First off, What I didn't like...I absolutely hated like the implication that in order to be beautiful you must also be waif thin. I liked Sisi's character to a certain degree, but the message she promoted within the book was wrong, there is no other way of describing it. In your quest for that emaciated figure you so desire you must not eat anything for days on end. You must not drink anything more calorific than water. After you have married that all changes, you no longer need to be attractive, you may become as fat - and subsequently ugly - as you so desire. But whilst you are young and single, to have any hope of finding a mate you must must be beautiful and to be beautiful you must be thin!This of course is absolute poppycock, I know that, you probably know that too; but impressionable young girls could be severely damaged by the message this book seems to promote.If you nourished you body the way Sisi does you will not be thin, you will be emaciated. You will not be beautiful, you will be malnourished, gaunt and sallow. But more importantly than the aesthetics you would be putting you health - and in some cases you life - in danger.This book glamorises anorexia, by portraying the disorder in such a positive way. There is no mention of the damaged immunity, lethargy and general weakness Sisi must surely be suffering, there is only mention of the perceived beauty of her malnourished state. I can't forgive it thatNow I have got that out of my system, lets continue with the rest of my review...I liked Kestrel, she is a strong character one of two main protagonists. She is devoted to her twin brother Bowman and would go to the ends of the earth to save him. She doesn't feel the need to throw herself at every boy that crosses her path. The other main character of the series is Bowman, Kestrel's twin brother. We were introduced to his empathic sensibilities in The Wind Singer, and in this volume we learn that his powers extend far beyond those we encountered in book one.I appreciated that the author has avoided the cliched romance of young adult fiction and instead focused his attentions on the relationships developed between friends and family.The characterisation, was good, most of the characters were well rounded and believable. I rather liked Dogface and "his" cat. Mist (the cat) brought some lighthearted humour to the proceedings and the book would have felt his absence greatly.Whilst on the subject of characters, I have to say I did struggle to compare the Mumpo that we met in 'The Wind Singer' with the boy we encounter in this second instalment. The Mumpo we met previously was very slow. He didn't understand the consequences of his actions and he behaved in a manner that seemed to indicate that he had some form of learning disability. I actually quite admired the book for portraying somebody so different to the usual characters we meet. Yet in book two we are to believe that Mumpo has transformed in to a young man capable of protecting not only himself but Kestrel and Bowman too. Perhaps it is my lack of imagination but I found his transformation quite unreal. I also found Pinto's infatuation with Mumpo a little creepy, she is 7 for goodness sake. She shouldn't have a crush on a teenage boy, she should still be under the impression that all boys have the lurgi!There is a sense of growing maturity within this book that was not present in the first volume. I appreciate how the author has changed his writing to reflect the advancing years of his protagonists. And unless I am mistaken even the font size has altered, bringing the style into the more suitable YA market.There is some horrific cruelty portrayed in this novel, and although not graphic in his descriptions William Nicholson paints a picture with words that is quite horrifying, the monkey cages are the stuff of nightmares.Although Slaves of the Mastery does leave some questions unanswered it also wraps the story up sufficiently that you have some form of closure.I wouldn't recommend this book to readers under the age of 14, or those with sensitive sensibilities.
Slaves of the Mastery is the second book in William Nicholson's Wind on Fire trilogy. In my opinion, it was the best one and remains my favorite out of the three. This book, along with it's sequel, Firesong, features a LOT of characters. We're talking like a group of 30+ characters. Out of that many people, most of them are minor and background characters, but at the same time I actually connected with this large group of people. And that never happens when I read books with that many characters. Nicholson made his background characters important and warm and I really REALLY admire that. He pulled that off very well. I think I just love the characterization in these books overall. I feel like Slaves of the Mastery is where that character building really picked up. This book is a step up from it's previous book, The Wind Singer. The characters are older - teenagers - so you're dealing with a lot of real emotional qualities. There are so many conflicts going on in this book between characters. It jumps the views of the four main characters - Kestrel, Bowman, Mumpo, Ortiz. Overall, Slaves of the Mastery is a great sequel to The Wind Singer. I highly recommend it.
What do You think about Slaves Of The Mastery (2002)?
I really, really enjoyed the second book of this series. Once again Nicholson gives us a somewhat vague criticism of government (the second book must be communism, but the first? I'm not really sure, it was definitely a punishment/rewards system though) as the backdrop for the story, but I wasn't terribly interested in the precise nature of his philosophical leanings. No, once again I found myself completely in love with the characters, Kestrel in particular."...And yet, glorious as it was, beautiful even, Kestrel had laid plans for its destruction. This skinny fifteen-year-old with no title and no position had judged the Mastery and passed sentence of death. Her weapon was her own passionate and merciless will. Today was the day of the wedding, and the day of the execution.I am the avenger.Kestrel is passionate and intelligent. She's a revolutionary, and she has to force herself to see the bigger picture at the expense of Sisi, which pains her. [Oh, how I loved Sisi! I really liked her and Kess's friendship, even if it was on unequal footing at times. I really hope to see more of them in the third book.] Personally, I read her to be asexual, and I love how the text doesn't punish her for her lack of interest in boys or marriage or children. Kestrel has quickly become one of my favorite female protagonists in YA. I just admire her so much.Really, I'd say the only thing about this book I really didn't like was Pinto. She's what, seven years old? And she doesn't sound like it at all. I guess it's just one of those cases of adults failing to capture the voices of children, but regardless, I never found myself really invested in her or her character. I'm not really looking forward to the continuation of her story, to be quite honest.From what I remember of the final book, there is some pretty depressing stuff coming. Oh well, time to crack out the tissues.[On a completely unrelated note, I ended up finding a dried leaf tucked between the pages of my slightly battered old copy of this book, which made me smile. It was a lovely little token of the times when I used to press flowers, and then promptly forgot about them. I put the leaf back in the book for me to rediscover later.]
—Annie
A little about the author William Nicholson was born in 1948, and grew up in Sussex and Gloucestershire. The Wind Singer, won the Smarties Prize Gold Award on publication in 2000, and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award in 2001. He lives in Sussex with his wife, the social historian Virginia Nicholson, and their three children.Authors website:http://www.williamnicholson.com/ Plot summery reviewed"I hate school! I hate ratings! I won't reach higher! I won't strive harder! I won't make tomorrow
—Suz
This is the second book in the Wind on Fire Trilogy. This picks up 5 years after the first book, The Windsinger, ended. Although it is a sequel, you really do not need to read the first book to understand the second.The twins are now 15 and while they are still close, they are trying to appease their parents in not being so close (reading each others minds, etc). Their people are peace-loving, but were taken captive. While Kestral was not taken into slavery, her brother was. She tracks her family to try to free them.The Manth people taken captive become slaves to the Master. Although their new surroundings appear tranquil and peaceful, there is a secret within the land. Once that is discovered, and used against the people, the peace is never the same.
—Barbara Ell
