FROM THE PUBLISHER

Kludd is dead. Nyra, his mate, is determined that her hatchling, Nyroc, will fulfill his father's destiny: the vicious oppression of all the owl kingdoms. But Nyroc is a poor student of evil. A light grows in his heart, fed by scraps of forbidden legend and strange news of a place where goodness and nobility reign. He must summon all his courage to defy his destiny--and the embodiment of evil that is his mother.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Rosa Roberts

Fans of the "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" series probably have been eagerly awaiting book seven. One is led to believe that the series needs to be read in chronological order to follow the progress of the characters in the series. Even though the book provides a prologue for readers and a list of background character sketches at the end, one is left with unanswered questions on background information when the series has not been read from the beginning. Owl aficionados and readers interested in the genres of fantasy and science fiction will be entertained by the story. In this installment, Kludd is no longer living. Nyra's mission is to try to ensure Nyroc, her hatchling, will accomplish her father's destiny. The conflict arises in Nyroc's heart and mind. Nyroc does not want to fulfill the dark mission of oppressing the owl kingdom and knows there are alternatives. The question at the heart of the adventure is whether Nyroc follows expectations or defies them and takes the risk. 2005, Scholastic, Ages 9 to 12.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-The fascistic Pure Ones, a tribe of barn owls who believe that they alone are fit to rule, lost their king, the evil Kludd, during a great battle in The Burning (Scholastic, 2004). In this seventh book in the series, Kludd's sinister widow Nyra continues to plot to conquer all of the owl kingdoms, especially the heroic, egalitarian owls who dwell in the great tree of Ga'Hoole. She raises her hatchling son Nyroc to one day take his father's place and teaches him to believe in the power of hate. But the older he grows, the more he disagrees with his mother's ways, and after he learns the horrible truth about a deadly ceremony the Pure Ones have planned for him, he realizes that he must leave his home and his mother. While Lasky has combined fascinating details of how real owls live with her imaginary civilization, the story lacks any humor that might relieve its dreariness. The Hatchling often lumbers rather than soars.-Walter Minkel, New York Public Library Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.