Sunwing
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| Author | Kenneth Oppel |
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| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Silverwing |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Released | 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 272 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-689-82674-5 |
| Preceded by | Silverwing |
| Followed by | Firewing |
Sunwing is a popular children's book written by Canadian author, Kenneth Oppel in 1999. It is the second book in the Silverwing series. The next book in the series is Firewing.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
[edit] Part I
At the beginning, Shade Silverwing, Marina Brightwing, and a few of the members of the Silverwing colony are flying in the middle of the winter, so Shade can find his father, Cassiel. After surviving an encounter with owls, the bats find a Human building, and fly inside, thinking that Cassiel might be in there. Inside, they find an artificial forest filled with many other bats. After a lecture by the apparent leader, Arcadia, stating that the building is a paradise, the Silverwings discover that they can't get back outside. Also, Cassiel is not there.
Shade becomes increasingly distant from the others, wishing to find a way out. Soon, several bats disappear, including Chinook, a Silverwing. At first, this causes a panic, but are calmed by Arcadia, claiming that they are heading to a better place and are "chosen".
After being advised from the Silverwing elder Frieda that he will "listen his way out", he discovers that a way out is through the river that runs through the forest. Joined by Marina, who convinces Shade that he'd never make it on his own, he escapes through the river. They find an identical forest from the one they fled. This one is filled with owls.
The owls awaken and attempt to kill both of them, but they find temporary refuge in a tree hollow. The owls attempt to flush them out, but are stopped when a soporific vapor spreads through the forest. Several owls are captured by the humans, but Shade and Marina manage to escape to yet another identical forest through the river. A Boreal Owl, son of the Owl King, also follows them.
Shade and Marina attempt to talk the owl and try to convince him to believe in what is happening. Afterwards, Goth (who has been recaptured by military scientists) attacks Shade. Goth almost kills the owl, but Shade uses an image generated by echoes to give the owl enough time to escape. Goth chases the two through the forest, but is thwarted by humans, who capture him and the owl.
To learn more about the building they are in, Shade and Marina head into the core of the building. They eventually reach a room of bats that are being used for an unknown purpose. When Shade gets closer to try to figure what the humans are doing to the bats, he is captured.
Shade is put into one of the troughs. There, he has a patch of fur on his stomach shaved, where a metal disc attached to a string is stitched into his belly, and a metal stud is placed into his ear. Shade is then put into a container, where he finds Chinook, and other bats.
Shade questions Chinook about the purpose of the studs and discs, but he is unable to respond. The container is placed on a plane flying south.
[edit] Part II
Meanwhile, Marina is clinging to the plane but is soon thrown off by the turbulence. Unsure of her friend's safety, she flies to the entrance to get Freida, Ariel, and the rest of the bats out of the building for their own safety and helping Shade. Before going in, she jams a stick in the portal to prevent it from closing.
As she explains, Arcadia tells the bats not to believe her. As a result, only Freida, Ariel, and two other Silverwings escape through the door. They run into a Graywing colony, led by one Achilles Graywing. The Silverwings inform them not to enter and are told that the owls have laid siege to Hibernaculum. Devastated, they decide to follow the Graywings to Bridge City, which is possibly the only safe haven left for bats. Marina decides she will make up a plan there to get some bats to help her go south and rescue Shade.
Back in the plane, Shade and Chinook find the lock, and by working together (using Shade's sound abilities), unlock the door, only to find another one. As Shade opens it, he finds it leads into another cage, which contains Goth. With the help of the other bats, Shade and Chinook manage to close the door. As a result of their activity, they are released into the air. Shade finds out that they are on the outskirts of a city by a massive jungle. He sees with a sensing terror that this is Goth's homeland. The metal tracker in each bat's ear tells them to fly into a certain building. Shade, for his part, reels back in horror as the bats who meet the building trigger the disks, which explode on impact, leading them to a terrible death.
Shade manages to stop Chinook from crashing. Chinook realises his parents, Plato and Isis, were part of the explosions. Shade manages to rip off Chinook's disk, but while Chinook tries to get Shade's disc off, they both fall into a river, where a more-than-hungry barracuda rips off the Shade's disc and eats it. Consequently, an explosion occurs underwater, sending up a large waterspout. The two drenched bats make it to shore, where Chinook saves Shade's life by killing an insect the size of Shade himself. They then run into a bat by the name of Caliban, who shows them where survivors from the bombing are hiding from the bloodthirsty Vampyrum Spectrum, a cannibal race now ruled by Goth upon his father's death. Shade begins to learn more about the Vampyrum Spectrum from a weakened bat named Ishmael, and learns from Caliban that his father (who led the survivors) is dead.
[edit] Part III
Goth, reaching his home in an ancient Mesoamerican pyramid, is anointed king and told of a prophecy by his priest. According to the prophecy, if a hundred hearts are offered to the God Cama Zotz, the coming Solar Eclipse will last forever, allowing Zotz to rule all the Worlds. This privilege has been withheld, says the priest, by Nocturna, Zotz's sister, who is worshipped by the Northern bats. If Goth makes the sacrifices, Zotz may overcome Nocturna forever.
Meanwhile, the Silverwings make their way to the Mexican Bridge City. There, a council of war is held about the rumored threats of the bats. There is some relief when the northern rat king Romulus (who became Prince after his brother Remus fled the kingdom convinced that a plot to poison him was afoot) comes and pledges his help to them.
Shade hastens to rescue his father, who they discover is now a captive of Goth's clan. On the way, both Chinook and the Owl Prince Orestes are seized by a V-Spectrum.
Later, Shade is alerted by the oracular Zephyr of the dark prophecy. Though reluctant, Shade plays into fate's hands through his attempts to complete his quest. Meanwhile, Marina and the survivors of the Silverwing clan are lead to the Southern rats, led by Cortez via waterways. After some negotiation, Cortez agrees to help the Silverwings, because his own son is a captive of the Vampyrum Spectrum.
Back at Statue Haven, Shade is contemplating the loss of Chinook and Orestes, when he notices something burrowing into Statue Haven. To his joy, he finds himself reunited with his mother and Marina.
Shade, Marina, Shade's mother Ariel, and a group of Rats led by General Cortez enter the pyramid to free the rat prisoners. Shade manages to convince Cortez to free the owls after it they are discovered. In the midst of the confusion, the tunnel collapses, and the V-Spectra attack. Cortez and his rats along with Marina retreat, about to leave. But Cortez decides to return at the insistence of Marina. A battle ensues between Vampyrum Spectrum and their intended victims, with help from the freed prisoners. During the battle, Goth chases Shade, intending to kill him, but Shade is able to protect himself with sound. During the battle, Shade finds a bat with bands and a sprained forearm. He then discovers that this bat is his father, Cassiel.
At this point, the high priest Voxzaco realizes that there is no way that they'll be able to sacrifice 100 hearts before the brief eclipse ends. Spotting the explosive disc that was attached to Goth, he flies up into the air and begins to drop it.
Back inside the pyramid, the battle is still raging, with Ishmael sacrificing himself to save his trapped brother. The battle appears to be shifting in the northerners favor when Shade notices the disc falling towards the pyramid. Realizing that it would be catastrophic if it dropped while the eclipse was still active, he uses sound waves to keep in place. He manages to keep it loft long enough, and exhausted, he lets it drop, destroying the pyramid and killing all inside.
Victorious, the northern group goes back to Bridge City, where a war platoon of owls lead by Orestes' father, King Boreal, are approaching. Meeting up for a truce, Shade and the elders attempt to negotiate. With Orestes' help, Boreal relents and gives the bats the right to fly in the daylight. Afterward, Frieda, the elder of the Silverwings, dies peacefully.
Back in the northern forests, a new Tree Haven is being built. Shade's mother Ariel is selected as a new elder, along with Chinook becoming a member of Shade's family (Shade himself suggested the idea, even though he would never admit it to Chinook). Cassiel and Shade are helping to make the new echo chamber, when it is revealed that he would help tell the stories of his past adventures. Cassiel then remarks that Shade wanted to be made an elder, despite being barely a year old. Shade replies that he did as well, and says that hotheads like themselves don't make good leaders.
Shade then leaves to find Marina. She races him to a stream, Marina winning, being curled up like a leaf like she was Shade first met her on the island by the time Shade gets there. Marina then mentions that Chinook asked her to be his mate, causing Shade to nearly choke on his mosquito. Marina then says about how good to her Ariel has been, but how she wants a family of her own. Shade then is taken aback for a second by Marina asking him to be her mate. He gladly accepts, telling her that she is not allowed to be anyone's mate but his. Ariel comes around, knowing Marina asking Shade to be her mate. It ends with both bats flying to the best spot to see the sun, this time, no trouble, no fear, and no law.
[edit] Trivia
- Kenneth Oppel has said that Shade is based on a silver-haired bat, Marina is based on a red bat, and that Goth is based on a Spectral Vampire Bat, (also known scientifically as the "Vampyrum Spectrum", as per the book).
- Shade's name means "of darkness", Marina means "of the sea", which fits her well as this is where she is found at the beginning of Silverwing. Zephyr and Chinook were based on wind spirits, Cassiel's and Ariel's names were based on angels from the Old Testament, and Goth comes from gothic. Other names come from Greco-Roman and Egyptian mythology (i.e. Romulus, Remus, Hermes, Isis, etc.), while Cama Zotz is based on a Mayan deity by the same name.
- The inspiration for the discs came from a World War II project which was ultimately scrapped after the bats incinerated the test range and made roost under a fuel tank.
