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Guardians of Ga'Hoole #9
The First Collier
The Legends
An ancient malevolence that will threaten the very existence of the great tree has been loosed from the past. With his dying breath, Ezylryb tells Soren and Coryn to read the legends of Ga'Hoole hidden in his private library. There, they find a world of treachery and magic in which a young king and queen struggle to keep peace while Grank, their most loyal friend and supporter, studies embers and flames in a distant land. Then a desperate plea comes from the king, and Grank rushes to the aid of his noble friends.
An ancient malevolence that will threaten the very existence of the great tree has been loosed from the past. With his dying breath, Ezylryb tells Soren and Coryn to read the legends of Ga'Hoole hidden in his private library. There, they find a world of treachery and magic in which a young king and queen struggle to keep peace while Grank, their most loyal friend and supporter, studies embers and flames in a distant land. Then a desperate plea comes from the king, and Grank rushes to the aid of his noble friends.
179 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
149 people are currently reading
3087 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Lasky
257Ìýbooks2,234ÌýfollowersKathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
November 13, 2022
We need more characters like Theo in this series!
November 30, 2012
Say goodbye to Soren, the Guardians, the Band, the Chaw of Chaw, the wolves of the Beyond, Coryn, and even the Pure Ones. Because for some reason or other, we're blasting thousands of years into the past to deal with mythology that was never mentioned in the series until The Hatchling (but mostly The Outcast). And don't worry your pretty little heads, because this mythology will directly contradict what's been said before and will confuse the hell out of you.
Actually, you know what? Worry.
I have two massive questions/complaints:
What exactly is Glaux?
Glaux was stated to be owls during the time of humans, but the term is used like a ("By Glaux!", "Oh my Glaux!" etcetera, etcetera). Then it was said to be the first owl, not the whole group of them. But in The First Collier, suddenly the first owl is called Hoole... which confuses things further as this is a different Hoole from the Hoole of the Ga'Hoole tree, who was named for that first Hoole. (Are you confused yet?)
What the hell are hagsfiends?
During their first appearances, hagsfiends are dead owls from hagsmire, which is the term for owl hell. Now they're explained to be a cross between crows and owls. More specifically, they are descendant from a species called crowls, which are explained as the common ancestor of owls and crows.
But if the hagsfiends re just another bird species, why are they Always Chaotic Evil? And how can owls become hagsfiends just by hanging around them? Obviously it's supposed to be that the PURE EVIL rubs off on them, but that only works if they're actual demons of some kind, not a bird species. Which they were until this book Retconned it. (Are you confused now?)
Really, I feel like Lasky got confused halfway through writing this. Like maybe she took a long break and got her own mythology mixed up when she sat back down to continue. Or she wrote two or more wildly different drafts in which the mythology evolved and when she tried to bring the best of the drafts together, the mythology accidentally got confused. Or... I don't know, maybe she just thought kids would be too stupid to remember what she said in the previous books?
So, yeah. We're back at the bottom of the downhill slide from The Hatchling. The prejudice is back in full swing with the invariably PURE EVIL hagsfiends, and with the mythology getting so bungled and contradictory, I'm getting really close to just not caring.
And with the final reveal that Coryn thinks his mother is actually a hagsfiend, not an owl at all, I was really close to throwing the book across the room. You cannot retcon your villain into being a different species from the good guys. Seriously, imagine that these were people instead of birds.
"Le gasp," Coryn says. "My mother's too evil to be a _______ like me I think she's really one of those terrible _______!"
Now fill in those blanks with things like white and black, capitalist and communist, Republican and Democrat, Northerner and Southerner, etcetera. Suddenly it's offensive, right? That's because it was offensive all along, and yet so many anthropomorphic and fantasy series try imply that discrimination is perfectly acceptable because it's not against people. It's not.
The little owlet Hoole was the highlight of this book. He was sweet and innocent, and since he'd never heard of hagsfiends, he didn't suffer the ingrained prejudice that the other characters flaunted. I can only hope he'll stay that way. (Though, unfortunately, I doubt it.)
Actually, you know what? Worry.
I have two massive questions/complaints:
What exactly is Glaux?
Glaux was stated to be owls during the time of humans, but the term is used like a ("By Glaux!", "Oh my Glaux!" etcetera, etcetera). Then it was said to be the first owl, not the whole group of them. But in The First Collier, suddenly the first owl is called Hoole... which confuses things further as this is a different Hoole from the Hoole of the Ga'Hoole tree, who was named for that first Hoole. (Are you confused yet?)
What the hell are hagsfiends?
During their first appearances, hagsfiends are dead owls from hagsmire, which is the term for owl hell. Now they're explained to be a cross between crows and owls. More specifically, they are descendant from a species called crowls, which are explained as the common ancestor of owls and crows.
But if the hagsfiends re just another bird species, why are they Always Chaotic Evil? And how can owls become hagsfiends just by hanging around them? Obviously it's supposed to be that the PURE EVIL rubs off on them, but that only works if they're actual demons of some kind, not a bird species. Which they were until this book Retconned it. (Are you confused now?)
Really, I feel like Lasky got confused halfway through writing this. Like maybe she took a long break and got her own mythology mixed up when she sat back down to continue. Or she wrote two or more wildly different drafts in which the mythology evolved and when she tried to bring the best of the drafts together, the mythology accidentally got confused. Or... I don't know, maybe she just thought kids would be too stupid to remember what she said in the previous books?
So, yeah. We're back at the bottom of the downhill slide from The Hatchling. The prejudice is back in full swing with the invariably PURE EVIL hagsfiends, and with the mythology getting so bungled and contradictory, I'm getting really close to just not caring.
And with the final reveal that Coryn thinks his mother is actually a hagsfiend, not an owl at all, I was really close to throwing the book across the room. You cannot retcon your villain into being a different species from the good guys. Seriously, imagine that these were people instead of birds.
"Le gasp," Coryn says. "My mother's too evil to be a _______ like me I think she's really one of those terrible _______!"
Now fill in those blanks with things like white and black, capitalist and communist, Republican and Democrat, Northerner and Southerner, etcetera. Suddenly it's offensive, right? That's because it was offensive all along, and yet so many anthropomorphic and fantasy series try imply that discrimination is perfectly acceptable because it's not against people. It's not.
The little owlet Hoole was the highlight of this book. He was sweet and innocent, and since he'd never heard of hagsfiends, he didn't suffer the ingrained prejudice that the other characters flaunted. I can only hope he'll stay that way. (Though, unfortunately, I doubt it.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2025
Overall Rating : C+
"Read them and know where we came from...and what we must guard against."
"Read them and know where we came from...and what we must guard against."
March 29, 2023
HOOT FREAKIN HOOT. Now that’s what I call a fantasy book about owls. Well firstly, I love prequels and there was something about switching from third person to first person that made Katie’s little owl world shine. 6 more to go!
August 21, 2020
I loved this series. The uniqueness of a civilization of owls grabbed me. The ideas of how that would play out were well thought out. There are many books in this series. The first are excellent. The later ones are some better than others. But in each the uniqueness of an owl community plays out really well.
February 7, 2020
This is one of my favorite series
January 5, 2024
When I found out that the first Collier would be a lore novel, revealing past stories of Ga'hoole, I was quite excited. However, something in how it is written didn't feel quite right. At times Grack's visions through the fire felt correct, other times it felt like he was seeing and hearing far too much, as if it was simply convenient so he could tell the story. This too happened with the arrival of his apprentice, Theo, who didn't seem to have much back story or purpose, and again with a sudden, abrupt ending that came on unexpectedly. The story simply felt cobbled together, and while it did provide some good lore in parts, failed to fully capture my imagination.
October 17, 2020
Lol, I’m a pretty awesome Grandma. Ok kids on to book 10.
October 23, 2019
Great book overall. love hearing about the legends of Ga'Hoole. pretty neat to learn about Grank and all the other characters mention in the legends. would definite recommend this because it tells so much about the legends that are always mentioned.
April 14, 2023
My review of the series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole
- books 1-3
- books 4-6
- books 7&8
- books 9-11
- books 1-3
- books 4-6
- books 7&8
- books 9-11
October 26, 2011
I really enjoyed the previous books in this series (Guardians of Ga'Hoole books 1-8), forgiving the slightly repetitive writing because its intended audience is children, and because the story was interesting. This book, however, was a HUGE disappointment! It was like an episode of friends made up entirely of flashbacks that doesn't have the decency to call itself a re-run. It was basically a memoir, taking the entire book to tell a legend that could have been summed up in a chapter, and taking what I consider a PAINFUL detour from the real characters of interest. Maybe I just don't like memoirs, owl or otherwise. I'm not one to put down a book in the middle, and I couldn't even finish it.
December 21, 2009
LOVED this book too. I was thinking this book might be less interesting since the members of The Band wouldn't really be playing a role in the plot and this was basically the background story of the famous "legends of ga'hoole" referenced in the other books. However, the story was great, the plot was good, it was full of action, and by the end of the book you already love Grank and Siv just as much as any of the members of The Band. I can't wait to get the other two books from this part of the series and get more of the background on Hoole growing up and becoming king.
December 25, 2010
At first I thought this was going to be a bummer book because Soren and The Band weren't the main charactors. And the fact that someone very inportant dies in the beging of this book. But, I soon loved this new twist to the story plot and I enjoyed the story just as much as any other GoG'H book I have read so far. A loved this book! So don't stop reading the series just because there are a lot of negative reviews that are out to bring this book no justice. :-)
And I can't wait until the rest of the GoG'H come in that were ordered for B&N. :-)
And I can't wait until the rest of the GoG'H come in that were ordered for B&N. :-)
December 8, 2023
Super Idee und Weise, die alten Legenden in die Haupthandlung mit einzuflechten. Am Anfang liest es sich wirklich wie eine Historie und dann bekommt man verschiedene Blickwinkel und das ganze ist plötzlich viel lebhafter und ausgefleischter.
Ich danke der Autorin ganz herzlich für Siv, wie gern hätte ich mehr von ihr gelesen :(
Ich danke der Autorin ganz herzlich für Siv, wie gern hätte ich mehr von ihr gelesen :(
October 11, 2023
more like 2 1/2 stars. I've really liked the other books, but I just couldn't get into this. I know I'm not the target audience though.
I took a break for over a year before listening to The Hatchling, so I didn't mind the main character change so much, and I like Nyroc. I do wish Lasky separated her books into arcs though. But then we only had Nyroc for 2 short books, and now there's another main character change and it takes place in the ancient past. I wouldn't have minded if it was separate from the main series, but I just couldn't get into these characters. I think it's the way it's written. "I did this" "I felt this way" I know they're reading a memoir, but it felt very tell don't show. It's been so long since I read the first six books that I cannot remember, but some reviews say this book's lore is contradictory to the original lore which is frustrating. I don't understand what the deal is with the hagsfiends. I thought they were evil spirits? Now they are part crow part owl? So they're evil just because they're crows? There's not a real reason? This lore felt weird to me. I really like the other villain like St. Aggies or The Pure Ones. They're more complicated and have an ideology. But these are just crow owls and they had evil magic just because? I'm so far in this series that I want to finish it but I'm seriously considering just finding a summary of these next couple books. Maybe they'll improve the storyline but right now I'm just not feeling it. If I wasn't listening to this audiobook while I worked, I would have decided I wasn't enjoying it enough to finish.
I took a break for over a year before listening to The Hatchling, so I didn't mind the main character change so much, and I like Nyroc. I do wish Lasky separated her books into arcs though. But then we only had Nyroc for 2 short books, and now there's another main character change and it takes place in the ancient past. I wouldn't have minded if it was separate from the main series, but I just couldn't get into these characters. I think it's the way it's written. "I did this" "I felt this way" I know they're reading a memoir, but it felt very tell don't show. It's been so long since I read the first six books that I cannot remember, but some reviews say this book's lore is contradictory to the original lore which is frustrating. I don't understand what the deal is with the hagsfiends. I thought they were evil spirits? Now they are part crow part owl? So they're evil just because they're crows? There's not a real reason? This lore felt weird to me. I really like the other villain like St. Aggies or The Pure Ones. They're more complicated and have an ideology. But these are just crow owls and they had evil magic just because? I'm so far in this series that I want to finish it but I'm seriously considering just finding a summary of these next couple books. Maybe they'll improve the storyline but right now I'm just not feeling it. If I wasn't listening to this audiobook while I worked, I would have decided I wasn't enjoying it enough to finish.
November 25, 2023
What a complete disappointment this book was. This is a total history dump of a book. Through out the other 8 books we’ve learned basic history stuff as it was important to the present story. But the prologue to this book was literally an owl on his deathbed saying, “you must read the true history. Only I have a copy. It’s hidden away.� And then chapter 1 begins a completely different tale, some unknown time ago.
And to make matters worse, it’s not a chronological history. The narrator jumps from story like to story line with no apparent thought of story flow. Very clearly we jump time lines, focuses and different perspective (but yet still somehow narrated by the same owl) simply for the purpose of leaving some stories unresolved for cliff hangers. It seemed that every third chapter we switched to something else, no matter what was happening.
And to make it even worse, the narrative owl is one of the most ornery and rude owls ever encountered in this entire series. Did I care about anyone? Not really. Was the main owl we were supposed to be focusing on even in this story? No. He was an egg.
If the tenth book continues in this fashion, I will be skipping it.
The writing in this series has been incredibly lacking and cumbersome. But I’ve not focused on it too much since this is a children’s novel series. But this is just ridiculous.
And to make matters worse, it’s not a chronological history. The narrator jumps from story like to story line with no apparent thought of story flow. Very clearly we jump time lines, focuses and different perspective (but yet still somehow narrated by the same owl) simply for the purpose of leaving some stories unresolved for cliff hangers. It seemed that every third chapter we switched to something else, no matter what was happening.
And to make it even worse, the narrative owl is one of the most ornery and rude owls ever encountered in this entire series. Did I care about anyone? Not really. Was the main owl we were supposed to be focusing on even in this story? No. He was an egg.
If the tenth book continues in this fashion, I will be skipping it.
The writing in this series has been incredibly lacking and cumbersome. But I’ve not focused on it too much since this is a children’s novel series. But this is just ridiculous.
June 24, 2024
The whispers of legendary stories have guided Soren and his friends thus far. Now, they have a chance to confront an eyewitness testimony. I imagine that their response to the truths therein will set the tone for the rest of this series. It has struck me, hearing snippets of one cycle or another through the ears of one owl or another, that up til now, the reader has not been told a full version of any one legend. As the parting words of Grank make clear, even this one (26 chapter) book is a mere piece of the puzzle. Other voices will join his, will you listen?
I'm grateful for the audiobook. I've never had the full series available to me, though I hope to have all of them one day. The woman's voice is beautiful but also strangely annoying at times. Especially when she voices a younger owl. Which makes for an interesting experience. I'm not sure that pitchy is the right word, perhaps scratchy? Like her voice is stretched thin? Might just be me.
I'm grateful for the audiobook. I've never had the full series available to me, though I hope to have all of them one day. The woman's voice is beautiful but also strangely annoying at times. Especially when she voices a younger owl. Which makes for an interesting experience. I'm not sure that pitchy is the right word, perhaps scratchy? Like her voice is stretched thin? Might just be me.
April 4, 2023
I personably am not a fan of books that are in first person, but Kathryn Lasky actually has done a better job at storytelling in first person that what she has done in third. The story seemed to glide more efficiently through my minds eye compared to all the other books that were in third person.
Throughout this book, there are times when the owls smell certain scents, and again I have to put down that owls cannot smell odours. Because of this, I give this book a 4/5.
This book made me realise how very similar the Hoole ember is compared the ring to rule them all in ‘The Lord Of The Rings.�
If either of these things are put into the hands of someone not strong enough to deal with its powers, it could be disastrous for that individual. The more you use the ember or the ring, the more it takes a hold of you until all you care about is that powerful object.
Throughout this book, there are times when the owls smell certain scents, and again I have to put down that owls cannot smell odours. Because of this, I give this book a 4/5.
This book made me realise how very similar the Hoole ember is compared the ring to rule them all in ‘The Lord Of The Rings.�
If either of these things are put into the hands of someone not strong enough to deal with its powers, it could be disastrous for that individual. The more you use the ember or the ring, the more it takes a hold of you until all you care about is that powerful object.
August 23, 2023
I understand why Kathryn Lasky wrote this one in first person, journal entry style despite the previous eight books being third person. That doesn’t mean I liked the style. The story was interesting enough, but I was slogging through it because it was such a different style than the previous books and not half as engaging. I’m so glad book ten went back to third person. *breathes sigh of relief* Otherwise I probably would’ve skipped this prequel trilogy altogether.
That being said, I was enjoying it much more by the end. I liked the inclusion of Svenka the polar bear and her cubs, and this series delves much more into magic than the previous books, which is interesting. Hagfiends are terrifying. Go strong mom Siv.
That being said, I was enjoying it much more by the end. I liked the inclusion of Svenka the polar bear and her cubs, and this series delves much more into magic than the previous books, which is interesting. Hagfiends are terrifying. Go strong mom Siv.
January 21, 2018
Warning: This book has many dealings with "hagsfiends," spirits from owl h**l that can both possess living owls and attack them.
This ninth book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series is a Legends book: The tale of Grank, the first blacksmith, and the hatching of Hoole.
The tale is easy to follow, but simply not engaging for me. I was neither excited nor curious about what was to come. It was vaguely interesting, but not enough so.
It's written toward children, which the style shows, but the hagsfiends part makes me rethink its appropriateness for children. Parents should give permission for anyone under 11 to read this book.
This ninth book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series is a Legends book: The tale of Grank, the first blacksmith, and the hatching of Hoole.
The tale is easy to follow, but simply not engaging for me. I was neither excited nor curious about what was to come. It was vaguely interesting, but not enough so.
It's written toward children, which the style shows, but the hagsfiends part makes me rethink its appropriateness for children. Parents should give permission for anyone under 11 to read this book.
October 9, 2022
As someone who is also obsessed with owls, I've absolutely loved reading this series with my daughter up until this book. In previous books, there was talk of spirits and some brutality but it was little enough that I could easily substitute words I wasn't ok with for something I was more comfortable with her hearing.
While still good, the author started including way more talk of spirits, some pretty intense scenes of brutality, and even some swear words. I'm disappointed that the author seems to be trying to keep readers interested in her books by branching out into things that are just so out of sync with and do not contribute to the original storyline.
While still good, the author started including way more talk of spirits, some pretty intense scenes of brutality, and even some swear words. I'm disappointed that the author seems to be trying to keep readers interested in her books by branching out into things that are just so out of sync with and do not contribute to the original storyline.
March 18, 2025
Now it’s getting good! This is the style I really like with the author. We get to know where the wolves came from and why they guard the ember of hool. It’s great to be able to see a writers development. While the rest of the series is good and improves with each new book, I found I enjoyed the wolves beyond series more than the owls one.
Reading them back to back, it becomes a little annoying that each owls skill was repeated every single book. Why barn owls are so good at hearing, or how owls navigating, air pressure, etc.
That slowly went away as the series progressed, but it disappeared completely last book and was not brought up in this book.
Reading them back to back, it becomes a little annoying that each owls skill was repeated every single book. Why barn owls are so good at hearing, or how owls navigating, air pressure, etc.
That slowly went away as the series progressed, but it disappeared completely last book and was not brought up in this book.
May 18, 2018
My favorite part was when Grank took Siv's egg somewhere safe to raise the chick so that the hasfiends didn't get to it. My least favorite part was when Ezylryb died, because he has been in all the books so far, since the second one where the owls met him at the great tree. I really liked the polar bear Svenka. She was strangley nice to Siv, even when they had just met, and eventually they became friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2020
FR
Alors, je peux comprendre pourquoi on fait un bon dans le passé pour comprendre l'histoire etc.
Mais c'est un non.
Je n'ai pas apprécié ma lecture, sans compter beaucoup de choses qui sont bizarres/erronées. Je suis très confuse !
ENG
So, I can understand why we go in the past to understand the history etc.
But it's a no.
I didn't enjoy my reading, not to mention a lot of things that are weird/wrong. I'm very confused !
Alors, je peux comprendre pourquoi on fait un bon dans le passé pour comprendre l'histoire etc.
Mais c'est un non.
Je n'ai pas apprécié ma lecture, sans compter beaucoup de choses qui sont bizarres/erronées. Je suis très confuse !
ENG
So, I can understand why we go in the past to understand the history etc.
But it's a no.
I didn't enjoy my reading, not to mention a lot of things that are weird/wrong. I'm very confused !
November 28, 2021
This one was so good! It mostly told Grank's story. Grank is the first collier. A collier is a coal carrier. At the begining Grank goes to Beyond the Beyond. After that he gets the Ember of Hoole. Next he got hypnotised with power, so he put the ember back. Then he went back to where he was born and the king was dead so he saved the king. Grank saved the queen's egg and took care of it. Then the book ends.
April 6, 2022
My son loved these! He read them in about 3rd grade. I didn't share his love, but then I'm an adult and I experienced the story from a totally different point of view (I mean, fighting owls??! It was hard for me to get into.) I was willing to let him read whatever it took to get him to reading fluently and I was just happy to see him immersed in a book.
January 11, 2023
Insgesamt war das Buch nicht so wirklich meins, da es abgesehen vom Prolog und Epilog nichts mehr mit der originalen Storyline zu tun hat. Außerdem ist mir vor allem in diesem Buch aufgefallen wie brutal es doch ist, obwohl die Zielgruppe ziemlich jung ist. Abgesehen davon bin ich gespannt wie es weitergeht und wozu die alten Legenden so wichtig waren.
September 24, 2018
I understand from like a narrative perspective why they put the histories/prequels in the middle of the series but I still think it’s messy
the worldbuilding in this series is just...ridiculously intricate though, like seriously impressive
the worldbuilding in this series is just...ridiculously intricate though, like seriously impressive
June 3, 2022
Love this new point of view and story telling! It truly does feel like someone is reading to me in bed a magical, beautiful story filled with the breathtaking wonders of new discoveries, dark wars, and the strength of faith and heart.
January 17, 2024
At first, I was a little skeptical about this book POV not being Soren or Coryn, but Grank showed up as a great teller. I had no idea so much chaos and suffering had preceded Hoole's hatching. I'm curious about the next book and what happened to Siv.
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