Silverwing (novel)
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| Author | Kenneth Oppel |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Silverwing |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Released | 1997 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-689-81529-8 |
| Followed by | Sunwing (2000) |
Silverwing is a novel, part of a trilogy, written by Kenneth Oppel, published in 1997 by Simon & Schuster It tells the story of a colony of silverwing bats. The tone and artistic ambition of this series of bestsellers has been compared to the classic animal novel Watership Down.
The first book has been adapted into a successful 13 episode, animated television mini-series, shown on the Canadian cable channel Teletoon and currently being shown on Toon Disney's Jetix.
[edit] Plot summary
The main character is a runt named Shade. The novel and its immediate sequel, Sunwing, tell the story of the struggle of Shade and his friends to find his father and free his "fellow bats" from an ancient and unjust punishment. The second sequel, Firewing, describes the adventures of Shade's child.
The bats' punishment came about long ago when a great war was fought between the birds and the land animals. The bats, sharing aspects of both, declared themselves neutral. As a result, the bats were banished to the night, never to see the sun again without suffering terrible penalties (the backstory is inspired by one of Aesop's fables). Shade sets the main plot of the novel in motion when he impetuously defies that law, and inadvertently initiates a chain of events that leads to the destruction of his colony's home, forcing their premature migration, and his separation from them.
When he's separated from his colony he is found by a Brightwing bat named Marina, and soon the two are in a city where pigeons are very angry with the two bats. They are soon being beaten by the pigeons. The reason is that "two giant cannibal bats" have murdered a few pigeons, and Shade and Marina are being held responsible for the killings.
While the two small bats escape, the scene changes to the two giant bats (Vampyrum spectrum, the False Vampire Bat) on the night they escape. Their names are Goth and Throbb, two carnivorous bats who have only been chasing mice for a while. They escape from the humans who imprisoned them.
Soon after escaping Shade meets with a bat named Zephyr (who reveals to him that his father is still alive) and is attacked by an owl (who is also chasing him after the death of the pigeons). Goth defends him by attacking and eating the owl, and introduces himself and where he's going. It turns out he needs Shade's help to find his jungle. Shade suggests that he can find his colony first and they can help Goth in his search for his homeland. Marina believes that Goth and Throbb shouldn't be trusted, but Shade trusts them since they saved them from the owl.
Soon Shade realises the truth when he sees Throbb eating a Brightwing. Shade runs off but runs into Marina, whom he feared had been killed. They soon escape after Goth and Throbb are shot by darts from a human flying machine.
Soon after they meet with Goth and Throbb again, but escape into the sewer where they meet the rat twins, Romulus and Remus. They are treated as spies by Prince Remus, and as punishment are sent to be eaten by Remus's crazy brother Romulus. However Romulus (who considers himself half bat because of the skin webbing between his legs and arms) turns out to be not crazy after all (he only pretends to be crazy to avoid being killed by his brother Remus, as the elder brother Romulus is the rightful Prince) frees them in the end.
They are soon captured by Goth and Throbb, and Goth explains about his god, Cama Zotz, declaring that the said Zotz has greater power than Shade's Nocturna. When Shade half-believes Goth's story, he soon gives the impression of deciding to go with Goth to the jungle to grow big and strong and have Goth kill his family because he was always mistreated, and never cared for, or so he says. He is given a bat to eat but fakes it first then is forced to eat it by the threat to Marina. This disgusting act gives him the opportunity to drug Goth and Throbb with a soporific herb. While the False Vampires sleep, Shade and Marina escape. They are chased by owls, then by Goth and Throbb. During the fight Throbb gets hit by lightning and bursts into flames. Goth survives, but only by a scant margin.
After they leave, however, Goth moves again, and kills a bird near him. Although weak he tries to fly; once he does, he soon vows revenge against Shade.
Shade and Marina meet up with Shade's colony, telling stories of what had happened to them. They decide to find Shade's father, Cassiel, and Chinook volenteers to help. They plan to go after hibernating, but Shade wishes to go now. It ends with Shade starting to fall asleep, with Ariel and Marina roosting beside him.
[edit] Characters
Shade Silverwing is the protagonist of the series. He is a runt Silverwing, and often mocked by his peers, who take pride in their size and strength. While Shade's strength may be inferior to the other bats', he is a master of the sound, often creating illusions or moving materials with echoes.
While he is a well-mannered bat in general, Shade is inquisitive and carries a bit of pride. That would be his downfall, as that was the first domino to fall in the chain of events that created the setting for the book. When Chinook, the pride of the colony, was boasting of his talent and superiority, Shade had offered to let him come take a peek of the sun. They were caught in the action, and as a result, the owls burned down Tree Haven, the Silverwings' home for as long as they could remember. Shade was almost executed for it, but his mother managed to save him from the colony's anger.
