The Capture
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- 3,99 €
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- 3,99 €
Publisher Description
Introducing the newest heroes to children's fiction; the owls of Ga'Hoole. Meet Soren and his friends, the owls charged with keeping owldom safe. Based on Katherine Lasky's work with owls, this adventures series is bound to be a hit with kids. Join the heroic owls in the first of a series of mythic adventures.
Out of the darkness a hero will rise…
Soren the enthusiastic and young owl is busy learning the rituals of being a barn owl– First Meat Ceremony, how to fly and of course, about the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole. However, his life is quickly transformed when he abruptly falls from his parent's cosy nest to the bare and dangerous forest floor.
Helpless, he is captured by evil chick snatching owls that bring him to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where his identify disappears as he receives a number instead of a name.
Soren quickly befriends another young owl Gylfie, with whom he works to withstand "moon blinking" (brainwashing), and instead develops plans to escape.
But before long, Soren realizes that he in fact has already embarked on an extraordinary adventure with much more excitement in the future.
Reviews
"The fantastical elements are well integrated with the natural history and the result is a convincing and suspenseful fantasy… A compulsive read." School Librarian
“With all the right elements – a hero that's destined for greatness and the struggle between light and darkness – Lasky's Guardians debut is a high-flying hoot. Soren's tale is suspenseful and riveting, and by the book's end, readers will even be impressed with how much they've learned about owls. Reminiscent of Brian Jacques's Redwall and Robin Jarvis's Deptford Mice, The Capture is bound to catch fantasy fans in its talons.” Barnes and Noble Reviews
“The story's fast pace, menacing bad guys, and flashes of humor make this a good choice for reluctant readers, while the underlying message about the power of legends provides a unifying element and gives strong appeal for fantasy fans.” School Library Journal
About the author
Kathryn Lasky has long had a fascination with owls. This led her to research their life and behaviour, thinking that she would write a non-fiction book about owls to be illustrated with her husband’s photographs. She soon realised, though, that this would be rather difficult since owls are shy and nocturnal creatures – so she wrote a fantasy series about them instead.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lasky's (The Man Who Made Time Travel) Guardians of Ga'Hoole series opens with this unevenly paced tale centering on Soren, an owlet whose nasty older brother pushes him out of the family nest. A large owl snatches Soren up and carries him to a deep, dark canyon, the location of the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Its nefarious nature is apparent from the start: Soren and other new arrivals are given numbers to replace their names, they are forbidden to ask questions and are required to sleep with their beaks "tipped to the moon" and to walk, herd-like, during the night when a full moon is shining. This "sleep march" leaves the young owls "moon blinked," after which, in the words of Soren's friend Gylfie, "You no longer know what is for sure and what is not. What is truth and what are lies." Soren and Gylfie discover a means of resisting the sleep marches and vow to escape the canyon by learning to fly, a feat they accomplish with the help of a sympathetic elder owl. Though much of the narrative is encumbered by excessive detail about the rituals of the repressive regime, the story moves at a quick clip once Soren and Gylfie find freedom and embark on a quest with two other orphaned owls. The likable characters may well entice fantasy fans to accompany them as they fly on to The Journey,due in September. Ages 8-12.
