Tigerpetal Press : Book Review: The First Collier

The Guardians of Ga’Hoole Book 9: The First Collier by Kathryn Lasky

I really liked it

A new book and a new era! The next three books all have the same spine colour, so they seem to be a set within the greater series.

Read: Apr. 14 – Apr. 19, 2025

Genre: Fantasy, Fable
Audience: Children, Middle-grade
Book contains: war, fire, demons, murder, attempted kidnapping, death

Purchase a copy from Indigo.ca

A Little Something New!

Now king of Ga’Hoole, Coryn, along with his uncle Soren, find and read the first of three ancient legends. This one is about Grank, the first collier and teacher of Hoole, the king of a thousand years ago. What will they learn of the ancient world?

Even though Nyra is still out there, I was wondering where they would go with these books from here on out. This set of three books takes a turn into something new, which is a great relief in a longer series like this one.

Unlike all the other books, this one is told in first person perspective, as it’s meant to resemble a journal or autobiography. The prologue and epilogue focus on Soren and Coryn before and after reading the books, but the rest of it is told by Grank at a time where he is old and grey, telling of his youth. This method allows him to break the time barrier and tell the reader things happening in real time with other characters that he only learned of later on.

This book took me a whole week to get through because I had a massive editing job during the week that I had to get done. I was only able to read early in the morning or late into the night.

Our main character, Grank, is somewhat of a loner, as his one true love Siv chose his best friend instead. He’s open to learning new things, and while he can fight, he’s always been more of an advisor. He’s also somewhat arrogant, hoarding knowledge and easy with his equals, but not so willing to share with those he deems beneath him. He’s fundamentally untrusting of strangers because of the wartime pressure. Other characters that flit in and out of the story are Fengo the dire wolf; Queen Siv, who is the mother of Hoole; and Grank’s first student Theo, who is a genius and quite eager to learn, though too much of a talker for Grank’s liking.

As mentioned, Grank is a loner who will never find a mate, but he’s had some good friends in his life. His lifelong friends are H’rath and Siv, two other spotted owls who become the king and queen of the northern kingdoms. When Grank leaves to broaden his horizons, he meets a dire wolf who becomes an equal in using coals and fire from the volcanoes of the Beyond. Grank is somewhat of a sympathetic character, in that he has dedicated his life to one thing in a sense of duty and love, though this duty does not do much by way of making him traditionally happy. It’s admirable.

I could really see a difference in the writing as it was from a new point of view. Lasky’s writing is again very visually descriptive, and while a bit bloody for children, it holds important and deep life lessons about good spirit and the philosophy of good versus evil. I found far fewer typos in this book as well!

The pacing of this tale was quite good, and at no point was I just waiting for a scene to end. Each sequence bled into one another naturally, and the scenes shifted to follow different characters in chronological order of events, as told by Grank who received the information later on. This whole journey completed its arc but also perfectly brings the reader into the next book after this, The Coming of Hoole, who hatches by the final few chapters.

I definitely recommend reading this book, especially as this tale breathes new life into the overall series!

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The Guardians of Ga’Hoole Book 9: The First Collier by Kathryn Lasky

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