to do so)
8- The story didn't make any sense to me (I'm not a 7 year old to be fooled so hard luck Will.I.Am)
9- The book was made for retarded kids.
10- A children book that can only please CHILDRENS who are UNDER 10 years old.
11- so EVERYTHING that makes the book amazing (plot, Character, time and place setting) they just didn't play a role they just sucked balls.
12- probably one of the LAMEST things ON EARTH.

So as a whole if you are above 12 or 11 I recommend you to avoid this book, it's not really worth it, if you still read and love children's books like I do, try something else it just doesn't please anyone in this age. This book shook my trust in Children's books (00100 -----> to the book), you can try Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness or Narnia or many many many other children's books that can impress teenagers and adults.
So as a whole if you're around 6-10 or 11 MAX 12 you can try this book if you're above, just LEAVE IT.
So this is the first book to dump IN YEARS. I hope that's enough for you to blieve how much did it suck. Will not put a finishing date because it doesn't deserve to be part of the books I read in 2011 or any year.
So one last thing to say to the book after raising my middle finger up to it. you're going to-hell :D TODALLOO

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ummmmm this book was very strange. VERY VERY STRANGE. but i found myself liking it, for some reason. but just to warn you, if you haven't read it, this is one of the weirdest things i have read in my entire life.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5. I enjoyed this one. I read it as a child but have very little memory of it, and it's an enjoyable read as an adult - a very interesting world, almost a fairytale universe, with a great story and very strong characters. I loved the family dynamic between the main characters.

[Patricia Crowther]

DNF’d at page 115 because Made. Up. Words. 🙄😒

[Christianne Ellene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this 4 years ago for school, and I never regretted sticking with this book until the end.

William Nicholson introduces us to the twins Kestrel and Bowman Hath, who share a telepathic/empathic connection on top of Bowman possessing the empathic abilities. The city they live in, Amaranth, is bureaucratic to the extreme (e.g. every family has a "family rating" that is determined from the family members' individual performances in written exams and decide the living conditions of the family). Unfortunately, the Hath family is rebellious and doesn't fit in with the rules at all - especially Kestrel. So after a couple "incidents", Kestrel and Bowman end up going on an adventure to reclaim a lost artifact that had been stolen from Amaranth generations ago: the Wind Singer's voice that would free the Amaranth people from their rigid structure and rules.

The premise didn't seem too original, but Nicholson created a unique world that is vivid, real and alive with strange people and cultures. Kestrel and Bowman themselves are charming in their genuine love for their family that binds the two of their polar opposite personalities together - Kestrel is the who acts, and Bowman is the one who feels. The third member of their party, Mumpo, is the loser kid that everyone either pities or hates, usually both. Thanks to the twins' and Nicholson's insights about him though, Mumpo came across as the idiot you'd love to ditch but can't because you love him too much.

I went on to read the rest of the books in this trilogy - Slaves of the Mastery being my favourite - and I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to be immersed in a new world with great characters and an easily relatable theme.

[Carrot :3 (on a hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been carrying this on my bookshelf for a while now and probably should’ve left it there. The book reads like it’s aimed at a middle-grade audience and I couldn’t relate to it. The world building felt fine in the beginning but it became strange as the story went by. The characters were absurd, lacking depth. I found the writing style grating. All in all, wouldn’t recommend this to anyone over 12 years old.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might possibly be the worst thing I've ever read. The names? And the stupid words? And the writing? I quite liked the prologue. It seemed a nice idea: a building built to sing with the wind. But then what the fuck happens? It's like a 5 year old started writing it after that. There's never any need to write a children's book like this, never. It is so detrimental to all who will read it.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book worth reading

[Amber Scaife · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brother and sister team rebel against their city's soulless and color-coded caste system, face dire consequences from the Chief Examiner, and instead escape the city walls and head out in search of the key to the Wind Singer (a strange and ancient device in the middle of the city). There are hints that finding and replacing the key will unlock the Wind Singer's song and along with it, the freedom of the citizens of Aramanth. But to get it they must travel a long way and face the Big Bad, Morah, and his creepy sort-of-undead marching-band army.
A good story with good characters (the twins' parents, who also rebel in their own ways, are excellent too), but the world-building has some bare patches and the ending was a bit pat. I may continue the series at some point, but not just now, I think.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kestrel and her family don't fit in. Aramanth is run by tests and ratings and rankings, but neither Kestrel or her brother, Bowman, or her sister, baby PinPin, or her parents like these ways of doing things. Kestrel rebels and her entire family is punished, and, after an odd meeting with the emperor, is off to save her country by restoring the voice of the Wind Singer.

The Wind Singer is that elusive fantasy novel---serious and thoughtful, but also light and silly. The whole Hath family is jolly and fun, even in the midst of disaster. The image of the emperor who can't rule or take any action to improve his country because he can't bear to leave his dish of chocolates is fascinating. Lovely story.

A 1001 Children's Book You Must Read.

[Shima · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could see myself liking this book if I read it when I was (more of) a child.
And I could see myself loving it if I was the type of child who hated schools.

[Patty Zuiderwijk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty obvious it is a slightly older series, do I mind that? Nope!

story 4/5
characters 4,5/5
writing 3,5/5
audio/paper Paper. Found the boxed set in a thriftshop.
reread? I certainly might!

[Leonie Hinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this sure takes me back. The Windsinger is the first novel in the trilogy titled 'Winds on Fire' and it was one of my favourite books growing up. I must have read it when I was around 9-10 years old and I absolutely loved it. I've indulged in a little nostalgia these past few months and bought a lot of the books I loved as a child so that I could enjoy them all over again.

The Windsinger is one of those books which is both a children's book and a YA book. Set in the fictional city of Aramanth it is more alternative world than dystopian world. The Manth people live in a city where everyone is supposed to be equal. This is because they are all given an equal chance to pass the same exams and 'work harder, aim higher, make tomorrow better than today etc etc for the love of their Emperor.' But it's not really equal, each member of your family has a rating and together this adds up to a family rating. The higher it is, the higher you rise, the lower it is, the lower you fall. One day you're high up in Scarlet and the next your sharing a room in a tower block housing 300+ people in Grey.


But the Hanth family feel differently and spurred on by their parent's active rebellion and by a chance meeting with an important if petrified figure, twins Kestrel and Bowman set off on a terrifying journey to free the city of its bonds and the distressingly terrible enemy that awaits them.


Don't get me wrong this is a simple book aimed at someone much younger than my 27 years, however, I still found it just as delightful possibly because the nostalgia was just so good. The characters are simple and likeable and that kind of makes it for me. There's nothing overly complex just the perfect adventure and saving the world by two kids. These are the types of novels which all children should read to introduce them to the world of fantasy writing.

[Jenni Frencham · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a very long time since I found a book I genuinely wanted to keep reading to the point of ignoring my other responsibilities. It's been a very long time since I woke up thinking, "I had better get my stuff done quickly so I can get back to my book." The Wind Singer is a book like that.

The Wind Singer is the first book in the "Wind on Fire" trilogy, but it would stand alone just fine. When Kestrel tires of constant examinations and the focus on ranking of families, she rebels against the system. Consequently, she and her family are punished and demoted from their status as Orange to lowly Grey. Furthermore, her father is sent for reschooling. Kestrel, her twin brother, and a classmate have heard the legend of the wind singer's voice, and they choose to leave their highly ordered society and journey to find the voice for the wind singer, a voice that is supposed to solve all the problems and hopefully will allow them to save their family.

This book is similar to The Giver in that the society is highly controlled and a child chooses to break from that mold. This book is similar to the Lord of the Rings in that the children embark on a dangerous journey, battle the bad guys, and return victorious. This book is similar to the Chronicles of Narnia in that the three children learn some important lessons along the way.

This is a great fantasy tale, free of objectionable elements and enjoyable. I'll have to see if my local library carries the next two books in the series. If I had a classroom, I would definitely put this book on my shelf.

[Meggan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel terrible giving a book two stars, but "it's okay" was truly how I felt. I didn't dislike it, and it was an entertaining, fast read, but everything happened so quickly that I felt like some of the plot points were over before I really understood what was going on. This book needed less telling and more showing! Give me details! There were a fair amount of minor characters introduced that disappeared so quickly I questioned why they were even mentioned.

I also felt like some of the main elements of the story weren't fleshed out very well, like the existence of the map, the briefly alluded-to giants, what the wind singer really was and what it meant, and the existence of the mud people. There are so many elements to this story - I feel like it could/should have been broken up into two or three parts and fleshed out much more thoroughly and I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

I have to admit that the elderly children were super creepy - the author did a good job of describing them in a way that gave me the heebie-jeebies.

All in all, this was not a bad book by any means, and I would give it 3 stars if 3 meant something more like "it's okay; I probably wouldn't recommend it to people but I don't regret reading it." The premise was great, but it needed much more detail to make me really feel good about recommending it.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a kid anymore; really, I'm at the other side of the curve. It would have been simple to look at this book from that perspective and rate it lower for many reasons: in your face points being made about society, simplistic writing style, convenient wrapping up of situations to the favor of the main characters, lack of character development, etc.

But... the book was targeted at the younger set and I wouldn't be doing it (or the author) justice if I didn't try to look at it from the rising side of the age curve. This is exactly the type of book I would have loved reading were I back in elementary or middle school. Why? It's fast paced, with main characters that are simple to decipher; you know who's good and who's bad. The prose doesn't make you work to get through it. There's enough of the fantasy element to make it interesting, perhaps even with parallels to The Wizard of Oz (ie: Great Road <-> Yellow Brick Road). So, for these age groups I'd give the 4 stars I did.

It's said that the older we become the more we become as children again... hmm, can't wait for books 2 and 3 in the trilogy! :-)

[Beth N · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wind Singer was one of my husband's favourite books when he was young and he has been trying to persuade me to read it for almost 5 years now. His love of the series is such that, against experience and better judgement, I expected to be blown away. As is often the way with expectations, the promise was better than the reality. Which, I hasten to add, is not to say that this is a bad book. Rather, I intend for it to serve as an explanation for my more critical judgement of it.

The book opens in the fictional city of Aramanth, which (like a certain era of YA dystopias) is segregated into concentric colour-based districts. The citizens' lives are governed by unending examinations, which give them a family rating that determines in which district they are to live and what sort of lives they are to lead. So far, so tyrannical, but then one day young protagonist Kestrel decides that she has had enough. She rebels against the rigid ranking system, flouts the authorities' attempts to force her back into line, and is swept up in a fantasy adventure at the heart of which is the Wind Singer: a monument from ancient days that seems to be the source of all the city's ills.

There are many things that The Wind Singer does right. As a children's book, its fast-paced action and quirky but charming characters are quick to engage the reader. Nicholson's imagination is well exercised. From an underground mud city to Mortal Engines-style roving cities, to the ruins of an ancient highway that would be a dream for any fantasy artist, this is a book begging to be illustrated. The enemy (there must always be an enemy) is genuinely frightening - great for those adult readers among us - without being in any way inappropriate for a younger audience. The structure of the book owes much to older fairy tales, with a quest laid out in stages and then followed with dangers to overcome at each point. That gave it an almost familiar feeling that instantly makes the reader comfortable enough to accept later stranger flights of fancy.

Perhaps my favourite choice Nicholson made with this book was in the bonds between the protagonists. Kestrel and her twin brother Bowman are not only close to each other, but also to their parents and younger sister. Many parents in children's fiction are written as placeholders: they give the protagonists a setting, or they exist as vague disapproving figures to be outwitted, or they died a long time ago, leaving our protagonists orphaned. Hanno and Ira, in contrast, are not only alive - a rarity in fantasy - but deeply supportive of their children's choices. They are written with just as much care as their children and when Kestrel and Bowman set off on their mission, the story does not forget the parents. Chapters from each of their perspectives show how Kestrel's act of rebellion continues to shape lives back in Aramanth and how her parents choose to act in the face of such changes. It made for a very refreshing change, and Hanno and Ira ultimately ended up being my favourite characters.

Refreshing is not always perfect, however, and there were a number of aspects of this book that I would have liked to see done differently. Nicholson has a habit of putting his protagonists in predicaments and, rather than letting them use their own skills and intelligence to escape, introduces a deus ex machina solution which, often, feels somewhat random. For me this lowered the stakes, as I knew that at the next sign of danger there would be some other rescue that would come along. It also didn't allow the characters to grow as they might have done had they been permitted to save themselves.

In addition, the pressure to keep the book moving meant that much of it felt very rushed and I was left with a lot of unanswered questions about the nature of the world and the importance of certain key elements of the plot. We have very little time to appreciate one scene before being whisked to the next. I would have preferred to see some key scenes in the plot dug into a little deeper, or written with time for us to process their implications , particularly the ending, which was over in about two pages and left me feeling rather unsatisfied by how easily all the wounds of the past were healed.

I will be interested to see how the remaining two books in the series fill in these gaps and how the characters grow as they get older. Already in this first book we have seen the start of a promising character arc for Bowman. I would like to see a deeper delve into some of the many questions I have regarding the soft worldbuilding and lore that Nicholson has already hinted at, though with the target demographic of the book I am aware that I cannot expect as much detail as I perhaps would like.

For those with children who enjoy escapist adventures, or for adults willing to put aside their critical brains and simply enjoy a good fantasy story, The Wind Singer is worth a read. It is perhaps better appreciated if experienced first at a younger age, but it does many good things that even a seasoned SFF reader might be able to appreciate. The key messages - courage, kindness, acceptance - are all there and the twists will keep you turning pages. This probably isn't your new favourite series, but at 350-ish pages of large print, it was a quick and enjoyable adventure.

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très sympa. Mais j'ai préféré l'écriture de Mortal Engines je crois.

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a childhood favourite of mine that I forced myself to re-read as one last hurrah before a clear out.

I struggled to get through it because it's just not the kind of book I read anymore, but it is still incredibly inventive for a book in this age category and I love all made-up phrases that the kids use

[Heleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid YA

[lil4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

c'était TROOOP bien trop fun.... peut-être que c'est la nostalgie qui parle, mais c'était vraiment chouette à lire (même si j'ai été un peu gênée par certains trucs)