Sky Dancer

by Witi Ihimaera

Stroppy teenager Skylark O'Shea is on holiday with her mother at a town on the coast. But all is not what it seems. What is the threat facing the town and the birds of the forest? Where do the two old charismatic Maori women Hoki and Bella fit in? Skylark becomes embroiled in a prophecy which, much to her dismay, involves her in an extraordinary journey. Soon she is pitting her wits in a race of breathtaking dimension, a dazzling trip through Maori mythology.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy

350 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2005

About the author

Witi Ihimaera is a novelist and short story writer from New Zealand, perhaps the best-known Māori writer today. He is internationally famous for The Whale Rider.

Ihimaera lives in New Zealand and is of Māori descent and Anglo-Saxon descent through his father, Tom. He attended Church College of New Zealand in Temple View, Hamilton, New Zealand. He was the first Māori writer to publish both a novel and a book of short stories. He began to work as a diplomat at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973, and served at various diplomatic posts in Canberra, New York, and Washington, D.C. Ihimaera remained at the Ministry until 1989, although his time there was broken by several fellowships at the University of Otago in 1975 and Victoria University of Wellington in 1982 (where he graduated with a BA).[1] In 1990, he took up a position at the University of Auckland, where he became Professor, and Distinguished Creative Fellow in Māori Literature. He retired from this position in 2010.

In 2004, his nephew Gary Christie Lewis married Lady Davina Windsor, becoming the first Māori to marry into the British Royal Family.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good! Love the Te Reo names of birds, every few pages a sentence would be in Te Reo and then the following sentence in English. Great way to learn!

As for the story it felt like a 12-14yo reading level as it would give you a ‘show’ and then proceed to tell you twice exactly what the show meant. Showing was always enough. I didn’t get super connected to the characters and the pov flits inside around everyone’s heads, each paragraph could be multiple perspectives.

The actual plot was good. (Sometimes a bit wacky but I’m not a fantasy girlie so the more out-there stuff was just not my personal style)

I’d recommend, mostly for the immersion of Te Reo and interesting reading about birds / the environment / NZ forest and how it has changed.

[Teotakuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by far my favourite Ihimaera story to date, including The Whale Rider.

The book spoke to me on so many levels but particularly to my wairua Maori. The interweaving of traditional knowledge, modern environmental concerns and 21st century pop culture references kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always get a kick out of this novel every time I re-read it; a fusion of rollicking adventure, Maori mythology, a chosen one who's also an incredibly relatable character, and TIME TRAVEL. It's a feast for the mind of any reader who wants to escape into an unlikely adventure, without feeling too far away from real life.

[Kathryn Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. It's a good book in the sense that it got me drawn in and wanting to plough on through it, but it was also very like a cheesy film I couldn't stop watching. No doubt this is deliberate - mashing up Māori myth and 90s comedy-action film mythos to keep it relatable - but like a lot of 90s action films, boy do those gender politics sound jaw-droppingly old-fashioned now. Lots, *lots* of moments where women get to do things 'their' way, as if that wasn't just what happens when you're only ever allowed to be peripheral - in a novel with so many central female characters it feels even worse that their happy endings come in the form of merely coming to peace with their social straitjackets. Also, lots of plot for the sake of plot, very little research on anything that happens in actual reality that people might, you know, know things about, and a bunch of weird dad jokes about stuff that was still considered innately funny back then, like blow-up dolls and domestic violence. I probably learnt a bunch of things I didn't know about along the way, but this was a rather tacky vehicle for them.

[Vicki Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a number of Witi Ihimaera's books. Whilst this wasn't my favourite once I settled into it's rhyme I became enchanted with Tane's creations and how one faction would set out to destroy the other to gain the ultimate prize. Peppered with my fathers tongue and mythology he uses the metaphor of bird life to weave a fantastical story which can be related to in the environmental disasters we see in the now. It's clever in its execution and as always with Witi's work well written from start to finish.

[Penny Geard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story and the concepts but not the writing style so much. It was interesting how it combined a modern-ish story with Māori mythology. But a lot of issues are dealt with in a very 2003 way.

I thought I would like the parts from the birds' perspective, but it was very military so not what I prefer.

I would love to see this made into a tv show though :D

[Mark Mortensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but absolutely bonkers. This was a breezy read, but I never really connected with the humour or the wild tonal shifts from whimsy to horror to military fiction (but with birds). It really was all over the shop.

[Rick Yeowart · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s war! Land Birds vs Sea Birds, time travel, portals to other dimensions, Māori myths come to life, what’s not to like?
This book would make an awesome anime series, king fu cranes!!? Why hasn’t this been done!?

It gets a bit leggy in places as a book but I still enjoyed it. Aotearoa has a lot of diverse and wonderful bird life, we are very lucky, but that makes a lot of individual characters with their characteristics to introduce, which slows down the reading experience.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride from start to finish! Skylark O'Shea and Arnie join forces with the manu whenua against the evil manu moana, after being informed by Hoki and Bella who happen to be handmaidens of Tane. It is a whirlwind adventure involving timetravel, transformation (literal and emotional), and high stakes - even Hoki doesn't fully escape consequences.

[Jasmin Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sky Dancer captured my imagination from the first page and I shall never experience the New Zealand bush in the same way ever again.

His story has given the native birds and trees of New Zealand new meaning, new life. His characters take you through the struggle of skepticism in the Maori myths to embracing them and fighting their battles within them. Maori tribal politics and traditions are illustrated through the relationship between the seabirds (manu moana) and the landbirds (manu whenua).

I couldn't help speaking the Maori phrases out loud, to experience its strength and power firsthand.

This is the first time I've read Witi Ihimaera, and I'm excited to read more.

[Melissa Haylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was... Interesting. I am not much of a fantasy fan and the myth this is based on is not one I was familiar with. I found all the bird names and types hard to follow. That being said, it is beautifully written, classic Witi style. And I found the last 2/3 interesting and fascinating. Probably best suited for YAs who are in to fantasy and mythology