Enjoyable, but really prequel stories to the series books 1-8.

An interesting prequel to the books giving more information on how the guardians of ga'hoole came to be.

AR test 5 out of 10

HOOT FREAKIN HOOT. Now that’s what I call a fantasy book about owls. Well firstly, I love prequels and there was something about switching from third person to first person that made Katie’s little owl world shine. 6 more to go!

At first I thought this was going to be a bummer book because Soren and The Band weren't the main charactors. And the fact that someone very inportant dies in the beging of this book. But, I soon loved this new twist to the story plot and I enjoyed the story just as much as any other GoG'H book I have read so far. A loved this book! So don't stop reading the series just because there are a lot of negative reviews that are out to bring this book no justice. :-)

And I can't wait until the rest of the GoG'H come in that were ordered for B&N. :-)

tThe First Collier is the ninth book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and the first of the three Legends. It read a bit like a nonfiction biography. While it was very informative and gave good background information, I was not on the edge of my seat.
tThe main purpose of this book was to give some insight on where things came from and why things are the way they are. At times I felt like I was reading the owl version of Genesis, the book or origins. It discussed the origins of many things: weapons, taming fire, colliers, blacksmiths, iron tools, iron weapons, cooked food, the ember of Hoole. It showed that there really is nothing new under the sun. Many of the events of the first eight books had predecessors in the legends: kings and queens, war, mind control, ice weapons, treachery, dire wolves, owls' relationship with polar bears, hagsfiends.
tThere are three messages that pop to my mind from this book, the first of which is present throughout the series. The three messages have to do with power. Knowledge and learning is important. Ezylryb wants the Guardians to know that especially with the power they possess in the Ember of Hoole. The second is about the power itself. Power can be a dangerous and destructive thing in the hands of the wrong people. The Ember of Hoole was destructive in the hands of Gragg. The power of the hagsfiends was destructive in the hands of Lord Arrin. It is important that there shall always be a group of good and honorable Guardians of that power to keep it out of destructive hands.
tThe third is about the power of technology. Technology is present here in the form of fire. Fire is captured and used by the first collier for constructive purposes. What a great effect this knowledge of fire could have to advance civilization. However, it doesn't take long for that power to be used treacherously and destructively. There are many forms of technology that we have seen transform our human world: radio, telephone, television, Internet, wireless, electricity, internal combustion engines, airplanes, spaceships, etc. It is only a short time before these things become trouble in idle hands, treacherous in evil hands, or reprehensible in greedy hands.
tThe First Collier was a good background story to help us construct some of the events in owl history.

A really great little prequel!!

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the series keeps throughing me of with all the character changes and this book is no exeption because its hard to say which of the several characters of focus is the main one!AAARG!and these next 3 books don't even take place in the same time period ! geez!good, but not as good as the others.

read as ball dropped.

As someone who is also obsessed with owls, I've absolutely loved reading this series with my daughter up until this book. In previous books, there was talk of spirits and some brutality but it was little enough that I could easily substitute words I wasn't ok with for something I was more comfortable with her hearing.
While still good, the author started including way more talk of spirits, some pretty intense scenes of brutality, and even some swear words. I'm disappointed that the author seems to be trying to keep readers interested in her books by branching out into things that are just so out of sync with and do not contribute to the original storyline.

Again, another excellent book in the Ga'Hoole series. This book features: H'rath, Siv, Myrrth, Grank, Theo and Svenka as the main characters on the good team. Oh and of course baby HOOLE :D

The book recounts the tales of Hoole and his parents and how everything came to be. The discovery and manipulation of fire and metal, more of an understanding of good and bad magic and the crucial invention of battle claws.
The very beginning starts with beloved Eyzlryb dying. He gives his books to Soren and Coryn to read to understand about the Ember of Hoole and Hoole himself and thus the nine book begins.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. I've come to love these characters as much as the band!