I was wary to read this because Starflight was not very interesting to me. He also seemed a coward and just plain annoying. While he's still not my favorite character, I do like him more now. I had a very hard time with this book. First of all, Starflight was almost the only one of the main characters in it. That made the story very one-sided. It also gave the opportunity to introduce new characters. I think Sutherland took a risk doing this, especially in a children's novel, because there were only two semi-likeable characters (Starflight and Fatespeaker) and the book concentrated on the treachery and horror of the volcano, the lack of anything good and overall gloom. Book Four in the Wings of Fire series, The Dark Secret, is told from the point of view of Starflight, the NightWing Dragonet of Destiny. And therein lies the problem with this book: Starflight has never been an actor in his own life. He has always allowed his friends to make decisions for him, protect him, and choose what happens next. But now Starflight is separated from his friends and on his own, back in the NightWing territory while the mammoth and terrifying Morrowseer decides whether to keep him around or replace him with the only other NightWing Starflight has met who he actually likes: Fatespeaker.Narrating a book from the point of view of an ambivalent, dithering character who is reluctant to ever make any decisions or take charge of any situation is challenging. While this book is clever, introduces a new cast of characters (the replacement dragonets), and involves an interesting mystery (where is the queen of the NightWings and why doesn't she show herself?), it's also a little less satisfying and slower than the other books in the series. As a reader, I found myself getting annoyed with Starflight and a little impatient with the plot. His character growth is also a little hard to believe, since he is so indecisive for so much of the book.That criticism aside, my 10-year-old son and I still enjoyed the story, found the plot compelling, and were intrigued by the cast of characters. We finished it eager to read the fifth book in the series. I am hoping that book will be the FINAL one. But I see from Wikipedia that Tui Sutherland has 10 books planned. I fear this series may be going on too long. As a reader who has enjoyed all the books so far, I'm ready to see the various threads come together and the plot lines resolved...
