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Random Reviews ! - Silksong and Eragon Book 1
Posted 2 weeks agoHowdy!
A few months ago I wrote a BIG review about my reading of the Wings of Fire series. I thought I would review a bit more here!
Here I'll review two things that are completely unrelated. The first one is the trendy game while the second one is a very popular book among furries.
Also if you like my reviews I have reviewed for a while all the films I see on Letterboxd, so you can go there to see: https://letterboxd.com/McFan/
(short reviews every time)
So!
SILKSONG REVIEW
Like many others, I've spent (a lot of) time playing Silksong recently, so I thought I'd write a little review!
As with Wings of Fire, I'll make a list of positives and negatives. Then a list of “debunking,” because I disagree with many of the points I've seen online.
No Spoilers until the very end of the review, you’ll see when I say it.
For your information, I did 4 and a half playthroughs. The first one took me 60 hours, then I did 2 playthroughs to train to complete the run 100% without dying, and the deathless run itself took me 10 hours. Then I did an any% run for the speedrun achievement. So a little over 100 hours of gameplay in total.
+ Hollow Knight, but better
+ The world
+ The story and progression
+ The secrets
+ The bestiary and bosses
+ The generous content
+ Harder
- The back and forth
- Some quests
- Some aspects that hinder replayability
- A little less open than Hollow Knight
- Flying enemies
First of all, it's hard not to compare Silksong to its predecessor. Silksong is simply a bigger and more ambitious game. There are more enemies, more areas, more secrets, more bosses (even before the eventual DLCs). I really like the idea of giving Hornet multiple movesets, which adds replayability and is great for people like me who don't like diagonal pogoing xP
The world is even bigger and more interconnected. I love the multitude of details in the areas that give them all personality. Also, when you get closer to another area, you can feel it in the scenery, a small detail that I love. And once again, the music is very good.
This feeling of adventure is magnified by the story. It's simple, but it allows you to visit the kingdom of Pharloom, climb to its summit, and then descend. It's effective.
One of the game's great strengths is its secrets. More than once, I've reached the end of a gaming session and wanted to cut my stream after clearing a room... only to see that there's a hidden area behind it xP The game is very generous in this regard. You only need to visit less than half of the game to finish the base game, and it's always interesting to see who found what at the end of their playthrough, with often very different results. The vast majority of rewards are also worth it, unlike in many other games.
The bosses are better overall. They are more complex, with more interesting second phases. The higher skill ceiling helps a lot.
Because yes, the game is much harder. Which I really like. In all honesty, I breezed through most of Hollow Knight. Some bosses had given me a hard time, but the areas almost never killed me. That's... no longer the case at all x3 I felt that thrill when you go too far into a dangerous area without finding a bench, and that sense of accomplishment at the end of the biggest challenges. Thank you Team Cherry for that.
I think the game is also better balanced. Some charms were OP in Hollow Knight, and at first glance, that's no longer the case here.
Of course, there are a few negative points, but... they're so minor in comparison. Mine are more of the kind of things that will extend the playing time for no good reason.
There's a lot of back and forth between areas. Quests that force us to return to certain places. As a result, you have to run around a lot, and this is amplified because the teleport ability is given very late in the game.
Not all quests are of the same level. I'm not a fan of farm quests.
In general, replayability is impacted by a lot of decisions. Some movesets are obtained very late in the game. To unlock the True Ending, you have to replay almost all the quests. Unskippable cutscenes, dialogues to redo... I've played the game four times, and I have no desire to replay certain quests (like the mini-games with the fleas xP).
The game is a little more linear than Hollow Knight. I liked being able to go pretty much anywhere after the first hour of gameplay, but that's less the case here.
As for combat, I'm not a fan of tools that are limited by consumables, but above all, I find that there are too many flying enemies, which are annoying xP.
Obviously, there are a few negative points, but... they're so minor in comparison. Mine are more of the kind that will extend the playing time.
Overall, the game is super solid. It's the kind of game that's too rare, and I hate the vast majority of AAA games. I give it a 10/10 and am ready to wait 7 years for the sequel!
Finally, for the controversies I don't agree with.
Note, these contain SPOILERS
Controversial points that I don't agree with
Runbacks
Mob fights
Bilewater is not a good area and Graol is a terrible boss
The final boss
The runbacks aren't that long. There's a boss where I would have removed the mobs beforehand. As for the rest, I understand that you lose a little time with each death. It's punishing, but you feel even better once you've won.
I'm actually a big fan of Bilewater. The area is very punishing and forces the player to focus. And for Graol, yes, there's the runback and the arena, but the boss is very easy as a result. The challenge is to do the runback, the arena, and the boss in a row. A challenge worthy of the player. In any case, I was very, very happy when I passed the challenge, a feeling I get too rarely in games.
And yes, the final boss is a reskin. I would have preferred it to be an original boss, but it makes sense in the story, and the boss is very good, so I'm not complaining.
ERAGON REVIEW
First, here's my experience with Eragon: I read the first book as a kid, liked it, read the second, liked it less, and gave up on the series. Like everyone else, I thought the movie was lame. Since then, I've heard a lot of negative reviews about the book, but since I had fond memories of it, I got the audiobook to give it a retry. And oh boy…
No Spoilers here. Though, there’s not much to spoil…
+ There's fantasy
+ The beginning
- No passion
- Very academic
- The characterization of the characters
- Eragon and Saphira
- Tunnels of dialogue
- Too long
- Uninteresting adventures
- The poor crow
Like everyone else, I read this book because it ticks all the fantasy boxes. There are dragons, there is magic, an evil tyrant with superpowers, rebels, battles, magical creatures, talking animals... All of that is there. It's quite well written. It's simple. I sometimes recognize my own style in places.
The novel starts off a little slowly. Eragon finds a stone, which happens to be a dragon egg that hatches, he raises the dragon, then there are tragedies... These are cliché developments, but they work. I think I spent the first quarter of the book feeling that it wasn't exceptional, but acceptable.
And... that's... it...
This novel lacks passion. Everything in this book seems mundane. Flat. Emotionless. After the first third, I couldn't care less about the characters and their story. It's a very academic novel. It has all the ingredients for a good story, but there is a glaring lack of new ideas that would make it a unique adventure. When you have such a cliché fantasy world, you have to offer something interesting, and that is not the case here.
What struck me was the lack of characterization. When I write my books, with every line of dialogue, I rack my brains to guess what that character would say in that situation. In Eragon, all the dialogues seem interchangeable. Everything the characters do is to advance the story, and they almost never let their emotions take over.
Eragon is one of the worst possible protagonists. He is FLAT. Everything seems too easy for him. He is strong with a sword, strong with magic, learns to read quickly, is good at flying... But he has no passion in life, nor any unique traits. He loves his family, and that's it. If he didn't make a bunch of stupid mistakes to advance the plot, he would be a Gary Stu. Also, his motivation throughout is revenge... which isn't great.
And, as incredible as it may seem, Saphira is worse. And yet she's a dragon. I'm a fucking furry, I want to love a dragon character!!! But no. She's a flatter character than ever. She loves her dragon rider, and that's her only characterization. 90% of her lines are used to point out something obvious and do nothing to develop her character. At one point, she complains that she was woken up too early, and I was shocked that she could express such a strong emotion all of the sudden!
The book is riddled with tunnels of insipid dialogue. So much lore, stories about the country or the characters... Explanations about magic or the world... It's enough to put you to sleep. The novel is too long. I remember being shocked at the time by the length of the film, but frankly, I'm not sure there's more than an hour and a half of interesting stuff to show.
The action parts are the most interesting parts of the book, but they are short, and even then, not spectacular. I'll remember Eragon trying to find water and the chase. I think those are the only moments that woke me up a little. Overall, Eragon is captured three times and comes close to death six or seven times. That's way too much x3
Also, at one point, Eragon kills a crow that hadn't hurt anyone. There, I had to say it. I guess the author thought we wouldn't care about some random crow. Well, I do.
I give the book a 3/10. But it's a bad 3/10. I've given worse ratings to some of the Wings of Fire books, but at least they stirred more emotions in me.
I don't recommend it. I can understand why a child might like it and why someone might love the series out of nostalgia. But for an adult starting it today, that seems unlikely to me.
May do more of these reviews in the future. We'll see!
A few months ago I wrote a BIG review about my reading of the Wings of Fire series. I thought I would review a bit more here!
Here I'll review two things that are completely unrelated. The first one is the trendy game while the second one is a very popular book among furries.
Also if you like my reviews I have reviewed for a while all the films I see on Letterboxd, so you can go there to see: https://letterboxd.com/McFan/
(short reviews every time)
So!
SILKSONG REVIEW
Like many others, I've spent (a lot of) time playing Silksong recently, so I thought I'd write a little review!
As with Wings of Fire, I'll make a list of positives and negatives. Then a list of “debunking,” because I disagree with many of the points I've seen online.
No Spoilers until the very end of the review, you’ll see when I say it.
For your information, I did 4 and a half playthroughs. The first one took me 60 hours, then I did 2 playthroughs to train to complete the run 100% without dying, and the deathless run itself took me 10 hours. Then I did an any% run for the speedrun achievement. So a little over 100 hours of gameplay in total.
+ Hollow Knight, but better
+ The world
+ The story and progression
+ The secrets
+ The bestiary and bosses
+ The generous content
+ Harder
- The back and forth
- Some quests
- Some aspects that hinder replayability
- A little less open than Hollow Knight
- Flying enemies
First of all, it's hard not to compare Silksong to its predecessor. Silksong is simply a bigger and more ambitious game. There are more enemies, more areas, more secrets, more bosses (even before the eventual DLCs). I really like the idea of giving Hornet multiple movesets, which adds replayability and is great for people like me who don't like diagonal pogoing xP
The world is even bigger and more interconnected. I love the multitude of details in the areas that give them all personality. Also, when you get closer to another area, you can feel it in the scenery, a small detail that I love. And once again, the music is very good.
This feeling of adventure is magnified by the story. It's simple, but it allows you to visit the kingdom of Pharloom, climb to its summit, and then descend. It's effective.
One of the game's great strengths is its secrets. More than once, I've reached the end of a gaming session and wanted to cut my stream after clearing a room... only to see that there's a hidden area behind it xP The game is very generous in this regard. You only need to visit less than half of the game to finish the base game, and it's always interesting to see who found what at the end of their playthrough, with often very different results. The vast majority of rewards are also worth it, unlike in many other games.
The bosses are better overall. They are more complex, with more interesting second phases. The higher skill ceiling helps a lot.
Because yes, the game is much harder. Which I really like. In all honesty, I breezed through most of Hollow Knight. Some bosses had given me a hard time, but the areas almost never killed me. That's... no longer the case at all x3 I felt that thrill when you go too far into a dangerous area without finding a bench, and that sense of accomplishment at the end of the biggest challenges. Thank you Team Cherry for that.
I think the game is also better balanced. Some charms were OP in Hollow Knight, and at first glance, that's no longer the case here.
Of course, there are a few negative points, but... they're so minor in comparison. Mine are more of the kind of things that will extend the playing time for no good reason.
There's a lot of back and forth between areas. Quests that force us to return to certain places. As a result, you have to run around a lot, and this is amplified because the teleport ability is given very late in the game.
Not all quests are of the same level. I'm not a fan of farm quests.
In general, replayability is impacted by a lot of decisions. Some movesets are obtained very late in the game. To unlock the True Ending, you have to replay almost all the quests. Unskippable cutscenes, dialogues to redo... I've played the game four times, and I have no desire to replay certain quests (like the mini-games with the fleas xP).
The game is a little more linear than Hollow Knight. I liked being able to go pretty much anywhere after the first hour of gameplay, but that's less the case here.
As for combat, I'm not a fan of tools that are limited by consumables, but above all, I find that there are too many flying enemies, which are annoying xP.
Obviously, there are a few negative points, but... they're so minor in comparison. Mine are more of the kind that will extend the playing time.
Overall, the game is super solid. It's the kind of game that's too rare, and I hate the vast majority of AAA games. I give it a 10/10 and am ready to wait 7 years for the sequel!
Finally, for the controversies I don't agree with.
Note, these contain SPOILERS
Controversial points that I don't agree with
Runbacks
Mob fights
Bilewater is not a good area and Graol is a terrible boss
The final boss
The runbacks aren't that long. There's a boss where I would have removed the mobs beforehand. As for the rest, I understand that you lose a little time with each death. It's punishing, but you feel even better once you've won.
I'm actually a big fan of Bilewater. The area is very punishing and forces the player to focus. And for Graol, yes, there's the runback and the arena, but the boss is very easy as a result. The challenge is to do the runback, the arena, and the boss in a row. A challenge worthy of the player. In any case, I was very, very happy when I passed the challenge, a feeling I get too rarely in games.
And yes, the final boss is a reskin. I would have preferred it to be an original boss, but it makes sense in the story, and the boss is very good, so I'm not complaining.
ERAGON REVIEW
First, here's my experience with Eragon: I read the first book as a kid, liked it, read the second, liked it less, and gave up on the series. Like everyone else, I thought the movie was lame. Since then, I've heard a lot of negative reviews about the book, but since I had fond memories of it, I got the audiobook to give it a retry. And oh boy…
No Spoilers here. Though, there’s not much to spoil…
+ There's fantasy
+ The beginning
- No passion
- Very academic
- The characterization of the characters
- Eragon and Saphira
- Tunnels of dialogue
- Too long
- Uninteresting adventures
- The poor crow
Like everyone else, I read this book because it ticks all the fantasy boxes. There are dragons, there is magic, an evil tyrant with superpowers, rebels, battles, magical creatures, talking animals... All of that is there. It's quite well written. It's simple. I sometimes recognize my own style in places.
The novel starts off a little slowly. Eragon finds a stone, which happens to be a dragon egg that hatches, he raises the dragon, then there are tragedies... These are cliché developments, but they work. I think I spent the first quarter of the book feeling that it wasn't exceptional, but acceptable.
And... that's... it...
This novel lacks passion. Everything in this book seems mundane. Flat. Emotionless. After the first third, I couldn't care less about the characters and their story. It's a very academic novel. It has all the ingredients for a good story, but there is a glaring lack of new ideas that would make it a unique adventure. When you have such a cliché fantasy world, you have to offer something interesting, and that is not the case here.
What struck me was the lack of characterization. When I write my books, with every line of dialogue, I rack my brains to guess what that character would say in that situation. In Eragon, all the dialogues seem interchangeable. Everything the characters do is to advance the story, and they almost never let their emotions take over.
Eragon is one of the worst possible protagonists. He is FLAT. Everything seems too easy for him. He is strong with a sword, strong with magic, learns to read quickly, is good at flying... But he has no passion in life, nor any unique traits. He loves his family, and that's it. If he didn't make a bunch of stupid mistakes to advance the plot, he would be a Gary Stu. Also, his motivation throughout is revenge... which isn't great.
And, as incredible as it may seem, Saphira is worse. And yet she's a dragon. I'm a fucking furry, I want to love a dragon character!!! But no. She's a flatter character than ever. She loves her dragon rider, and that's her only characterization. 90% of her lines are used to point out something obvious and do nothing to develop her character. At one point, she complains that she was woken up too early, and I was shocked that she could express such a strong emotion all of the sudden!
The book is riddled with tunnels of insipid dialogue. So much lore, stories about the country or the characters... Explanations about magic or the world... It's enough to put you to sleep. The novel is too long. I remember being shocked at the time by the length of the film, but frankly, I'm not sure there's more than an hour and a half of interesting stuff to show.
The action parts are the most interesting parts of the book, but they are short, and even then, not spectacular. I'll remember Eragon trying to find water and the chase. I think those are the only moments that woke me up a little. Overall, Eragon is captured three times and comes close to death six or seven times. That's way too much x3
Also, at one point, Eragon kills a crow that hadn't hurt anyone. There, I had to say it. I guess the author thought we wouldn't care about some random crow. Well, I do.
I give the book a 3/10. But it's a bad 3/10. I've given worse ratings to some of the Wings of Fire books, but at least they stirred more emotions in me.
I don't recommend it. I can understand why a child might like it and why someone might love the series out of nostalgia. But for an adult starting it today, that seems unlikely to me.
May do more of these reviews in the future. We'll see!
Art & Book Raffle on BSky!
Posted a month agoI am holding a raffle on my BSky, where you can win both my book and an art piece!
https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky...../3lzqpxi2oq22p
More joiners makes the bird happier!
And for more infos about my books in general:
https://vallerane.com/
https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky...../3lzqpxi2oq22p
More joiners makes the bird happier!
And for more infos about my books in general:
https://vallerane.com/
Collab-Commissions with Wairu - [CLOSED]
Posted 2 months agoHowdy!
This time, it's with my buddy Wairu that I will take some collab commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jackrow/
He will do the sketches, and I will finish them ^v^
(Possibility to negociate the other way around if it's really what you want)
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/51320686/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58727944/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60197428/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60454802/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60810240/
(Possibility to negociate the other way around if it's really what you want)
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in EUR:
100€ Base price for 1 character
+60€ per character
+additional costs for background
This time, it's with my buddy Wairu that I will take some collab commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jackrow/
He will do the sketches, and I will finish them ^v^
(Possibility to negociate the other way around if it's really what you want)
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/51320686/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58727944/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60197428/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60454802/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/60810240/
(Possibility to negociate the other way around if it's really what you want)
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in EUR:
100€ Base price for 1 character
+60€ per character
+additional costs for background
New Book Out NOW! - The Sun of Vallerane
Posted 2 months agoI am pleased to announce you the release of my new book, The Sun of Vallerane!
While it is the second book of my Vallerane series, it can be read as the first entry as it will follow different characters.
In this story, we will follow Loren, a young and talented kobold assassin, who will navigate through new alliances and betrayals in a medieval-steam-punk furry universe!
You can find it here: https://amzn.to/4mY2FbS
Find more infos and check about the universe on my website! https://vallerane.com/
And the first book, The Rains of Vallerane, is still available here: https://amzn.to/3Uqn5xw
Et également disponible en français ^v^ : https://amzn.to/4p7EQzH
This time, the book also contains character illustrations and a map!
Have had a blast writing it ^v^ Thanks again to my beta-readers who helped me in this project and who all loved the book! And a special thanks to Jackrow Jackrow for the fantastic cover :9
Hope you people like it!
While it is the second book of my Vallerane series, it can be read as the first entry as it will follow different characters.
In this story, we will follow Loren, a young and talented kobold assassin, who will navigate through new alliances and betrayals in a medieval-steam-punk furry universe!
You can find it here: https://amzn.to/4mY2FbS
Find more infos and check about the universe on my website! https://vallerane.com/
And the first book, The Rains of Vallerane, is still available here: https://amzn.to/3Uqn5xw
Et également disponible en français ^v^ : https://amzn.to/4p7EQzH
This time, the book also contains character illustrations and a map!
Have had a blast writing it ^v^ Thanks again to my beta-readers who helped me in this project and who all loved the book! And a special thanks to Jackrow Jackrow for the fantastic cover :9
Hope you people like it!
See you at Eurofurence! =D
Posted 2 months agoHowdy people!
I'll be at Eurofurence next week. Hope to see many of you there ^v^
Like last year, I'll have a stand at DD, right next to my friend Wairu! Will be selling my new book, so quite the event! Will also draw for people, be selling my comic, some prints and stickers, and also a brand new calendar people should like :9
Also if you're wanting the original sketch from one of the pictures in my gallery (or one of your commissions), let me know now so I can bring it there with me ^v^ you would save on the sending cost and have an additional discount!
(You can see more infos about sketches HERE)
I'll be at Eurofurence next week. Hope to see many of you there ^v^
Like last year, I'll have a stand at DD, right next to my friend Wairu! Will be selling my new book, so quite the event! Will also draw for people, be selling my comic, some prints and stickers, and also a brand new calendar people should like :9
Also if you're wanting the original sketch from one of the pictures in my gallery (or one of your commissions), let me know now so I can bring it there with me ^v^ you would save on the sending cost and have an additional discount!
(You can see more infos about sketches HERE)
Collab-Commissions with Tochka! - [CLOSED]
Posted 3 months agoHowdy!
My friend Tochka and I will momentarily take some commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tochka/
You choose who does the sketch and who does the render between me and Tochka ^v^
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52857213/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54351371/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/57309586/
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in USD:
90€ Base price for 1 character
+60€ per character
+additional costs for background
My friend Tochka and I will momentarily take some commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tochka/
You choose who does the sketch and who does the render between me and Tochka ^v^
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52857213/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54351371/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/57309586/
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in USD:
90€ Base price for 1 character
+60€ per character
+additional costs for background
New Book Ready! - The Sun of Vallerane
Posted 3 months agoI am pleased to announce the upcoming release of my second book, The Sun of Vallerane =D
It is actually not a direct sequel to The Rains of Vallerane. While the events of this book happen after the events of the first book, it will be focused on different characters and thus do not need to have read The Rains of Vallerane while staying spoiler free for it!
The Sun of Vallerane follows the adventures of Loren, a young kobold that happens to be the best assassin in Vallerane despite an accident that took her one arm and her memories. But her path takes a sharp turn when she discovers that this accident may be tightly linked to Olmar, the tyrant that leads Vallerane. During her adventures, she will meet the secretary bird Rejane and the frog Soma, two warriors of the nearby country Karenia, who she may share common interests with.
It will be released on the 8th of September, which is a day after Eurofurence, convention where I will sell the first copies of the book!
The ebook version is available for preodres though!
For the link :
https://amzn.to/46NLX9W
Pour la version française :
https://amzn.to/45adgKn
You can find more about the series on the website:
https://vallerane.com/
I hope you people will be interested ^v^ This was a lot of work, and from what I have collected from my beta-readers, it's even better than the first one!
It is actually not a direct sequel to The Rains of Vallerane. While the events of this book happen after the events of the first book, it will be focused on different characters and thus do not need to have read The Rains of Vallerane while staying spoiler free for it!
The Sun of Vallerane follows the adventures of Loren, a young kobold that happens to be the best assassin in Vallerane despite an accident that took her one arm and her memories. But her path takes a sharp turn when she discovers that this accident may be tightly linked to Olmar, the tyrant that leads Vallerane. During her adventures, she will meet the secretary bird Rejane and the frog Soma, two warriors of the nearby country Karenia, who she may share common interests with.
It will be released on the 8th of September, which is a day after Eurofurence, convention where I will sell the first copies of the book!
The ebook version is available for preodres though!
For the link :
https://amzn.to/46NLX9W
Pour la version française :
https://amzn.to/45adgKn
You can find more about the series on the website:
https://vallerane.com/
I hope you people will be interested ^v^ This was a lot of work, and from what I have collected from my beta-readers, it's even better than the first one!
OPEN for COMMISSIONS! - [CLOSED]
Posted 3 months agoHello, I'm opening for commissions!
Will take ideas during the week-end and close Monday morning~
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
SPECIAL OFFERS:
-20% for SFW artworks (need to draw that a bit more ^v^")
-40% If pic is an illustration for a scene from my book
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third)
I can sell you the original sketch of your comm, see HERE
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
Will take ideas during the week-end and close Monday morning~
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
SPECIAL OFFERS:
-20% for SFW artworks (need to draw that a bit more ^v^")
-40% If pic is an illustration for a scene from my book
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third)
I can sell you the original sketch of your comm, see HERE
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
Journal about me!
Posted 5 months agoHowdy!
I don’t often talk about myself, so I thought I would for once!
I do have some projects, big and small, and would like to talk about them ^v^
The first and main one is an idea that has been going through my brain recently: living from my art.
It can seem stupid considering my current situation. My job is a fairly simple computer job I got thanks to my studies. It is a good one. It gives me enough time to draw a whole lot, is well paid and is very safe. Heck, I could keep it until my retirement if I wanted. But I don’t see myself living the same life forever. I need new projects, and living from my arts is a big one. It would allow me to have things I can’t have right now:
- Living close to my family (500km away from them right now)
- Living in the mountains (I’m all for hiking and biking, not something you can do much next to Paris)
- Deciding when I take my vacations (would allow me to go to conventions more)
- Having a pet (certainly a doggo)
The huge drawback would of course be to win a bunch less money. But I’m either way not someone that spends much in general, and that’s why I have a comfortable mattress right now. But I’m also someone that needs to be in a comfortable situation, and there’s no way I can handle the artist's life with having a loan over my head, and I need to make sure I can make enough money. So first, I will need to do these two things:
- Save enough money to buy a flat plus a few things
- Make sure I can make enough money to live from arts
I consider I would need at least 3 years for the first one, making the project only viable for 2028. That’s why I’m thinking of running a “test year” in 2027, where I would run some kind of “stress test” to see if my audience can provide me enough revenue to live.
Cause yes, as of now, I consider myself ready to work enough on arts. I love drawing, and I much more like to work for others than for myself. BUT I’m unsure about the demand. As of now, I’m not optimizing much, I have short openings and still refuse a bunch of comms every time. And there are other things that could be better. So here would be a few things I could do:
- Regular openings, right now thinking 5 or 6 a year, and longer
- Raising prices a bit… mostly to compensate taxes ^v^” (around 20% here, so that’s around how much I would raise), but not before 2027 as I said
- Advertising Patreon more. It has been at 250/month since forever, and I’m pretty sure I would get more just by advertising it better. Possibly new tiers/more projects… will see!
- Opening an online shop for all I could sell (books, original sketches, prints, etc…)
- Going to conventions and making some money there (the previous EF was promising on this). Would like to add prints and some goodies to what I sell, the main stuff still will be the books and on-location sketches
- Getting the books to make some money. As of now, it’s very much in the negatives x3
Overall, all the support I can get will be welcome! If I get enough, then I will for sure make the big move~
The book series is the other current big project!
It is a joy to work on something artistically different and that gets very good returns. I do have stories to tell and characters to develop, and I want it to be the “other big thing” I do in life. But I’m a lot less proficient at advertising books. I also want to up my game in what I offer, making my books more accessible and visible. This would include:
- Better visibility on the networks (mostly bsky)
- Better advertising (like on KDP and other websites)
- Gathering more reviews
- Getting audiobook versions
I’m happy with how the first book did but it was with my newbie effort. It is time to do better!
For the news, the second book is almost done, it is in the hands of my beta readers right now, and I can already say it should be even better than the first entry! I would like to release it around September, along with a new version of the first book. I didn’t know what I could do a year ago, and would like to add some goodsies, like character arts, descriptions and a map!
So yes, lotsa projects!
Other than that… been doing rather well x3 How about you, guys? =3
I don’t often talk about myself, so I thought I would for once!
I do have some projects, big and small, and would like to talk about them ^v^
The first and main one is an idea that has been going through my brain recently: living from my art.
It can seem stupid considering my current situation. My job is a fairly simple computer job I got thanks to my studies. It is a good one. It gives me enough time to draw a whole lot, is well paid and is very safe. Heck, I could keep it until my retirement if I wanted. But I don’t see myself living the same life forever. I need new projects, and living from my arts is a big one. It would allow me to have things I can’t have right now:
- Living close to my family (500km away from them right now)
- Living in the mountains (I’m all for hiking and biking, not something you can do much next to Paris)
- Deciding when I take my vacations (would allow me to go to conventions more)
- Having a pet (certainly a doggo)
The huge drawback would of course be to win a bunch less money. But I’m either way not someone that spends much in general, and that’s why I have a comfortable mattress right now. But I’m also someone that needs to be in a comfortable situation, and there’s no way I can handle the artist's life with having a loan over my head, and I need to make sure I can make enough money. So first, I will need to do these two things:
- Save enough money to buy a flat plus a few things
- Make sure I can make enough money to live from arts
I consider I would need at least 3 years for the first one, making the project only viable for 2028. That’s why I’m thinking of running a “test year” in 2027, where I would run some kind of “stress test” to see if my audience can provide me enough revenue to live.
Cause yes, as of now, I consider myself ready to work enough on arts. I love drawing, and I much more like to work for others than for myself. BUT I’m unsure about the demand. As of now, I’m not optimizing much, I have short openings and still refuse a bunch of comms every time. And there are other things that could be better. So here would be a few things I could do:
- Regular openings, right now thinking 5 or 6 a year, and longer
- Raising prices a bit… mostly to compensate taxes ^v^” (around 20% here, so that’s around how much I would raise), but not before 2027 as I said
- Advertising Patreon more. It has been at 250/month since forever, and I’m pretty sure I would get more just by advertising it better. Possibly new tiers/more projects… will see!
- Opening an online shop for all I could sell (books, original sketches, prints, etc…)
- Going to conventions and making some money there (the previous EF was promising on this). Would like to add prints and some goodies to what I sell, the main stuff still will be the books and on-location sketches
- Getting the books to make some money. As of now, it’s very much in the negatives x3
Overall, all the support I can get will be welcome! If I get enough, then I will for sure make the big move~
The book series is the other current big project!
It is a joy to work on something artistically different and that gets very good returns. I do have stories to tell and characters to develop, and I want it to be the “other big thing” I do in life. But I’m a lot less proficient at advertising books. I also want to up my game in what I offer, making my books more accessible and visible. This would include:
- Better visibility on the networks (mostly bsky)
- Better advertising (like on KDP and other websites)
- Gathering more reviews
- Getting audiobook versions
I’m happy with how the first book did but it was with my newbie effort. It is time to do better!
For the news, the second book is almost done, it is in the hands of my beta readers right now, and I can already say it should be even better than the first entry! I would like to release it around September, along with a new version of the first book. I didn’t know what I could do a year ago, and would like to add some goodsies, like character arts, descriptions and a map!
So yes, lotsa projects!
Other than that… been doing rather well x3 How about you, guys? =3
Question about prints buyers at conventions!
Posted 5 months agoHello!
I'd like to sell some prints of my work on my next conventions (next will be EF in September).
BUT
I am definitely not the target audience for such prints, I pretty much never look at them myself while at cons x3
SO
Question for the people who buy prints at cons!
What are you generally looking for? For what use? Specific things or just art you randomly like? SFW, erotic, NSFW? I really take any advice!
I also very much take it if there is any of my work that you think would pick interest!
(My feel is that NSFW solo stuff of well known characters is what I would sell better, but unsure about that!)
I'd like to sell some prints of my work on my next conventions (next will be EF in September).
BUT
I am definitely not the target audience for such prints, I pretty much never look at them myself while at cons x3
SO
Question for the people who buy prints at cons!
What are you generally looking for? For what use? Specific things or just art you randomly like? SFW, erotic, NSFW? I really take any advice!
I also very much take it if there is any of my work that you think would pick interest!
(My feel is that NSFW solo stuff of well known characters is what I would sell better, but unsure about that!)
Wings of Fire - My Own and Big Personal Review!
Posted 6 months agoOver the last few months, starting in October, I've read (or rather listened to on audiobook) all 15+1 books in the Wings of Fire series! So I thought it would be a good idea to give a full review of how I felt about each book!
DISCLAIMER: these are just my personal opinions. I'm not here to tell you whether you're right or wrong, etc. If you love all the books in the series from the bottom of your heart, GOOD. Don't let some bitter little bird spoil your fun.
For some time now I've been getting into the habit of rating the films I see on Letterboxd. I like this little practice that builds a critical mind, and I think it also helps me to write better books and to be able to see what's good and what's bad. In no way do I want to attack people who don't have the same spirit as me.
Personally, I find that the books range from very, very good to very, very bad. This is certainly the series of books with the biggest delta in ratings that I've read. I attach a great deal of importance to the story, its originality and its solidity. If there are big inconsistencies, too many conveniences, if everything is too simple, then it takes me out of the book . And that's the case with some of them.
So I'm going to rate all the books. My ratings are always a weighting of my personal enjoyment and what I think the work is worth. I'll list the strengths and weaknesses, explain them and give a rating.
I'll keep this review to a minimum of spoilers, so that the series is completely readable even after you've read my analysis. I won’t go into depth or into detail (review would be muuuch too long if so). The series is designed so that one book = PoV of one dragon, different each time. So saying which dragon is PoV is in itself a slight spoiler. So if you don't want to know anything, only read the overall analysis.
On that note:
Global Review
+ Dragons
+ The Characters
+ The Tribes/Universe
+ The Fun Writing
+ The Reading (Audio Books)
+ Individual Scenes
+ Some creative abilities/objects/moments
+ Light-Hearted
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Inconsistencies and Conveniences
- Books go from Great to Terrible
- Character Development
- Love Stories
- Overarching Plots
- The Dichotomy
- It’s for Kids
First of all: it's a DRAGON series. That's the main reason I read this series, and certainly the reason most of you have, or will. I'm one of those people who will automatically prefer furry material. I feel more emotion if the characters are furry and I'm more engaged. In that respect, I'm fully satisfied!
One big plus, as in many of these works aimed at younger readers, is that the characters are well-characterised and colourful. There are fighters, dreamers, nerds, the brave, the fearful... the whole palette of colours. There is a trend in current films of making hyper-serious characters and I’m very not fond of it. Here, no problem: you're sure to find characters you'll love!
The universe is very, very good. It's not surprising that there are many fans and OCs from this world. The concept of tribes is very well executed. It creates a good dynamic between the characters and good stories. Each book introduces new facets of these tribes, and that's where most of the wonder comes from.
The writing is great fun. Lots of little jokes everywhere, made-up words, engaging dialogue... These are not books that shine for their poetry, vocabulary, figures of speech, but they are FUN. There's never a dull moment!
I'd also like to highlight the reading by Shannon McManus in the Audible version. She plays the characters perfectly, and adds so much depth. I've often thought “if I read that sentence, it would sound a bit flat, but here it’s perfect”. So, well done!
If, at times, the major arcs are a little lacking, this is not the case for the individual scenes. If I'm asked to name something I liked, I'm more likely to point to certain highlights, small moments of bravery, lines, jokes...
In fact, the series is overflowing with little finds, original objects, little things that all add up to a captivating world. It's an anthill of ideas (even if things fall back a little in the third cycle).
And I'll end these positive points by saying that it's a very nice series, full of good feelings, and it puts you in a good mood. That's one of the reasons why it's hard to talk bad about it. But I'm an evil bird, so here goes x3
First of all, the thing I find unacceptable: Animus Magic. Who let Tui create this?! The first rule you learn when creating a magic system is to create limits. Here, the few limits we thought existed disappear as we read on! This results in MONSTROUS inconsistencies, because the only reason to stop the world collapsing in on itself is to make certain characters completely idiotic. Fortunately, this magic is only present sparingly, but for my two cents, it ruined 4 books in the series.
The second big problem is, and this is because it's something I'm very susceptible to: inconsistencies and conveniences. There are a lot of coincidences, and a lot of events seem unbelievable, often explained by luck, the explanations often shaky, patched together with a lot of scotch tape. I've discussed these problems at length with a friend (Hello Dr. Payne), and yes, you could write a whole book about all the problems, but that's not what this review is about, so I won't go into detail here. I'll just point out in which books it's most problematic.
As I said, the quality of these books ranges from very high to very low. That's a big negative. I'd love to tell my friends to read the series right away, but unfortunately, every cycle has its high and low points. This is very palpable in the second cycle, which lost me completely by book 9.
The series doesn't shine in terms of character development. Too few of them progress during their book. My favourite moments in films/books are often those moments when a character is going to make a strong decision that stems from everything that has gone before, from their personal journey, a decision that will say a lot about the character's development.This kind of thing doesn't happen often enough.
I'm not at all a fan of WoF's love stories. Almost all the main characters fall in love (only one doesn't, in fact), and too few of these romances are well written. Often it's just love at first sight, and it will have little to no impact on the story. (Without spoiler, I can say that the two I like are the ones in books 1 and 4. The others go from meh to rubbish)
Overall, I don't think Tui is very good at creating a good story over several books. Cycle endings are often rushed, and there's rarely any sense of wonder when you put the book down and say "Wow, what a great adventure!”. No, it's more a series that shines through its small stories than its big ones.
I don't really like the dichotomy: the good guys are very good, and the bad guys are very bad. It's a bit typical of children's series, but here it's often caricatured.
And finally... yes, it really is for children. I have no problem with children's books, I grew up with Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and all that... But here it's a bit much. Book 1 hints that there will be some violence, and yeah there is, but the series is ultimately very non-challenging. Don't expect to see your favourite characters die or be mentally tortured.
So, if I were asked to give this series a rating, I'd give it a 6/10.
My story with it is mixed, because I liked the beginning of the second cycle, but hated book 9.And, like many others, the third cycle didn't thrill me. As a result, I can advise almost everyone to read the first two cycles + Darkstalker, and the third cycle if you really like the series.
Individual Books Review
1.The Dragonet Prophecy
I like the first book for what it is : the start of an adventure. I can understand why people got into the series. It’s not the strongest book mostly because it’s not the one with the strongest main character or ideas, but it’s really a good test: if you’re not much into it, then there’s not really any point continuing, as the tone stays the same. I personally had a good experience with it, and it got me on good tracks to keep going.
+ Clay
+ The Main Cast
+ A Good Start (universe, story)
+ Twists and Surprises
- Main Cast are Spectators
- Easy and Convenient
- Some Cliché
- Third Part Disconnected
Firstly, Clay: he's adorable ^v^ One of my favourite characters. And no wonder... given how close he is to Hayo. I'm even afraid I'll be accused of plagiarism, because even his design is close x3 and that's even if I didn't know the WoF series in 2018. Great spirits clashes, and coincidences happen!
Overall, the main cast is a success. The characters are well characterised and have a good dynamic between them (apart from Sunny imo, but more on that later). The discussions are engaging, and we enjoy watching their little adventures.
The book has the merit of working well for discovering the world. As a first book, there's a lot of information about the world, the tribes, the dragons... And it's very interesting! I'm glad I was let loose in Pyrrhia!
Then, like any good book of this type, there are a good number of twists and surprises. Not always the most memorable, but a nice little rollercoaster nonetheless!
One of the main issues is that the main characters, and Clay in particular, are pretty much spectators to their fate. They are subject to events more than they act. That's not so surprising: this is only the first book, and they need time to become more important.
This book has its share of ease and coincidences. A lot of the action is too easy (the escape, for example), or are coincidences (running straight into Queen Scarlet, how unlucky!). Not the strongest book in the series for that.
It also has its share of clichés: a prophecy, characters who don't know anything about the world... Not everyone is susceptible to this sort of thing, but I am!
And finally: the third part is a bit disconnected from the rest. It's more of a discovery section, a prelude to the second book. I like this part, but it's a bit strange in the way the story is constructed, as there are no high stakes.
6/10
Not the most memorable, but a good start!
2.The Lost Princess
Book 2 is the first one that may divide the crowds: it's almost a filler episode that does little to settle the overall plot, and your level of appreciation will mostly depend on how much you like Tsunami or how much you like Seawings. Personally... I'm pretty neutral on both, but I have a big problem with the finale x3
+ Tsunami
+ The Seawings tribe
+ Good characters and ideas
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Almost a filler episode
- Lots of conflict but none interesting
I think Tsunami is a good character, full of drive, rage and contradictions. She makes strong choices, even if I think it could have been pushed even further.
Lots of information about the Seawings and how they work. Very creative. It's a shame that they don't have much influence afterwards. (I must say, they got the shaft when the powers were handed out: any dragon out of the water can beat the crap out of them).
I also want to say that there are a lot of little ideas that I like. Anemone and Riptide are good characters, the aquatic, the mystery of the eggs... Simple ideas, but they get the job done.
Unfortunately, this is the book in which Animus magic is introduced. Presented three quarters of the way through the book, this magic then solves the book's two main mysteries in unbearable Deus Ex Machina. What's the point of working out an interesting plot when, in the end, magic is going to solve everything? As an author, I’m really attached to well constructed mysteries and surprises, and I was let down here.
Yes, I consider this book to be almost a filler. We take a trip to the fishes and leave. Only the meeting with Blister, a small part of the book, will have any importance. That's largely why it's one of the books I remember least.
And finally, there's a lot of conflict in this book, with Tsunami having a knack for arguing with everyone. Unfortunately, the arguments rarely lead to any big results, and we're left a bit hanging.
4/10
Overall, a very enjoyable book that fits in well with the series. But I'm personally disappointed by the outcome of the mysteries, especially as I'm very fond of good revelation scenes (read my books). So I was rather disappointed.
3.The Hidden Kingdom
Like many, I think book 3 is the first really good book. The characters finally take matters into their own hands, much to our delight.
+ Glory
+ Things happening
+ The Rainwings tribe
+ Strong character interactions
- Conclusion a bit disconnected
- Lack of a strong drive/theme
Firstly, Glory is definitely the most influential character in the group of heroes, and it's great to see her in action. She makes powerful decisions, gets things moving on an unprecedented scale, and does it all with her characteristic caustic tone. A real pleasure!
And as a result, this is easily the book where the most things happen. We're constantly going from one place to another, with lots of important encounters and action. Lots of ups and downs. Looking back, I'm always surprised at how much has happened in one book (especially as I’m just out of Cycle 3).
It's not surprising either that the Rainwings are one of people's favourite tribes: they have a mentality all their own, and their tribe works in a... very particular way x3 Lots of fun reading their shenanigans!
Not many negative points. I'll just say that the third act is a little disconnected from the main conflicts of the book, and that, as you keep going from one place to another, the book lacks a certain ‘special colour’ that makes you remember it more strongly than the others.
7/10
Not my favourite book (not a fan of Glory myself), but definitely one of the best!
4.The Dark Secret
I noticed that book 4 was perhaps the least liked book in the saga. Sad! I think it's because Starflight isn't much loved and he's far from his friends in this book. But I really like him!
+ Starflight x Fatespeaker
+ Actual conflict and danger
+ From one discovery to another
+ Actual conclusion of the saga
- Lack of interactions with the main cast
- The Nightwing tribe
- Easy and convenient
I LOVE the relationship between Starflight and Fatespeaker. They help each other out because they're sweet and cute and develop a natural affection for each other. Simple and effective. I'm a big fan of both characters. Starflight and his fear of every moment, Fatespeaker and her incessant ‘out of touch’ side, though she has a heart of gold <3
This is the book with the most conflict and danger. Morrowseer makes an excellent antagonist who pushes everyone over the edge. As a result, death is at every corner!
There are lots of discoveries, interesting elements and more important revelations than usual.
In fact, I consider the final act of this book to be a better conclusion to the first cycle than book 5. The characters have wrapped up their arc by the end of this book, and book 5 just deals with the issue of the war, which seems almost secondary at this point.
As I said, I think the main problem is that the main group is almost absent from the book. I really like Starflight and his interactions with the new cast of characters, so I guess it depends on individual tastes.
Not very convinced by the Nightwings tribe. Their actions and motivations aren't very solid when you get right down to it. They go from one mistake to another, and their plan really sucks if you think about it for two seconds.
As a result, the book is also one of the least solid: once again, a lot of conveniences and coincidences.
I'd also add, as an author, that it would have been better to see Starflight have his ‘Big Brain moment’ later in the book. He guesses the most important secret only a third of the way through the book, so he doesn’t have as much room to progress after. Later would have solidified his character development.
7/10
My favourite book of the first cycle, though certainly inferior to 3. I really like the characters, so that’s why x3
5.The Brightest Night
I listened to most of this book when I was ill at Christmas, so maybe it didn’t help. However, I think it was mostly rubbish x3 Explanations.
+ Hum… fun at times?
- Sunny
- Lack of interactions with the main cast
- Laughable conclusion
I'm really struggling to find any real positives in this book. Really, none of Sunny's adventures are particularly interesting. I did like seeing Peril again... Even if I don't quite understand her motives... As for the rest, I've pretty much erased it all out of my mind.
So, negative points!
I think Sunny's character is a failure. She's supposed to be the funny one in the group, cracking jokes all the time. But Tui's writing just doesn't suit her. As a result, she has never gotten a laugh out of me, contrary to all the other main characters. She's just... too positive, to the point where it's annoying.
So Sunny goes from adventure to adventure, none of them exciting. She gets into a lot of trouble, and each time gets out of it far too easily. She meets lots of uninteresting secondary characters whose names I've forgotten. Except Thorn, who I guessed was coming. After seeing what the three princesses looked like, I knew that another ‘morally perfect’ Sandwing would arrive, and where she would end up.
As a result, we don't get to interact with our favourite characters until the third part, which is a real shame.
Sunny's plan for resolving the conflict is ridiculous, and it's a good thing there was an hyper solid plot armor and that Tui had to complete her cycle within three chapters, otherwise it would have been a massacre.
3/10
Not at all convinced by this one. But if you like Sunny, then you'll like this book. So this is really a personal opinion.
6.Moon Rising
I had a superb time with book 6. I was really trying not to finish it too quickly!
+ Moon and her Powers
+ Darkstalker
+ Fun interactions all around
+ Character development that leads somewhere
+ Ideas everywhere
- Relatively small scaled
What a fantastic premise to start the second cycle! It is… game changing in this universe! Moon’s power is perfect for the story to develop and for knowing the new characters better and in an interesting angle. It also creates a strong secret for Moon to keep, and so a drive and a suspense for us during the whole book, something that kinda lacked before.
Her relationship with Darkstalker is FASCINATING. I think her conversations with him are among my favorite parts of the series. He is shrouded in mystery, there’s something mystic about him, making the reader interested in every line he says. (Kinda wish it stayed like that for the whole cycle x3)
Globally, all the interactions are fun, due to Moon’s power. There’s a perfect level of what-to-say/what-to-not-say that the author is playing with at all times.
Moon was the perfect character to have these powers, as she has many insecurities about them, and she has to overcome them. Making the book having a strong character development. And it leads to a strong conclusion, forging a strong group of friends that we will follow in the next books.
And, even excluding the “Power” aspect of the book, it has many little ideas, and many interesting development. Really, there’s nothing to throw away in this book.
The only little issue I have with it would be the scale of it: it’s relatively small, and lacks epicness. Yes, it will develop in the next books, but… I’ll certainly never re-read the next books x3
9/10
So yes, to me, this is the best book of the series by a fair margin. And I would even say “objectively” the best. The main sad thing about it is really the books around. For example, I’m not fond of what Darkstalker ends up being. Still, a true recommendation from my part!
7.Winter Turning
So I arrived at book 7 with great enthusiasm. And it doesn't disappoint... until the ending…
+ Character development
+ The adventure feel
+ Interactions between the main cast
+ Lots of fun little ideas
- The Ending
- The Ending
- The Ending
As well as liking Winter, I think he's the perfect character to tell a story. He's stubborn, angry, crushed under a ton of family pressure, and yet you can sense that he has a good heart. And the book does a good job of developing him. His relationship with others, but especially Moon. Really striking and cute.
We go from one place to another, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. It's close to the quality of book 3 in that aspect.
As a result, there's a lot of interaction between the main characters. And with this group, we go from joy to tears. A really good rollercoaster!
On top of that, the book is full of very creative little ideas. I love, for example, when Winter tries on Pyrite's necklace... and the character development it brings! But globally, lots of good adventures.
So it's pretty much all good stuff, until…
Part Three.
And here we enter the lowest point of what the series has to offer. Reading it was like watching a shipwreck. The book collapses on itself.
Explaining why nothing works would take hours, so I'll summarize it like this:
Part Three puts Winter through a test that, when you think about it for a moment, is completely incoherent, unrealistic, convoluted, and, worst of all, deprives Winter of his character development. It was up to him to decide he wanted to change, but the ending of the book forces him to do so, depriving him of a character moment that the book was building for so long. It all concludes in a couple of very sad, monotonous sentences…
7/10
That ending made me angry. I really liked the book until then, and it's still one of my favorites in the series, but it could have been so, soooo much better. My theory is that the author created a convoluted plot to bring Foeslayer back. A sacrifice of coherence and plausibility, which is a shame considering how little importance she will have later on.
8.Escaping Peril
Book 8 is one of the most divisive. Personally, I loved it!
+ Peril
+ Character conflict
+ The twists and turns
+ The ending
- Peril
- Animus Magic
First of all, I loved following Peril. She has... a personality all her own x3 Getting lost in her destructive thoughts is fun to read. I think it was a great idea to base a book on her. She's also one of the few characters we follow who has a strong background, a story; she has to confront her past and what others think of her.
As a result, there are a lot of confrontations in this book. A lot of conflict, arguments that lead to important choices that help the characters evolve. I think Book 8 is one of the most eventful.
It's also full of surprises. The revelations are very good. I find that many of them lack a build-up in this series (I'm looking at you, book 2), here, we have a lot of moments where we say to ourselves, "I didn't see that coming, but it makes sense".
And finally, the reason why this is one of my favorites: by far the best ending to a novel in the entire series, meaning the last 2-3 chapters. Surprises, conflicts, payoffs, characters who show flaws, and Peril who completes her character arc. Perfection!
And the main negative point... is also Peril x3. And I understand why some don't like this book. She's a bit too crazy. After halfway through the book, her thoughts are still too destructive, and that she should have calmed down by now. Her evolution is a little too slow. Her choices are also often very questionable, but at least they can be explained by the fact that she's not too clever.
Then, magic still has its mark on this book. Its use is a bit chaotic, and we often wonder about the wording of the spells, which could be much better. The character of Chameleon is also very questionable in his actions and motivations, and his writing could have been a little more solid.
8/10
Really liked it, even if the quality is much less consistent than the 6th. But I'm the type who really enjoys novels with a good ending, and this one was just what I wanted!
9.Talons of Power
So, book 8 left me with a very good impression and a superb cliffhanger. Turtle is also a character I love and who intrigues me. So it's with great joy that I tackled book 9. But then I fell from up high…
+ Turtle can be kinda cute
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Turtle
- No character development
- The utter stupidity of it all
- Nothing makes sense
It seems people mostly like book 9, and it’s because Turtle is cute. We easily become attached to him. There are a few discoveries in this book, interesting magical objects, actions we didn't necessarily expect... but that's about it. For me, the negative points are overwhelming.
It's quite simple: I found that the magic destroys the entire novel. It's quite simple: the heroes have access to limitless magic, or at least, we think it has limits, but the book does a fantastic job of removing them one by one. As a result, we can't help but wonder, "Why doesn't they try this or that?" But no, the heroes do nothing, and are spectators. Reasons are given for this inaction, but they're very weak.
The only reason Turtle doesn't try anything is because he's stupid. Personally, there isn't a paragraph in this story where I wouldn’t tell myself that I'd do something else. But the story has to unfold, and so he doesn't try ANYTHING. That makes him an idiot and a coward. I had hoped for much better from him, especially since Turtle was much more brave and intelligent in his actions in book 8. Unfortunately, I find that characters tend not to progress much in WoF, and Turtle is the only one who regresses in his novel. He's even more pitiful at the end than at the beginning.
The villain isn't much better either. If you have access to Animus magic, then what's stopping you from wiping out all your enemies with a snap of your fingers? But hey, at least he's doing something, he's having fun, unlike Turtle.
So, if you analyze the book in depth, really NOTHING makes sense. I take for example this fight between two Animus dragons, which, on paper, is epic, it's cool, but in reality, everything should end in a single spell. The entire book should end in a paragraph. But no. Something had to be written.
2/10
If you accept the author's explanations and watch the characters go on their ways without giving it much thought, good for you. As an author, I put myself in the characters' shoes, I identify with them, and I wonder what I would do in their place. And truly, this book was a very unpleasant experience.
10.Darkness of Dragons
Since magic is still so present, I wasn't expecting anything from the 10th. I had long lost faith in this cycle.
+ I guess… Qibli ? Darkstalker ?
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Qibli’s development
- The ending
- The whole first half
Qibli has a cool side; a lot of people like him, and that's normal. I liked his idea with the earrings, which is his genius moment in the book. Overall, if you really like Qibli, you'll definitely like this book. The same goes for Darkstalker. I really liked the scene where he tries to revive Clearsight; I think it's the only one where the use of magic makes sense.
Because yes, like the previous book, magic weighs heavily on this one. The heroes no longer have access to this magic, so they're less to blame, but the villain makes some... weird choices. Once again, the book should have been much shorter if the characters had used their heads more effectively.
Very disappointed with the use of Qibli. If you count correctly, he does more stupid things than intelligent ones, which destroys his character. He doesn't evolve either. He has a clear arc, that of refusing magic because too much power is dangerous. At least, that's what the reader thinks, because his refusal of magic is very poorly written. He refuses it for practical reasons, not because he has evolved. The book also deprives him of the final victory, because another character, who is less intelligent, had to have his moment of bravery.
I'm actually outraged by this ending, where the good guys do something to the bad guy that I would describe as "more humiliating than death", despite what the characters have constantly said. Really not a fan of Moon's romance, which has no chemistry. Moon was kinda sacrificed in books 9 and 10, she put her brain to one side. Also, the prophecy ultimately had no impact on the story's progress, and the cycle would have been better off without it.
I've practically forgotten everything about the first half. I think no one cares about the politics of the Sand Kingdom, and no one wanted a filler arc at this point in the story. Especially since the end of this part is incredibly rushed in a conclusion that offers no payoff.
3/10
Barely better than the previous one. I remember very little that was good.
The second cycle is therefore rather a disappointment. The build-up is incredible, but the payoff is crap. I felt like the fans of Game of Thrones or Star Wars. All this for that. I also found that cycle 2, in a very strange way, plays the game of conservatism. A minimum of things change, as if the created world was too perfect, and it should not be touched. I take as proof Starflight's injury, which SHOULD be healed by the characters, but which is not. A few reasons are given, but the only real one is that Starflight had become something at the end of the first cycle and that the author did not want to change this "something". Same for the Icewings, who are shown very negatively, and yet have not changed.
Darkstalker
As I was told, I would have been better off reading Darkstalker after the 8th book, because I was a bit exhausted by the end of cycle 2. But, in the end, I can still recognize why this book is one of my most beloved, if not simply the most.
+ The Shakespearean Drama
+ Character conflict
+ Emotions
+ Clearsight
- The positive relationship aren’t believable
- Darkstalker
- Animus magic and conveniences
I saw the words “Shakespearean Drama” on an analysis online, and I agree with it: this is by far the most dramatic book in the series. There's action, deaths, large-scale repercussions, important choices... So much happens in this story that nothing important will happen in Pyrrhia in 2,000 years, that's saying something!
As a result, the book isn't lacking in conflict between characters or between tribes. It's war! And with all that that implies. It's certainly the most eventful book.
This results in many powerful moments. The characters suffer. They have emotions, fears, regrets. Obviously, they have them in the rest of the saga, but never as strong. I actually think this is one of the only books where the reader can cry.
And finally, the character of Clearsight is very interesting. Her power to see into the future is well-utilized and opens many doors for storytelling. It's not far from book 6 on this.
However, I have one BIG negative aspect about this book. The book is mainly based on the Darkstalker/Clearsight love and the Darkstalker/Fathom friendship. Unfortunately, I found them hard to believe. I found it poorly balanced between moments of affection and moments of conflict. They argue 90% of the time, and as a result, it's hard to truly believe in their love and friendship. At least, that's what I felt. And as a result, I couldn’t believe much in their internal conflicts, and their strong decisions toward the end fell flat on my end. Sadly.
I also regret that Darkstalker's character is too evil. The book wants us to believe he's on the edge, that he has a good side, and many aspects rely on that. But when you analyze him, he's just... 100% dark. I would have liked him to be a little more torn, but here, his moments of "goodness" seem really artificial.
Finally, magic, again and again. Although, here, its "limited" use is better justified than in previous books, the fact remains that, if the characters were thinking a little more, the story would be much shorter. The same goes for Clearsight's seer gifts, which seem to be on/off depending on the author's preferences. But hey, with this book, I was more accepting of the errors and was able to appreciate the show a little more.
7/10
My feeling would be more like a 6, or even a 5. But I recognize that it's one of the best books in the series, so I'm giving it a good rating. Maybe I'll revisit it one day, with a clear mind, and maybe appreciate it a little more.
11.The New Continent
The beginning of the third cycle. The one people like the least, from what I've gathered. I might have stopped the series if I hadn't been told there was no more magic. Tui certainly realized she couldn't build a solid story with Animus Magic still there, and so she dropped it. For the better.
However... I understand the criticisms. There's simply less material in this cycle, and the books waste a lot of time. My analyses will therefore be shorter.
+ Discovery of a new world
+ Conflict and action
- Very cliché
- Blue
- Not the most enticing story
Book 11 begins by introducing a new world, and that's the main positive. The new tribes are good, the new powers are cool, the world is interesting. That's what you'd expect from this book.
There's quite a bit of conflict and a good dose of action. On these points, the book does the job.
And therein lies the problem with this book, and this series in general. It "does the job," but nothing more. The premise is also very cliché. There's the group of bad guys, the group of the oppressed, and the good, almost extinct eco-friendly characters that the main character joins. Seen that time and time before. And as a result, there are few if any surprises until the end of book 13.
The big negative of this book: Blue. This character is uninteresting. Even his name lacks originality. He's a follower without personality, an empty page which hardly fills. I put him at the bottom of the list of characters I preferred to be in the head.
As a result, the story really lacks a thread that we want to follow. There's no real attachment or desire to know where it's going.
5/10
Average rating because the world is okay, but my feelings aren't very good. I went into automatic mode when listening to the books, and I've already started to lose interest in the story. I understand why many people gave up at this point.
12.The Hive Queen
Book 12 is almost skippable. There are very few major events or discoveries. I would call this one the "emptiest book”.
+ Cricket’s story
- Not much happening
- Slow
- Lacks of ideas
If you really like Cricket, it's fine. The book focuses heavily on her past and the revelations about her origins and her secret.
Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case for me. I find the book wastes a lot of time on secondary events, and boredom quickly began to affect me. I've already forgotten most of the book.
Very few new and interesting ideas. An overall lack of creativity weighs on the book and, personally, didn't engage me.
4/10
Not much to say because there's little to build on. On to the next one.
13.The Poison Jungle
Book 13 starts better. Fortunately.
+ A strong first part
+ Sundew x Willow
+ An interesting twist
- The second part
- The final is cumvoluted
The book starts off very well. The forest and the village are interesting, Sundew is much less shallow than Blue and Cricket, there are conflicts between characters, secrets, divergent interests… Everything that makes a good book!
The relationship between Sundew and Willow is one of the best aspects of the book. Sundew is proud, and Willow is adorable. They complement each other perfectly! Sundew is overall a good character to follow. She has a strong personality, interesting relationships with most of the characters, in addition to having a unique ability.
I really liked the plant twist toward the end. Unexpected, and a bit out of the ordinary. It's the first time we really stray from the beaten path.
Unfortunately, the book falls back into pitfalls in the second part. We begin following a group of characters, most of whom are uninteresting. I don't even remember their names. The action then don't really advance the story much. I liked the plant twist, but I think it could have been better handled by providing clues in the previous books.
The ending could have been much better if it had been more solid. Many actions are poorly explained, confusing, or even too easy. The villain wins because the good guys are too stupid, then loses because he's too stupid in turn. There are some major conveniences towards the end, and the main characters' actions and decisions don't flow naturally. We often find ourselves raising our eyebrows. I think it would have been possible to make the ending stronger by changing a few details. I myself discussed it at length with my friend and concluded that there weren't that many things that needed to be changed to make the whole thing work much better.
5/10
I liked the beginning, I wanted to like the ending, but I didn't. Unlike the previous two books, however, I think this one had real potential. It could have done with a bit of tweaking, imo.
14.A Dangerous Gift
My friend told me it was a filler episode. And indeed, we don't expect to find Snowfall's point of view!
+ Character/world development
+ The whole third part
+ A welcome filler episode
- The second part
- Going a bit far
First, it seems that Tui wanted to correct one of the problems of the second cycle: the Icewings’ terrible system. And what a good idea and a good angle for it! The idea of Snowfall's stubborn character is very good; the magical item she obtains allows her to be challenged and makes her evolve naturally. It works very well! And, at the end, all the Icewings change. Was about time!
I'm a huge fan of the third part. At first, the Jerboa story is gripping. One of the darkest moments in the series (and I like dark things). Who would have thought that forcibly rejuvenating a dragon and erasing their memories was wrong? x3 Then, the conclusion of the Snowfall arc is wonderful. The chapters towards the end are fascinating, almost perfect at times. I actually shed a little tear.
Overall, I'm very happy with this episode. I'm not attached to the third cycle, so I'm happy to have a standalone story.
However, not everything is perfect. First of all, the second part multiplies the mini-plots and secondary characters. This is where the main plot of the cycle continues, so naturally, I like it much less. x3
And also, yes, the Icewings change, but it goes a bit far, and a little too easily. I’m rather happy of it, but it could have been a bit better build-up or les world-changing.
7/10
By far my favorite book of the cycle.
15.The Flames of Hope
Back to the main plot ;v;
+ A decent ending
+ Impactful moments
- Luna
- Too many characters
- Easy and Convenient
- Hard to see how it all works
I'd heard a lot of bad things about book 15. However, I find this ending to be perfectly acceptable. It's not grandiose, but it's well done. The best conclusion of the cycles, IMO.
There are big conflicts, action, and important moments. There are twists and turns, some unexpected, and overall more surprises than in books 11-12-13. And there's an emotional ending. Conclusion: it does the job.
I wasn't transported by it, however.
Luna's character lacks depth. She doesn't evolve and doesn't make any important choices. She just suffers until she delivers the final blow.
There are too many characters. We start with a group of 10 dragons, and by the end, we're close to 30 characters who have an impact. As a result, little time is spent on each one.
The villain's defeat is a little too easy. The villains aren't very smart overall.
And finally, the reason why I think many people don't like the book: a large part takes place in a "mindspace" which is difficult to imagine. A bit of everything and anything happens in it, and as a result, we have to accept what happens without being able to properly assess whether it makes sense or not. This makes the whole thing less solid.
5/10
Decent.
CONCLUSION
A good little series of books, but I'm personally a little unhappy with the decline in quality. Book 9 was a turning point for me, and I only recovered temporarily to appreciate the end of book 14.
As proof, not including Darkstalker, the average rating for the first 8 books is 6.4, and for the next 7 the average is 4.3.
However, it seems to me that my evaluation criteria are very different from those of other readers. Generally speaking, I think people like the books of the characters they like more. This isn't the case for me xP
So yeah, really depends on what you like reading. To me it’s a bit of a mix bag, but I still mostly appreciated it!
Book ordered by personal preference:
6-8-4-14-7-3-D-1-13-15-11-2-12-10-5-9
Favorite characters:
Clay, Starflight, Fatespeaker, Moowatcher, Peril, Winter
DISCLAIMER: these are just my personal opinions. I'm not here to tell you whether you're right or wrong, etc. If you love all the books in the series from the bottom of your heart, GOOD. Don't let some bitter little bird spoil your fun.
For some time now I've been getting into the habit of rating the films I see on Letterboxd. I like this little practice that builds a critical mind, and I think it also helps me to write better books and to be able to see what's good and what's bad. In no way do I want to attack people who don't have the same spirit as me.
Personally, I find that the books range from very, very good to very, very bad. This is certainly the series of books with the biggest delta in ratings that I've read. I attach a great deal of importance to the story, its originality and its solidity. If there are big inconsistencies, too many conveniences, if everything is too simple, then it takes me out of the book . And that's the case with some of them.
So I'm going to rate all the books. My ratings are always a weighting of my personal enjoyment and what I think the work is worth. I'll list the strengths and weaknesses, explain them and give a rating.
I'll keep this review to a minimum of spoilers, so that the series is completely readable even after you've read my analysis. I won’t go into depth or into detail (review would be muuuch too long if so). The series is designed so that one book = PoV of one dragon, different each time. So saying which dragon is PoV is in itself a slight spoiler. So if you don't want to know anything, only read the overall analysis.
On that note:
Global Review
+ Dragons
+ The Characters
+ The Tribes/Universe
+ The Fun Writing
+ The Reading (Audio Books)
+ Individual Scenes
+ Some creative abilities/objects/moments
+ Light-Hearted
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Inconsistencies and Conveniences
- Books go from Great to Terrible
- Character Development
- Love Stories
- Overarching Plots
- The Dichotomy
- It’s for Kids
First of all: it's a DRAGON series. That's the main reason I read this series, and certainly the reason most of you have, or will. I'm one of those people who will automatically prefer furry material. I feel more emotion if the characters are furry and I'm more engaged. In that respect, I'm fully satisfied!
One big plus, as in many of these works aimed at younger readers, is that the characters are well-characterised and colourful. There are fighters, dreamers, nerds, the brave, the fearful... the whole palette of colours. There is a trend in current films of making hyper-serious characters and I’m very not fond of it. Here, no problem: you're sure to find characters you'll love!
The universe is very, very good. It's not surprising that there are many fans and OCs from this world. The concept of tribes is very well executed. It creates a good dynamic between the characters and good stories. Each book introduces new facets of these tribes, and that's where most of the wonder comes from.
The writing is great fun. Lots of little jokes everywhere, made-up words, engaging dialogue... These are not books that shine for their poetry, vocabulary, figures of speech, but they are FUN. There's never a dull moment!
I'd also like to highlight the reading by Shannon McManus in the Audible version. She plays the characters perfectly, and adds so much depth. I've often thought “if I read that sentence, it would sound a bit flat, but here it’s perfect”. So, well done!
If, at times, the major arcs are a little lacking, this is not the case for the individual scenes. If I'm asked to name something I liked, I'm more likely to point to certain highlights, small moments of bravery, lines, jokes...
In fact, the series is overflowing with little finds, original objects, little things that all add up to a captivating world. It's an anthill of ideas (even if things fall back a little in the third cycle).
And I'll end these positive points by saying that it's a very nice series, full of good feelings, and it puts you in a good mood. That's one of the reasons why it's hard to talk bad about it. But I'm an evil bird, so here goes x3
First of all, the thing I find unacceptable: Animus Magic. Who let Tui create this?! The first rule you learn when creating a magic system is to create limits. Here, the few limits we thought existed disappear as we read on! This results in MONSTROUS inconsistencies, because the only reason to stop the world collapsing in on itself is to make certain characters completely idiotic. Fortunately, this magic is only present sparingly, but for my two cents, it ruined 4 books in the series.
The second big problem is, and this is because it's something I'm very susceptible to: inconsistencies and conveniences. There are a lot of coincidences, and a lot of events seem unbelievable, often explained by luck, the explanations often shaky, patched together with a lot of scotch tape. I've discussed these problems at length with a friend (Hello Dr. Payne), and yes, you could write a whole book about all the problems, but that's not what this review is about, so I won't go into detail here. I'll just point out in which books it's most problematic.
As I said, the quality of these books ranges from very high to very low. That's a big negative. I'd love to tell my friends to read the series right away, but unfortunately, every cycle has its high and low points. This is very palpable in the second cycle, which lost me completely by book 9.
The series doesn't shine in terms of character development. Too few of them progress during their book. My favourite moments in films/books are often those moments when a character is going to make a strong decision that stems from everything that has gone before, from their personal journey, a decision that will say a lot about the character's development.This kind of thing doesn't happen often enough.
I'm not at all a fan of WoF's love stories. Almost all the main characters fall in love (only one doesn't, in fact), and too few of these romances are well written. Often it's just love at first sight, and it will have little to no impact on the story. (Without spoiler, I can say that the two I like are the ones in books 1 and 4. The others go from meh to rubbish)
Overall, I don't think Tui is very good at creating a good story over several books. Cycle endings are often rushed, and there's rarely any sense of wonder when you put the book down and say "Wow, what a great adventure!”. No, it's more a series that shines through its small stories than its big ones.
I don't really like the dichotomy: the good guys are very good, and the bad guys are very bad. It's a bit typical of children's series, but here it's often caricatured.
And finally... yes, it really is for children. I have no problem with children's books, I grew up with Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and all that... But here it's a bit much. Book 1 hints that there will be some violence, and yeah there is, but the series is ultimately very non-challenging. Don't expect to see your favourite characters die or be mentally tortured.
So, if I were asked to give this series a rating, I'd give it a 6/10.
My story with it is mixed, because I liked the beginning of the second cycle, but hated book 9.And, like many others, the third cycle didn't thrill me. As a result, I can advise almost everyone to read the first two cycles + Darkstalker, and the third cycle if you really like the series.
Individual Books Review
1.The Dragonet Prophecy
I like the first book for what it is : the start of an adventure. I can understand why people got into the series. It’s not the strongest book mostly because it’s not the one with the strongest main character or ideas, but it’s really a good test: if you’re not much into it, then there’s not really any point continuing, as the tone stays the same. I personally had a good experience with it, and it got me on good tracks to keep going.
+ Clay
+ The Main Cast
+ A Good Start (universe, story)
+ Twists and Surprises
- Main Cast are Spectators
- Easy and Convenient
- Some Cliché
- Third Part Disconnected
Firstly, Clay: he's adorable ^v^ One of my favourite characters. And no wonder... given how close he is to Hayo. I'm even afraid I'll be accused of plagiarism, because even his design is close x3 and that's even if I didn't know the WoF series in 2018. Great spirits clashes, and coincidences happen!
Overall, the main cast is a success. The characters are well characterised and have a good dynamic between them (apart from Sunny imo, but more on that later). The discussions are engaging, and we enjoy watching their little adventures.
The book has the merit of working well for discovering the world. As a first book, there's a lot of information about the world, the tribes, the dragons... And it's very interesting! I'm glad I was let loose in Pyrrhia!
Then, like any good book of this type, there are a good number of twists and surprises. Not always the most memorable, but a nice little rollercoaster nonetheless!
One of the main issues is that the main characters, and Clay in particular, are pretty much spectators to their fate. They are subject to events more than they act. That's not so surprising: this is only the first book, and they need time to become more important.
This book has its share of ease and coincidences. A lot of the action is too easy (the escape, for example), or are coincidences (running straight into Queen Scarlet, how unlucky!). Not the strongest book in the series for that.
It also has its share of clichés: a prophecy, characters who don't know anything about the world... Not everyone is susceptible to this sort of thing, but I am!
And finally: the third part is a bit disconnected from the rest. It's more of a discovery section, a prelude to the second book. I like this part, but it's a bit strange in the way the story is constructed, as there are no high stakes.
6/10
Not the most memorable, but a good start!
2.The Lost Princess
Book 2 is the first one that may divide the crowds: it's almost a filler episode that does little to settle the overall plot, and your level of appreciation will mostly depend on how much you like Tsunami or how much you like Seawings. Personally... I'm pretty neutral on both, but I have a big problem with the finale x3
+ Tsunami
+ The Seawings tribe
+ Good characters and ideas
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Almost a filler episode
- Lots of conflict but none interesting
I think Tsunami is a good character, full of drive, rage and contradictions. She makes strong choices, even if I think it could have been pushed even further.
Lots of information about the Seawings and how they work. Very creative. It's a shame that they don't have much influence afterwards. (I must say, they got the shaft when the powers were handed out: any dragon out of the water can beat the crap out of them).
I also want to say that there are a lot of little ideas that I like. Anemone and Riptide are good characters, the aquatic, the mystery of the eggs... Simple ideas, but they get the job done.
Unfortunately, this is the book in which Animus magic is introduced. Presented three quarters of the way through the book, this magic then solves the book's two main mysteries in unbearable Deus Ex Machina. What's the point of working out an interesting plot when, in the end, magic is going to solve everything? As an author, I’m really attached to well constructed mysteries and surprises, and I was let down here.
Yes, I consider this book to be almost a filler. We take a trip to the fishes and leave. Only the meeting with Blister, a small part of the book, will have any importance. That's largely why it's one of the books I remember least.
And finally, there's a lot of conflict in this book, with Tsunami having a knack for arguing with everyone. Unfortunately, the arguments rarely lead to any big results, and we're left a bit hanging.
4/10
Overall, a very enjoyable book that fits in well with the series. But I'm personally disappointed by the outcome of the mysteries, especially as I'm very fond of good revelation scenes (read my books). So I was rather disappointed.
3.The Hidden Kingdom
Like many, I think book 3 is the first really good book. The characters finally take matters into their own hands, much to our delight.
+ Glory
+ Things happening
+ The Rainwings tribe
+ Strong character interactions
- Conclusion a bit disconnected
- Lack of a strong drive/theme
Firstly, Glory is definitely the most influential character in the group of heroes, and it's great to see her in action. She makes powerful decisions, gets things moving on an unprecedented scale, and does it all with her characteristic caustic tone. A real pleasure!
And as a result, this is easily the book where the most things happen. We're constantly going from one place to another, with lots of important encounters and action. Lots of ups and downs. Looking back, I'm always surprised at how much has happened in one book (especially as I’m just out of Cycle 3).
It's not surprising either that the Rainwings are one of people's favourite tribes: they have a mentality all their own, and their tribe works in a... very particular way x3 Lots of fun reading their shenanigans!
Not many negative points. I'll just say that the third act is a little disconnected from the main conflicts of the book, and that, as you keep going from one place to another, the book lacks a certain ‘special colour’ that makes you remember it more strongly than the others.
7/10
Not my favourite book (not a fan of Glory myself), but definitely one of the best!
4.The Dark Secret
I noticed that book 4 was perhaps the least liked book in the saga. Sad! I think it's because Starflight isn't much loved and he's far from his friends in this book. But I really like him!
+ Starflight x Fatespeaker
+ Actual conflict and danger
+ From one discovery to another
+ Actual conclusion of the saga
- Lack of interactions with the main cast
- The Nightwing tribe
- Easy and convenient
I LOVE the relationship between Starflight and Fatespeaker. They help each other out because they're sweet and cute and develop a natural affection for each other. Simple and effective. I'm a big fan of both characters. Starflight and his fear of every moment, Fatespeaker and her incessant ‘out of touch’ side, though she has a heart of gold <3
This is the book with the most conflict and danger. Morrowseer makes an excellent antagonist who pushes everyone over the edge. As a result, death is at every corner!
There are lots of discoveries, interesting elements and more important revelations than usual.
In fact, I consider the final act of this book to be a better conclusion to the first cycle than book 5. The characters have wrapped up their arc by the end of this book, and book 5 just deals with the issue of the war, which seems almost secondary at this point.
As I said, I think the main problem is that the main group is almost absent from the book. I really like Starflight and his interactions with the new cast of characters, so I guess it depends on individual tastes.
Not very convinced by the Nightwings tribe. Their actions and motivations aren't very solid when you get right down to it. They go from one mistake to another, and their plan really sucks if you think about it for two seconds.
As a result, the book is also one of the least solid: once again, a lot of conveniences and coincidences.
I'd also add, as an author, that it would have been better to see Starflight have his ‘Big Brain moment’ later in the book. He guesses the most important secret only a third of the way through the book, so he doesn’t have as much room to progress after. Later would have solidified his character development.
7/10
My favourite book of the first cycle, though certainly inferior to 3. I really like the characters, so that’s why x3
5.The Brightest Night
I listened to most of this book when I was ill at Christmas, so maybe it didn’t help. However, I think it was mostly rubbish x3 Explanations.
+ Hum… fun at times?
- Sunny
- Lack of interactions with the main cast
- Laughable conclusion
I'm really struggling to find any real positives in this book. Really, none of Sunny's adventures are particularly interesting. I did like seeing Peril again... Even if I don't quite understand her motives... As for the rest, I've pretty much erased it all out of my mind.
So, negative points!
I think Sunny's character is a failure. She's supposed to be the funny one in the group, cracking jokes all the time. But Tui's writing just doesn't suit her. As a result, she has never gotten a laugh out of me, contrary to all the other main characters. She's just... too positive, to the point where it's annoying.
So Sunny goes from adventure to adventure, none of them exciting. She gets into a lot of trouble, and each time gets out of it far too easily. She meets lots of uninteresting secondary characters whose names I've forgotten. Except Thorn, who I guessed was coming. After seeing what the three princesses looked like, I knew that another ‘morally perfect’ Sandwing would arrive, and where she would end up.
As a result, we don't get to interact with our favourite characters until the third part, which is a real shame.
Sunny's plan for resolving the conflict is ridiculous, and it's a good thing there was an hyper solid plot armor and that Tui had to complete her cycle within three chapters, otherwise it would have been a massacre.
3/10
Not at all convinced by this one. But if you like Sunny, then you'll like this book. So this is really a personal opinion.
6.Moon Rising
I had a superb time with book 6. I was really trying not to finish it too quickly!
+ Moon and her Powers
+ Darkstalker
+ Fun interactions all around
+ Character development that leads somewhere
+ Ideas everywhere
- Relatively small scaled
What a fantastic premise to start the second cycle! It is… game changing in this universe! Moon’s power is perfect for the story to develop and for knowing the new characters better and in an interesting angle. It also creates a strong secret for Moon to keep, and so a drive and a suspense for us during the whole book, something that kinda lacked before.
Her relationship with Darkstalker is FASCINATING. I think her conversations with him are among my favorite parts of the series. He is shrouded in mystery, there’s something mystic about him, making the reader interested in every line he says. (Kinda wish it stayed like that for the whole cycle x3)
Globally, all the interactions are fun, due to Moon’s power. There’s a perfect level of what-to-say/what-to-not-say that the author is playing with at all times.
Moon was the perfect character to have these powers, as she has many insecurities about them, and she has to overcome them. Making the book having a strong character development. And it leads to a strong conclusion, forging a strong group of friends that we will follow in the next books.
And, even excluding the “Power” aspect of the book, it has many little ideas, and many interesting development. Really, there’s nothing to throw away in this book.
The only little issue I have with it would be the scale of it: it’s relatively small, and lacks epicness. Yes, it will develop in the next books, but… I’ll certainly never re-read the next books x3
9/10
So yes, to me, this is the best book of the series by a fair margin. And I would even say “objectively” the best. The main sad thing about it is really the books around. For example, I’m not fond of what Darkstalker ends up being. Still, a true recommendation from my part!
7.Winter Turning
So I arrived at book 7 with great enthusiasm. And it doesn't disappoint... until the ending…
+ Character development
+ The adventure feel
+ Interactions between the main cast
+ Lots of fun little ideas
- The Ending
- The Ending
- The Ending
As well as liking Winter, I think he's the perfect character to tell a story. He's stubborn, angry, crushed under a ton of family pressure, and yet you can sense that he has a good heart. And the book does a good job of developing him. His relationship with others, but especially Moon. Really striking and cute.
We go from one place to another, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. It's close to the quality of book 3 in that aspect.
As a result, there's a lot of interaction between the main characters. And with this group, we go from joy to tears. A really good rollercoaster!
On top of that, the book is full of very creative little ideas. I love, for example, when Winter tries on Pyrite's necklace... and the character development it brings! But globally, lots of good adventures.
So it's pretty much all good stuff, until…
Part Three.
And here we enter the lowest point of what the series has to offer. Reading it was like watching a shipwreck. The book collapses on itself.
Explaining why nothing works would take hours, so I'll summarize it like this:
Part Three puts Winter through a test that, when you think about it for a moment, is completely incoherent, unrealistic, convoluted, and, worst of all, deprives Winter of his character development. It was up to him to decide he wanted to change, but the ending of the book forces him to do so, depriving him of a character moment that the book was building for so long. It all concludes in a couple of very sad, monotonous sentences…
7/10
That ending made me angry. I really liked the book until then, and it's still one of my favorites in the series, but it could have been so, soooo much better. My theory is that the author created a convoluted plot to bring Foeslayer back. A sacrifice of coherence and plausibility, which is a shame considering how little importance she will have later on.
8.Escaping Peril
Book 8 is one of the most divisive. Personally, I loved it!
+ Peril
+ Character conflict
+ The twists and turns
+ The ending
- Peril
- Animus Magic
First of all, I loved following Peril. She has... a personality all her own x3 Getting lost in her destructive thoughts is fun to read. I think it was a great idea to base a book on her. She's also one of the few characters we follow who has a strong background, a story; she has to confront her past and what others think of her.
As a result, there are a lot of confrontations in this book. A lot of conflict, arguments that lead to important choices that help the characters evolve. I think Book 8 is one of the most eventful.
It's also full of surprises. The revelations are very good. I find that many of them lack a build-up in this series (I'm looking at you, book 2), here, we have a lot of moments where we say to ourselves, "I didn't see that coming, but it makes sense".
And finally, the reason why this is one of my favorites: by far the best ending to a novel in the entire series, meaning the last 2-3 chapters. Surprises, conflicts, payoffs, characters who show flaws, and Peril who completes her character arc. Perfection!
And the main negative point... is also Peril x3. And I understand why some don't like this book. She's a bit too crazy. After halfway through the book, her thoughts are still too destructive, and that she should have calmed down by now. Her evolution is a little too slow. Her choices are also often very questionable, but at least they can be explained by the fact that she's not too clever.
Then, magic still has its mark on this book. Its use is a bit chaotic, and we often wonder about the wording of the spells, which could be much better. The character of Chameleon is also very questionable in his actions and motivations, and his writing could have been a little more solid.
8/10
Really liked it, even if the quality is much less consistent than the 6th. But I'm the type who really enjoys novels with a good ending, and this one was just what I wanted!
9.Talons of Power
So, book 8 left me with a very good impression and a superb cliffhanger. Turtle is also a character I love and who intrigues me. So it's with great joy that I tackled book 9. But then I fell from up high…
+ Turtle can be kinda cute
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Turtle
- No character development
- The utter stupidity of it all
- Nothing makes sense
It seems people mostly like book 9, and it’s because Turtle is cute. We easily become attached to him. There are a few discoveries in this book, interesting magical objects, actions we didn't necessarily expect... but that's about it. For me, the negative points are overwhelming.
It's quite simple: I found that the magic destroys the entire novel. It's quite simple: the heroes have access to limitless magic, or at least, we think it has limits, but the book does a fantastic job of removing them one by one. As a result, we can't help but wonder, "Why doesn't they try this or that?" But no, the heroes do nothing, and are spectators. Reasons are given for this inaction, but they're very weak.
The only reason Turtle doesn't try anything is because he's stupid. Personally, there isn't a paragraph in this story where I wouldn’t tell myself that I'd do something else. But the story has to unfold, and so he doesn't try ANYTHING. That makes him an idiot and a coward. I had hoped for much better from him, especially since Turtle was much more brave and intelligent in his actions in book 8. Unfortunately, I find that characters tend not to progress much in WoF, and Turtle is the only one who regresses in his novel. He's even more pitiful at the end than at the beginning.
The villain isn't much better either. If you have access to Animus magic, then what's stopping you from wiping out all your enemies with a snap of your fingers? But hey, at least he's doing something, he's having fun, unlike Turtle.
So, if you analyze the book in depth, really NOTHING makes sense. I take for example this fight between two Animus dragons, which, on paper, is epic, it's cool, but in reality, everything should end in a single spell. The entire book should end in a paragraph. But no. Something had to be written.
2/10
If you accept the author's explanations and watch the characters go on their ways without giving it much thought, good for you. As an author, I put myself in the characters' shoes, I identify with them, and I wonder what I would do in their place. And truly, this book was a very unpleasant experience.
10.Darkness of Dragons
Since magic is still so present, I wasn't expecting anything from the 10th. I had long lost faith in this cycle.
+ I guess… Qibli ? Darkstalker ?
- ANIMUS MAGIC
- Qibli’s development
- The ending
- The whole first half
Qibli has a cool side; a lot of people like him, and that's normal. I liked his idea with the earrings, which is his genius moment in the book. Overall, if you really like Qibli, you'll definitely like this book. The same goes for Darkstalker. I really liked the scene where he tries to revive Clearsight; I think it's the only one where the use of magic makes sense.
Because yes, like the previous book, magic weighs heavily on this one. The heroes no longer have access to this magic, so they're less to blame, but the villain makes some... weird choices. Once again, the book should have been much shorter if the characters had used their heads more effectively.
Very disappointed with the use of Qibli. If you count correctly, he does more stupid things than intelligent ones, which destroys his character. He doesn't evolve either. He has a clear arc, that of refusing magic because too much power is dangerous. At least, that's what the reader thinks, because his refusal of magic is very poorly written. He refuses it for practical reasons, not because he has evolved. The book also deprives him of the final victory, because another character, who is less intelligent, had to have his moment of bravery.
I'm actually outraged by this ending, where the good guys do something to the bad guy that I would describe as "more humiliating than death", despite what the characters have constantly said. Really not a fan of Moon's romance, which has no chemistry. Moon was kinda sacrificed in books 9 and 10, she put her brain to one side. Also, the prophecy ultimately had no impact on the story's progress, and the cycle would have been better off without it.
I've practically forgotten everything about the first half. I think no one cares about the politics of the Sand Kingdom, and no one wanted a filler arc at this point in the story. Especially since the end of this part is incredibly rushed in a conclusion that offers no payoff.
3/10
Barely better than the previous one. I remember very little that was good.
The second cycle is therefore rather a disappointment. The build-up is incredible, but the payoff is crap. I felt like the fans of Game of Thrones or Star Wars. All this for that. I also found that cycle 2, in a very strange way, plays the game of conservatism. A minimum of things change, as if the created world was too perfect, and it should not be touched. I take as proof Starflight's injury, which SHOULD be healed by the characters, but which is not. A few reasons are given, but the only real one is that Starflight had become something at the end of the first cycle and that the author did not want to change this "something". Same for the Icewings, who are shown very negatively, and yet have not changed.
Darkstalker
As I was told, I would have been better off reading Darkstalker after the 8th book, because I was a bit exhausted by the end of cycle 2. But, in the end, I can still recognize why this book is one of my most beloved, if not simply the most.
+ The Shakespearean Drama
+ Character conflict
+ Emotions
+ Clearsight
- The positive relationship aren’t believable
- Darkstalker
- Animus magic and conveniences
I saw the words “Shakespearean Drama” on an analysis online, and I agree with it: this is by far the most dramatic book in the series. There's action, deaths, large-scale repercussions, important choices... So much happens in this story that nothing important will happen in Pyrrhia in 2,000 years, that's saying something!
As a result, the book isn't lacking in conflict between characters or between tribes. It's war! And with all that that implies. It's certainly the most eventful book.
This results in many powerful moments. The characters suffer. They have emotions, fears, regrets. Obviously, they have them in the rest of the saga, but never as strong. I actually think this is one of the only books where the reader can cry.
And finally, the character of Clearsight is very interesting. Her power to see into the future is well-utilized and opens many doors for storytelling. It's not far from book 6 on this.
However, I have one BIG negative aspect about this book. The book is mainly based on the Darkstalker/Clearsight love and the Darkstalker/Fathom friendship. Unfortunately, I found them hard to believe. I found it poorly balanced between moments of affection and moments of conflict. They argue 90% of the time, and as a result, it's hard to truly believe in their love and friendship. At least, that's what I felt. And as a result, I couldn’t believe much in their internal conflicts, and their strong decisions toward the end fell flat on my end. Sadly.
I also regret that Darkstalker's character is too evil. The book wants us to believe he's on the edge, that he has a good side, and many aspects rely on that. But when you analyze him, he's just... 100% dark. I would have liked him to be a little more torn, but here, his moments of "goodness" seem really artificial.
Finally, magic, again and again. Although, here, its "limited" use is better justified than in previous books, the fact remains that, if the characters were thinking a little more, the story would be much shorter. The same goes for Clearsight's seer gifts, which seem to be on/off depending on the author's preferences. But hey, with this book, I was more accepting of the errors and was able to appreciate the show a little more.
7/10
My feeling would be more like a 6, or even a 5. But I recognize that it's one of the best books in the series, so I'm giving it a good rating. Maybe I'll revisit it one day, with a clear mind, and maybe appreciate it a little more.
11.The New Continent
The beginning of the third cycle. The one people like the least, from what I've gathered. I might have stopped the series if I hadn't been told there was no more magic. Tui certainly realized she couldn't build a solid story with Animus Magic still there, and so she dropped it. For the better.
However... I understand the criticisms. There's simply less material in this cycle, and the books waste a lot of time. My analyses will therefore be shorter.
+ Discovery of a new world
+ Conflict and action
- Very cliché
- Blue
- Not the most enticing story
Book 11 begins by introducing a new world, and that's the main positive. The new tribes are good, the new powers are cool, the world is interesting. That's what you'd expect from this book.
There's quite a bit of conflict and a good dose of action. On these points, the book does the job.
And therein lies the problem with this book, and this series in general. It "does the job," but nothing more. The premise is also very cliché. There's the group of bad guys, the group of the oppressed, and the good, almost extinct eco-friendly characters that the main character joins. Seen that time and time before. And as a result, there are few if any surprises until the end of book 13.
The big negative of this book: Blue. This character is uninteresting. Even his name lacks originality. He's a follower without personality, an empty page which hardly fills. I put him at the bottom of the list of characters I preferred to be in the head.
As a result, the story really lacks a thread that we want to follow. There's no real attachment or desire to know where it's going.
5/10
Average rating because the world is okay, but my feelings aren't very good. I went into automatic mode when listening to the books, and I've already started to lose interest in the story. I understand why many people gave up at this point.
12.The Hive Queen
Book 12 is almost skippable. There are very few major events or discoveries. I would call this one the "emptiest book”.
+ Cricket’s story
- Not much happening
- Slow
- Lacks of ideas
If you really like Cricket, it's fine. The book focuses heavily on her past and the revelations about her origins and her secret.
Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case for me. I find the book wastes a lot of time on secondary events, and boredom quickly began to affect me. I've already forgotten most of the book.
Very few new and interesting ideas. An overall lack of creativity weighs on the book and, personally, didn't engage me.
4/10
Not much to say because there's little to build on. On to the next one.
13.The Poison Jungle
Book 13 starts better. Fortunately.
+ A strong first part
+ Sundew x Willow
+ An interesting twist
- The second part
- The final is cumvoluted
The book starts off very well. The forest and the village are interesting, Sundew is much less shallow than Blue and Cricket, there are conflicts between characters, secrets, divergent interests… Everything that makes a good book!
The relationship between Sundew and Willow is one of the best aspects of the book. Sundew is proud, and Willow is adorable. They complement each other perfectly! Sundew is overall a good character to follow. She has a strong personality, interesting relationships with most of the characters, in addition to having a unique ability.
I really liked the plant twist toward the end. Unexpected, and a bit out of the ordinary. It's the first time we really stray from the beaten path.
Unfortunately, the book falls back into pitfalls in the second part. We begin following a group of characters, most of whom are uninteresting. I don't even remember their names. The action then don't really advance the story much. I liked the plant twist, but I think it could have been better handled by providing clues in the previous books.
The ending could have been much better if it had been more solid. Many actions are poorly explained, confusing, or even too easy. The villain wins because the good guys are too stupid, then loses because he's too stupid in turn. There are some major conveniences towards the end, and the main characters' actions and decisions don't flow naturally. We often find ourselves raising our eyebrows. I think it would have been possible to make the ending stronger by changing a few details. I myself discussed it at length with my friend and concluded that there weren't that many things that needed to be changed to make the whole thing work much better.
5/10
I liked the beginning, I wanted to like the ending, but I didn't. Unlike the previous two books, however, I think this one had real potential. It could have done with a bit of tweaking, imo.
14.A Dangerous Gift
My friend told me it was a filler episode. And indeed, we don't expect to find Snowfall's point of view!
+ Character/world development
+ The whole third part
+ A welcome filler episode
- The second part
- Going a bit far
First, it seems that Tui wanted to correct one of the problems of the second cycle: the Icewings’ terrible system. And what a good idea and a good angle for it! The idea of Snowfall's stubborn character is very good; the magical item she obtains allows her to be challenged and makes her evolve naturally. It works very well! And, at the end, all the Icewings change. Was about time!
I'm a huge fan of the third part. At first, the Jerboa story is gripping. One of the darkest moments in the series (and I like dark things). Who would have thought that forcibly rejuvenating a dragon and erasing their memories was wrong? x3 Then, the conclusion of the Snowfall arc is wonderful. The chapters towards the end are fascinating, almost perfect at times. I actually shed a little tear.
Overall, I'm very happy with this episode. I'm not attached to the third cycle, so I'm happy to have a standalone story.
However, not everything is perfect. First of all, the second part multiplies the mini-plots and secondary characters. This is where the main plot of the cycle continues, so naturally, I like it much less. x3
And also, yes, the Icewings change, but it goes a bit far, and a little too easily. I’m rather happy of it, but it could have been a bit better build-up or les world-changing.
7/10
By far my favorite book of the cycle.
15.The Flames of Hope
Back to the main plot ;v;
+ A decent ending
+ Impactful moments
- Luna
- Too many characters
- Easy and Convenient
- Hard to see how it all works
I'd heard a lot of bad things about book 15. However, I find this ending to be perfectly acceptable. It's not grandiose, but it's well done. The best conclusion of the cycles, IMO.
There are big conflicts, action, and important moments. There are twists and turns, some unexpected, and overall more surprises than in books 11-12-13. And there's an emotional ending. Conclusion: it does the job.
I wasn't transported by it, however.
Luna's character lacks depth. She doesn't evolve and doesn't make any important choices. She just suffers until she delivers the final blow.
There are too many characters. We start with a group of 10 dragons, and by the end, we're close to 30 characters who have an impact. As a result, little time is spent on each one.
The villain's defeat is a little too easy. The villains aren't very smart overall.
And finally, the reason why I think many people don't like the book: a large part takes place in a "mindspace" which is difficult to imagine. A bit of everything and anything happens in it, and as a result, we have to accept what happens without being able to properly assess whether it makes sense or not. This makes the whole thing less solid.
5/10
Decent.
CONCLUSION
A good little series of books, but I'm personally a little unhappy with the decline in quality. Book 9 was a turning point for me, and I only recovered temporarily to appreciate the end of book 14.
As proof, not including Darkstalker, the average rating for the first 8 books is 6.4, and for the next 7 the average is 4.3.
However, it seems to me that my evaluation criteria are very different from those of other readers. Generally speaking, I think people like the books of the characters they like more. This isn't the case for me xP
So yeah, really depends on what you like reading. To me it’s a bit of a mix bag, but I still mostly appreciated it!
Book ordered by personal preference:
6-8-4-14-7-3-D-1-13-15-11-2-12-10-5-9
Favorite characters:
Clay, Starflight, Fatespeaker, Moowatcher, Peril, Winter
The Classic Update on Socials or "Where to Find Me"
Posted 6 months agoDoing that everytime I post stuff on other sites but can't here x3
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky.social
Inkbunny: https://inkbunny.net/McFan
Discord server: https://discord.gg/RvnthVeanj
And if you want to see the things even more ahead, my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mcfan
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky.social
Inkbunny: https://inkbunny.net/McFan
Discord server: https://discord.gg/RvnthVeanj
And if you want to see the things even more ahead, my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mcfan
OPEN for COMMISSIONS - [CLOSED]
Posted 6 months agoHello, I'm opening for commissions!
Will take ideas during the week-end and close Monday morning~
CLOSED, got many, many ideas, more than enough to work with xP Thanks a lot!
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
SPECIAL OFFERS:
-20% for SFW artworks (need to draw that a bit more ^v^")
-40% If pic is an illustration for a scene from my book
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third)
I can sell you the original sketch of your comm, see HERE
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
You will notice that I have increased my prices. I do spend more time on my arts as time goes on, and I am still not at the 20€/hour that I would like to have. It's what I would need to, someday, manage to live from my art, which is now a project I'm seriously considering.
Will take ideas during the week-end and close Monday morning~
CLOSED, got many, many ideas, more than enough to work with xP Thanks a lot!
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
SPECIAL OFFERS:
-20% for SFW artworks (need to draw that a bit more ^v^")
-40% If pic is an illustration for a scene from my book
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third)
I can sell you the original sketch of your comm, see HERE
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
You will notice that I have increased my prices. I do spend more time on my arts as time goes on, and I am still not at the 20€/hour that I would like to have. It's what I would need to, someday, manage to live from my art, which is now a project I'm seriously considering.
Selling Original Sketches
Posted 7 months agoThis is a reminder that I sell original paper sketches of my arts!
I've never liked sketching on tablet so all of my works have an original sketch, and I'm willing to sell them!
The only ones I can't sell are the ones that I've already sold.
So if the post on FA doesn't have "Original of this pic has been sold" in the descritpion, it is very likely available!
Prices are as follow:
20€ if it's a single character sketch
30€ if more than 1 character
Price is reduced by 25% if the pic was a commission for you
There is a 10€ cost for the sending. Though, if you order several sketches at once, this cost will only be applied once.
I will send a photo of the sketch before confirming the sale.
If interested, send me a PM
or through Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
or Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my group and PM me from there)
Alternatively, if you have gotten a pic from me but don't want the original sketch to be available for purchase, please contact me.
I've never liked sketching on tablet so all of my works have an original sketch, and I'm willing to sell them!
The only ones I can't sell are the ones that I've already sold.
So if the post on FA doesn't have "Original of this pic has been sold" in the descritpion, it is very likely available!
Prices are as follow:
20€ if it's a single character sketch
30€ if more than 1 character
Price is reduced by 25% if the pic was a commission for you
There is a 10€ cost for the sending. Though, if you order several sketches at once, this cost will only be applied once.
I will send a photo of the sketch before confirming the sale.
If interested, send me a PM
or through Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
or Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my group and PM me from there)
Alternatively, if you have gotten a pic from me but don't want the original sketch to be available for purchase, please contact me.
Collab-Commissions with Wairu - [CLOSED]]
Posted 8 months agoHowdy!
This time, it's with my buddy Wairu that I will take some collab commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jackrow/
He will do the sketches, and I will finish them ^v^
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/51320686/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58727944/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43409298/
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in USD:
100€ Base price for 1 character
+60€ per character
+additional costs for background
This time, it's with my buddy Wairu that I will take some collab commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jackrow/
He will do the sketches, and I will finish them ^v^
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/51320686/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58727944/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43409298/
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in USD:
100€ Base price for 1 character
+60€ per character
+additional costs for background
1k Followers on Bsky, RAFFLE!
Posted 9 months agoDoing a little raffle to celebrate the 1k followers on Bsky ^v^
https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky...../3li3gsu7z7s2o
https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky...../3li3gsu7z7s2o
Collab-Commissions with Tochka [CLOSED]
Posted 9 months agoHowdy!
My friend Tochka and I will momentarily be taking some commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tochka/
This time, I will do the sketch and he will render it up!!
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52857213/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54351371/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54351489/
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in USD:
90$ Base price for 1 character
+60$ per character
+additional costs for background
My friend Tochka and I will momentarily be taking some commissions!
His page: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tochka/
This time, I will do the sketch and he will render it up!!
Examples
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52857213/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54351371/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54351489/
To proceed, send me a PM with your idea(s)!
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (join my server and PM me from there)
PRICES in USD:
90$ Base price for 1 character
+60$ per character
+additional costs for background
OPEN for COMMISSIONS - [CLOSED]
Posted 9 months agoFirst opening of the year!
Done with the first draft of my second book! So got time to draw now!
Also certainly last opening with these prices. Would like to get to around 20€/hour, which I'm not with the current prices right now ^v^"
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third)
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
Done with the first draft of my second book! So got time to draw now!
Also certainly last opening with these prices. Would like to get to around 20€/hour, which I'm not with the current prices right now ^v^"
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third)
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
100 books sold, Big Thank You!
Posted 11 months agoIt has been actually a month that I crossed the line... But I'm bad at keeping track x3
Just wanted to say a big thank you for everyone that has been interested in my project! It can seem to not be much, but many writers would love to get to this amount. It is not easy for a creator like me to sidetrack to a different path, and I've been glad to receive good comments and good results. Especially when you are known for your NSFW fetishy stuff and suddenly release a SFW book x3
Plus the feedbacks have been excellent! I've yet to find someone who didn't like it :P Had a blast having a stand at the last EF where I could sell it.
All in all very motivating and making me decide to continue! Just starting to write the second book ^v^ Which will be a bit different, as we will keep the universe but have a different cast of characters! Some of them being some well known characters of mine >:3
Again, thank you all so much!
And for those who are interested and yet haven't gotten to read it (for Christmas maybe? Seems like the right occasion!):
https://vallerane.com/
McFan
Just wanted to say a big thank you for everyone that has been interested in my project! It can seem to not be much, but many writers would love to get to this amount. It is not easy for a creator like me to sidetrack to a different path, and I've been glad to receive good comments and good results. Especially when you are known for your NSFW fetishy stuff and suddenly release a SFW book x3
Plus the feedbacks have been excellent! I've yet to find someone who didn't like it :P Had a blast having a stand at the last EF where I could sell it.
All in all very motivating and making me decide to continue! Just starting to write the second book ^v^ Which will be a bit different, as we will keep the universe but have a different cast of characters! Some of them being some well known characters of mine >:3
Again, thank you all so much!
And for those who are interested and yet haven't gotten to read it (for Christmas maybe? Seems like the right occasion!):
https://vallerane.com/
McFan
All My Links
Posted a year agoI realized I'm so close to make it to 666 followers on Bluesky and it's Halloween soon, and it seems to be the season for such advertisement. So let's link all my stuff xP
Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky.social
My Discord Group:
https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4
My Vallerane Website:
https://vallerane.com/
My Twitter (used only for art SFW arts reposts and book advertisements and news):
https://x.com/EnsgMaster
My Inkbunny:
https://inkbunny.net/McFan
And that's about it! Have a nice day ^v^
Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/mcfan.bsky.social
My Discord Group:
https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4
My Vallerane Website:
https://vallerane.com/
My Twitter (used only for art SFW arts reposts and book advertisements and news):
https://x.com/EnsgMaster
My Inkbunny:
https://inkbunny.net/McFan
And that's about it! Have a nice day ^v^
OPEN for COMMISSIONS - [CLOSED]
Posted a year agoUpdate: CLOSED, thanks everyone!
Hello!
Let's draw stuff! :P
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third) (talking mostly to the peeps that got a sketch at EF and would like it finished!)
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
I have a ping role for commissions on my Discord if you are interested in further openings and don't want to miss them: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4
Hello!
Let's draw stuff! :P
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
NOTE: if the sketch is already done, the price is reduced by 33% (a third) (talking mostly to the peeps that got a sketch at EF and would like it finished!)
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
I have a ping role for commissions on my Discord if you are interested in further openings and don't want to miss them: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4
The Eurofurence 2024 Journal
Posted a year agoHello!
Just a journal to say to everyone that I'm going to Eurofurence this year!
Though this one is special, cause for the very first time, I will have a stand at the Dealer's Den :P
I hope it will go well eheheh xP I will be mostly selling my book, my yet-not-fully-posted-but-actually-finished comic, some goodies, drawings on the spot and originals on paper.
BY THE WAY if you're interested in getting a certain original sketch from me, please PM me and tell me, so I can bring it with me! The prices will be the ones HERE, but without the sending costs, of course.
See you there, lovely peeps!
Just a journal to say to everyone that I'm going to Eurofurence this year!
Though this one is special, cause for the very first time, I will have a stand at the Dealer's Den :P
I hope it will go well eheheh xP I will be mostly selling my book, my yet-not-fully-posted-but-actually-finished comic, some goodies, drawings on the spot and originals on paper.
BY THE WAY if you're interested in getting a certain original sketch from me, please PM me and tell me, so I can bring it with me! The prices will be the ones HERE, but without the sending costs, of course.
See you there, lovely peeps!
Raffle Reminder!
Posted a year agoHolding a raffle on my Twitter, where you can win both my book and an art piece!
https://twitter.com/EnsgMaster/stat.....97585753260401
More joiners makes the bird happier!
https://twitter.com/EnsgMaster/stat.....97585753260401
More joiners makes the bird happier!
OPEN for COMISSIONS! - [CLOSED]
Posted a year agoI have some time in the next weeks to draw a bunch.
So, time to take some comms ^v^ Don't be shy and send me your lovely ideas!
Normally open for at least 24 hours!
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
I have a ping role for commissions on my Discord if you are interested in further openings and don't want to miss them: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4
So, time to take some comms ^v^ Don't be shy and send me your lovely ideas!
Normally open for at least 24 hours!
How to proceed:
- Send me a PM with your FULL idea (you can send several ideas)
- I pick the ideas I want to work on
Can also contact me through:
Telegram: McFan_Pluvian
Discord: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4 (Join my group and PM me from there. Also has commission pings if you don't want to miss future openings)
COMMISSION PRICES
Some examples:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52155077/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/48984689/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45328789/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37971819/
YES/NO/PREFERENCES LIST HERE
Should give a good idea of what I like and am likely to take \o/
TOS
I have a ping role for commissions on my Discord if you are interested in further openings and don't want to miss them: https://discord.gg/vaybSEpBn4
10 Years of Furry
Posted a year agoHowdy people!
A few days ago, I celebrated my 10 years of being an active as a furry! It was the 21st of June 2014 when I posted my first ever art here: https://inkbunny.net/s/634611
Doesn't seem like much, but back in the days, it was a big step for my super shy self x3
I decided to use this anniversary to publish my book, as I considered it to be a big step toward me progressing as an artist, maybe the biggest I have ever done!
10 years filled with ups and downs... though many more ups thankfully xP I'm in a place I wouldn't have ever imagined back then! So thanks everyone for the support <3
For the occasion, I thought I would talk a bit about myself... And for that, I will use an interview I just did for the "Equine Furry Creators" group (hence the couple of horse questions), where I got picked as creator of the month for July. Enjoy reading me talking about myself x3
What do you create? (digital art, voice acting, writing etc.)
I mostly draw and, let’s be honest, what I draw is mostly porn xP I don’t mind though, porn is fun!
Though, I recently started writing my own books, with the first one that has just been released!
When did you start doing these creations? (art, voice acting, writing etc.) What got you started doing these creations?
For the drawings, technically ever since I started having naughty thoughts that couldn’t live anywhere else than on paper. Though, I only really started to do it seriously 10 years ago, pretty much exactly. Cause the 21st of June 2014 was when I first posted my first pic online! And a month after I got watched by my favorite artist back then, so it was extremely motivating!
For the writing, I used to write a bunch before drawing took over, mostly with screenplays and fanfictions. I decided to get back to it more seriously 2 years ago, as I had stories with my characters that deserved to be fully fledged.
Do you have your own fursona? If yes, tell us more about them (species, gender identification, sexuality, colors, likes/dislikes etc.)
I have my own fursona, Pluvian, an adorable, yet extremely naughty Egyptian plover xP
It’s a bit different from a traditional fursona, as his personality really doesn’t match with mine… Thankfully x3
Originally designed as a character to go in a Lion King story I had in mind. Then people started to identify me as him, so he kinda became me!
What is the creation you are most proud of? (art piece, voice over skit, story etc.)
Well I poured my soul into making my book as good as possible, and I think I managed to make it very enjoyable to read! Now I’m happy to share it around, and get more people interested in my universe!
Sadly no horses in it x3 but will definitely include big hoss Heiken in my universe later ;3
As for drawing, it would be hard to pick! I’m often proud when I do something kinda personal, and people get to like more than expected.
Where were you born, and where do you live now?
Born in France! While I consider myself being more from Toulouse in southern France, I currently live next to Paris for work reasons.
What would be a piece of advice you would have given yourself when you were younger?
Interesting question. I actually don’t think I would have done things much different. I am 32 now, and I have a mindset of “when you’re in your twenties, do whatever you want, it’s not yet time for regrets”. So yeah, I did whatever I wanted, and it got me to nice places!
What would you say to any aspiring creators out there?
Try it for yourself with in mind that it will take a lot of time, but it’s worth it if you enjoy it, which is still the most important!
And please, don’t limit yourself because of what others say. Limiting creativity is sad!
Have you or do you own any horses?
No! Sad!
Do you have any pets?
Family has two cats but personally, I don’t have any. If I get to mostly work from home someday, maybe I’ll get a dog, but until then, I’m not free enough for that!
Have you ever met anyone famous?
No, and… I don’t really care that much actually! Nowadays I’m only really interested in talking to people as equals, without consideration for fame, and without anyone feeling an inferiority complex.
Have you attended any furry conventions? If yes, which was your favorite?
I have attended 4 furry conventions. NordicFuzzCon back in 2015, which was… much too early for me in my furry life xP Didn’t have friends there and mostly felt out of place.
Went to Eurofurence 2019 and 2022. The first one was certainly my favorite convention, as I spent my time helping my good friend Wairu with his stand and drawing for people.
Also did IndyFurCon in 2023 for my first trip to the US, to see a friend there.
This year, I will go to Eurofurence again, though it will be different as I will be a dealer for the first time! Looking forward to see how it goes ^v^
A few days ago, I celebrated my 10 years of being an active as a furry! It was the 21st of June 2014 when I posted my first ever art here: https://inkbunny.net/s/634611
Doesn't seem like much, but back in the days, it was a big step for my super shy self x3
I decided to use this anniversary to publish my book, as I considered it to be a big step toward me progressing as an artist, maybe the biggest I have ever done!
10 years filled with ups and downs... though many more ups thankfully xP I'm in a place I wouldn't have ever imagined back then! So thanks everyone for the support <3
For the occasion, I thought I would talk a bit about myself... And for that, I will use an interview I just did for the "Equine Furry Creators" group (hence the couple of horse questions), where I got picked as creator of the month for July. Enjoy reading me talking about myself x3
What do you create? (digital art, voice acting, writing etc.)
I mostly draw and, let’s be honest, what I draw is mostly porn xP I don’t mind though, porn is fun!
Though, I recently started writing my own books, with the first one that has just been released!
When did you start doing these creations? (art, voice acting, writing etc.) What got you started doing these creations?
For the drawings, technically ever since I started having naughty thoughts that couldn’t live anywhere else than on paper. Though, I only really started to do it seriously 10 years ago, pretty much exactly. Cause the 21st of June 2014 was when I first posted my first pic online! And a month after I got watched by my favorite artist back then, so it was extremely motivating!
For the writing, I used to write a bunch before drawing took over, mostly with screenplays and fanfictions. I decided to get back to it more seriously 2 years ago, as I had stories with my characters that deserved to be fully fledged.
Do you have your own fursona? If yes, tell us more about them (species, gender identification, sexuality, colors, likes/dislikes etc.)
I have my own fursona, Pluvian, an adorable, yet extremely naughty Egyptian plover xP
It’s a bit different from a traditional fursona, as his personality really doesn’t match with mine… Thankfully x3
Originally designed as a character to go in a Lion King story I had in mind. Then people started to identify me as him, so he kinda became me!
What is the creation you are most proud of? (art piece, voice over skit, story etc.)
Well I poured my soul into making my book as good as possible, and I think I managed to make it very enjoyable to read! Now I’m happy to share it around, and get more people interested in my universe!
Sadly no horses in it x3 but will definitely include big hoss Heiken in my universe later ;3
As for drawing, it would be hard to pick! I’m often proud when I do something kinda personal, and people get to like more than expected.
Where were you born, and where do you live now?
Born in France! While I consider myself being more from Toulouse in southern France, I currently live next to Paris for work reasons.
What would be a piece of advice you would have given yourself when you were younger?
Interesting question. I actually don’t think I would have done things much different. I am 32 now, and I have a mindset of “when you’re in your twenties, do whatever you want, it’s not yet time for regrets”. So yeah, I did whatever I wanted, and it got me to nice places!
What would you say to any aspiring creators out there?
Try it for yourself with in mind that it will take a lot of time, but it’s worth it if you enjoy it, which is still the most important!
And please, don’t limit yourself because of what others say. Limiting creativity is sad!
Have you or do you own any horses?
No! Sad!
Do you have any pets?
Family has two cats but personally, I don’t have any. If I get to mostly work from home someday, maybe I’ll get a dog, but until then, I’m not free enough for that!
Have you ever met anyone famous?
No, and… I don’t really care that much actually! Nowadays I’m only really interested in talking to people as equals, without consideration for fame, and without anyone feeling an inferiority complex.
Have you attended any furry conventions? If yes, which was your favorite?
I have attended 4 furry conventions. NordicFuzzCon back in 2015, which was… much too early for me in my furry life xP Didn’t have friends there and mostly felt out of place.
Went to Eurofurence 2019 and 2022. The first one was certainly my favorite convention, as I spent my time helping my good friend Wairu with his stand and drawing for people.
Also did IndyFurCon in 2023 for my first trip to the US, to see a friend there.
This year, I will go to Eurofurence again, though it will be different as I will be a dealer for the first time! Looking forward to see how it goes ^v^
