Silverwing (novel)
Encyclopedia
Silverwing is a best-selling children's novel, written by Kenneth Oppel
, first published in 1997 by HarperCollins
. 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
. Silverwing is the second installment of the Silverwing series, following the prequel Darkwing
.
Shade, a young Silverwing bat, is constantly teased for being the runt of his colony. Shade had lost his father, Cassiel, before he was even born, and his mother, Ariel, is constantly worrying for his safety.
One day Shade is being teased and bullied by Chinook, the most popular newborn. In response, Shade challenges Chinook to look at the sun. This is forbidden by law, and any bat caught out when the sun rises can be killed by owls. Chinook returns before the sun comes up, but Shade keeps waiting until he sees a bit of the sun. An owl sees this and attempts to catch and kill Shade, but Ariel rescues him in time.
Back at the Silverwings' roost, called Tree Haven, Shade is apprehended by the four elders: Bathsheba, Aurora, Lucretia and Frieda. Despite Bathsheba's intentions of punishing Shade, Frieda defends him sufficiently enough to escape punishment. Frieda later corners Shade and asks him eagerly about the sun. She takes him to the Echo Chamber, where she sings the history of batkind into his head. Shade sees that once, millions of years ago, bats were allowed to see the sun. Then the birds and beasts had a war, and both sides tried to recruit the bats. The bats refused to fight, and at the peace treaty, the birds and beasts banished the bats from ever seeing the sun again. But Nocturna, the bat goddess, promised to the bats that one day they will return to the sun.
Frieda shows Shade a metallic band given to her by humans, and says it is part of the Promise.
Soon the local owls, led by General Brutus, come to Tree Haven demanding for Shade. Shade is about to sacrifice himself before Ariel stops him. Frieda refuses to hand over Shade, and in response, the owls burn down Tree Haven. Despite Bathsheba's complaints, Frieda orders the Silverwing colony to join the males at Stone Hold and, from there, migrate to their winter retreat of Hibernaculum. Before the journey, Ariel teaches Shade a sound map, which uses landmarks such as a cathedral, a valley shaped like a wolf's head and a waterfall. While Shade's colony is migrating, a strong storm breaks out and separates Shade from his colony.
Luckily, Shade lands on a human fishing boat. He eventually finds his way to an island and meets Marina, a Brightwing bat who, like Frieda, is banded. Marina agrees to help Shade locate the Silverwing colony. While journeying to the city, Shade and Marina encounter a Graywing colony, who distrust Marina because she is banded. The Graywings offer to take Shade to the Silverwings, but Shade refuses when they say Marina cannot come. Soon the two reach the city.
Part Two
In the city, Shade and Marina are captured by pigeons, who accuse them of killing two of their soldiers. Shade and Marina are hauled to the pigeons' camp, where the owl ambassador questions them extensively. When Shade and Marina refuse to answer, the owl orders that the pigeons amputate their wings. Before the pigeons could do this, Shade and Marina escape to the cathedral, where the pigeons are afraid of the stone gargoyles. In the cathedral, Shade and Marina meet Zephyr, an albino bat. Zephyr heals Shade's wounds by the pigeons and puts him to sleep with a mysterious leaf.
When Shade wakes, he sees humans for the first time: praying in the cathedral. When his wound has healed, Zephyr tells them that he has encountered Frieda and the Silverwing colony, and instructs them to follow the cathedral star. Zephyr escorts them to the outskirts of the city, where he reveals that he is a seer and predicts of a great journey by Shade to bring back the sun to bats and that Shade's father, Cassiel, is alive. Shade and Marina leave the cathedral and Zephyr behind and fly out of the city.
A short way south, Shade and Marina encounter an owl, who attempts to kill them. Before the owl can, he is himself eaten by two carnivorous bats: Goth and Throbb. Goth and Throbb are responsible for the death of the two pigeon soldiers and, like Marina, both are banded. Shade offers to escort Goth and Throbb south in return for Goth and Throbb's protection from owls. Goth and Throbb agree, but Goth secretly formulates a plan to bring the Silverwings' to the south, where they would provide an endless array of slaves. Goth is worried about Marina, who might affect Shade, and instructs Throbb to kill her. However Throbb mistakes another Brightwing bat for Marina and Shade sees Throbb eating it. Throbb then chases after Shade, who returns to their makeshift roost to warn Marina. Goth suspects that Shade know what they are doing and follows them. Shade and Marina are rescued by a human airplane which shoots darts into Goth and Throbb. Shade and Marina escape, and Goth is supposedly dead.
Part Three
Soon both Shade and Marina feel the full impact of winter as they head towards the mountains. They find the Graywing colony that they had encountered outside the city eaten by owls. Knowing that it was dangerous in the skies, Shade and Marina seek refuge in an abandoned Human cabin. There, they meet thousands of banded bats, led by the bat Scirocco. Scirocco explains to Marina that the banded bats are meant to be turned into humans to win back the sun. Shade and Marina disbelieve him, until Scirocco actually turns into a human before their eyes, using echos to conjure the illusion. Scirocco invites Marina to stay with the banded bats, and she initially accepts. But when Shade leaves to set off on his own, Marina joins him. This was just as well, because, unbenownst to them, Goth and Throbb are still alive and have eaten Scirocco and most of his bats, while using their bands as hunting trophies.
Soon Shade recognizes another of Ariel's landmarks: a valley in the shape of a wolf's head. In the valley, Shade and Marina see Goth and Throbb overhead. Knowing that they are still alive, Shade and Marina take refuge on the sewers of a human town. Unfortunately they are captured by the resident rats, who take them to their leader Prince Remus. Remus believes that they are the ones who had eaten countless rats and other animals (in fact it was Goth and Throbb), and sentence them to drowning. Before the rats drown them, Remus's brother Romulus calls for them, and Remus relents. Romulus explains that Remus's kingdom is on the edge of collapse and desertion and mutiny are commonplace. Romulus shows Shade and Marina that he has proto-wings on his arms, the reason that Remus imprisoned, claimed by his brother that he is a freak. Romulus helps Shade and Marina escape by uncovering a secret tunnel he uses to get to the human town, and hopes they can meet again someday.
Outside the tunnel Shade and Marina are sighted and caught by Goth and Throbb, who threaten to eat them unless Shade guides them to Hibernaculum. Shade reluctantly agrees, and Goth tries to tempt him with meat and the promise that Zotz, the Vampyrum Spectrum god, will allow him to grow bigger. Shade is tempted because he is tired of being small, but refuses to eat meat. However, the next day Shade relents and asks for Goth to take him to the jungle in exchange for guiding them to Hibernaculum. Goth accepts, and believes Shade is honest. While out hunting, Shade discovers the leaves Zephyr used to put him to sleep. Secretively, Shade is creating a plan to let him and Marina escape from Goth and Throbb. He chews the leaf he found and pretends to be eating meat that he asked for to drizzle the leaf juice onto the meat so that Goth and Throbb will both fall asleep after eating the drugged meat. While Goth and Throbb are sleeping, Shade then leads Marina outside and they fly in the light of day.
Very soon Shade and Marina encounter yet another owl, which Shade scares away by singing a picture of Goth into its head. Ironically Goth and Throbb recover sooner than Shade expected and are following them yet again. Shade and Marina spot a thunderhead and dive straight into it. Goth and Throbb follow, and in the ensuing melee Goth steals Marina's band. This is disastrous for Goth, as the thunder is attracted to his and Throbb's metal bands they stole and subsequently electrocute him and Throbb. Throbb is turned to ashes before Shade and Marina's eyes, but Goth survives for another day.
Shade and Marina continue down a river to a waterfall: Ariel's last landmark. There, they discover Hibernaculum, a cave hidden where the waterfall meets the ocean. Shade reunites with the Silverwings, and they also adopt Marina. Shade tells the news that the owls have closed the skies because of Goth and Throbb's murders, and Frieda is relieved that the Silverwings arrived at Hibernaculum just ahead of the news. Frieda then prepares a journey to find out about the truth of the bands and to find Cassiel for Shade's sake. A debate ensues, as Bathsheba refuses to go, considering it too dangerous, but most of the Silverwings, including Chinook, are ready to help Shade. Shade finally sets down to sleep, knowing that the journey is only beginning.
1. Shade
2. Tree Haven
3. The Echo Chamber
4. Ablaze
5. Storm
6. Marina
7. Into the City
Part Two
8. Goth
9. Pigeon
10. Keeper of the Spire
11. Star Map
12. Closed Skies
13. Dark Allies
14. Escape
Part Three
15. Winter
16. Transformation
17. Wolf Ears
18. Rat
19. Romulus & Remus
20. Capture
21. Betrayal
22. Thunderhead
23. Hibernaculum
Goth- A carnivorus Vampyrum Spectrum bat from the southern jungles. Goth is ruthless, not caring for anyone unless they were needed. He is also cunning, planning to eat Shade before they arrive at Hibernaculum and eating all the Silverwing bats in their sleep. Goth looks down on Nocturna and the humans, because a human subjected him to scientific experimentation, and believes Zotz is the true master. Eventually Goth's arrogance at underestimating Shade leads to his downfall, as Shade drugs him and electrocutes him. Goth, however, is still alive to fight another day.
Marina- A Brightwing bat slightly older than Shade. Marina, although annoying at times, is devoutly loyal to Shade, abandonning Scirocco to follow him. She is also level-headed, being suspicious of Goth and Throbb even before they revealed their true colors. Unlike Shade, she is not easily enraptured and impressed at Goth's size, which leads Goth to identify her as the main threat at first. But Marina is convinced that Shade has betrayed her when Shade appeases Goth, and rushes her decisions a lot.
Throbb(deceased)- Goth's lieutenant and second-in-command. Throbb is dull-witted and dumb, easily manipulated by Goth. He mistakes another Brightwing bat for Marina, thereby allowing Shade and Marina to escape. Later, Throbb develops frostbite on his wings, which strengthens Goth's determination to get to Hibernaculum. Throbb is electrocuted by a thunderhead along with Goth, but, unlike Goth, is killed.
Frieda- The chief elder of the Silverwing tribe. Unlike the other Silverwings, she does not ridicule Shade for his size and even shows him the secret Echo Chamber. Frieda is a lot like Shade in the fact that she wanted to see the sun when she was young. Frieda does what has to be done, even sacrificing Tree Haven to keep Shade safe. At Hibernaculum, Frieda argues for Shade and brings most of the Silverwing bats to follow him.
Zephyr- An albino bat and the Keeper of the city Spire. Zephyr is a bat traffic regulator, aiding and helping other bats when they are migrating. Zephyr is also an oracle, and accurately predicts the events of the book before they even happen. Zephyr also heals Shade's wing and Shade later uses Zephyr's sleep-leaf to drug Goth and Throbb.
Bathsheba- An elder of the Silverwing tribe. Bathsheba is sort of the "anti-Frieda" in the fact that she is hasty and impatient, and was even willing to sacrifice Shade for Tree Haven. Bathsheba is also conservative, abiding by the law even though it is unfair, and has ambitions of usurping Frieda. At Hibernaculum, Bathsheba manages to convince some Silverwings to stay behind.
Ariel- Cassiel's mate and Shade's mother. Ever since Cassiel's supposed death, Ariel has been uberparanoid of the safety of her son. She saves Shade from the owls, and was willing to sacrifice herself to the owls before Frieda's intervention. She also teaches Shade the sound map in case he got lost (which he did). During the storm, Ariel offers to fly for both of them, but Shade refuses. At Hibernaculum, Ariel initially disbelieves Shade's claim that Cassiel is alive, but relents when Icarus, a friend of Cassiel, admits there is no proof that he is dead.
Scirocco(deceased)- The charismatic leader of a group of banded bats whom Shade and Marina meet in the mountains. Scirocco is a liar, using sound images and echolocation to delude the other bats to turn into humans and give him power. Scirocco totally ignores Shade, and uses his charm on Marina, whom he convinces to stay with them (although Marina later changes her mind). Shade and Marina unknowingly lead Goth and Throbb right to Scirocco's bats, and they eat them.
Romulus- A flying rat who is imprisoned for his wings. Romulus is curious about batkind, and regards them and rats as distant cousins. He spares Shade and Marina from the fate of drowning and digs a tunnel for them to escape.
Remus- The hyperactive, paranoid younger brother of Romulus. Remus is haughty and arrogant, not knowing that desertion is rampant in his kingdom. He also believes the king regards him highly, when in fact the king despises him. Remus was about to drown Shade and Marina, but relents to Romulus's plea.
Chinook- The most promising Silverwing newborn. Chinook treats Shade as inferior, due to his size, but Chinook is also extremely dumb. He believes his father has a wingspan of three feet (somewhere in the Goth range) and even forgets Hibernaculum's name until Shade reminds him. Chinook, although boastful, is a coward at heart, shying away from the sun before Shade does. Despite his flaws, Chinook agrees to go with Shade at Hibernaculum.
Cassiel- Ariel's mate and Shade's father. Cassiel is banded along with many other males, and goes missing while searching for the truth of the bands. Ariel tells Shade that he was eaten by owls, but at Hibernaculum, Icarus tells Shade that Cassiel went inside a human building with another bat called Hanael. He is not actually seen in the book.
Nocturna- The goddess of the northern bats. Nocturna disapproved of the beasts' banishment of the bats, so she gave the bats the Promise that they will return to the sun. She gave the bats many things, like dark fur to camouflage in the night, echolocation and sound images. The metal bands given by the humans are a part of Nocturna's Promise, but many bats interpret the Promise differently. For instance, Scirocco says that Nocturna only selects the worthy to turn into humans, and the bands are given to the worthy, while Frieda concedes that they know nothing of the bands.
Zotz- Cama Zotz, or Zotz as he is called in the book, is the god of the Vampyrum Spectrum bats. Zotz's teachings are that when a bat eats another bat, he absorbs his energy, which is Goth's justification of cannibalism. Goth and Throbb follow Zotz's teachings fanatically, and even Shade is tempted slightly. According to Goth, Zotz is also worshipped by humans, unlike Nocturna.
Brutus- The general of the owls around Tree Haven. Brutus's owls burn down Tree Haven in response to Shade's actions.
Penelope(deceased)- A Brightwing bat who is part of Scirocco's group. She is killed by Goth and Throbb
Icarus- A male Silverwing elder. Icarus tells Ariel and Shade of Cassiel's whereabouts.
Aurora and Lucretia- The two other female Silverwing elders. They do not have a line in the whole book.
Jarod- Chinook's companion and sidekick. Jarod constantly praises Chinook for his hunting abilities.
Osric, Penumbra and Yara- Three Silverwings who are always seen together.
Owl Ambassador- The owl ambassador to the pigeons in the city. She questions Shade and Marina extensively, but the two refuse to relent. She then orders the pigeon captain to amputate their wings and returns to report to the royal house, but Shade and Marina escape harm.
Owls- Shade and Marina encounter two owls on their journey. Both try to eat them but are unsuccessful. The first encounter, outside the city, was thwarted by Goth and Throbb as they eat the owl in return. The second, after Shade had drugged Goth and Throbb, was scared away by Shade using sound imaging.
Pigeon Captain- The captain of the pigeons in the city. He questions Shade and Marina, and soon calls the owl ambassador. Later, the captain tries to amputate Shade and Marina's wings, but the two escape.
Private Saunders- A pigeon soldier in the city. He is gravely injured by Goth and Throbb, and attempts to convince the other pigeons that bats have three-feet wingspans. He is hauled away by the pigeon captain.
Humans- Humans make an appearance in the city. A scientist captures Goth and Throbb, banding them and subjecting them to experimentation, leading to Goth's mistrust and hatred of humans. Shade and Marina also see humans praying in Zephyr's cathedral, and is greatly impressed by them.
television
mini-series, shown on the Canadian
cable channel Teletoon
and currently being shown on Toon Disney
's Jetix
. These episodes have also been strung together to make 3 movies. The whole series is now available on DVD
.
Kenneth Oppel
Kenneth Oppel is a Canadian author. Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, he spent his childhood in Victoria, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has also lived in Newfoundland and Labrador, England and Ireland....
, first published in 1997 by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. It tells the story of a colony of silverwing
Silver-Haired Bat
The Silver-haired Bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae and the only member of the genus Lasionycteris.- Habitat :...
bats. The tone and artistic ambition of this series of bestsellers has been compared to the classic animal novel Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
. Silverwing is the second installment of the Silverwing series, following the prequel Darkwing
Darkwing
Darkwing is a novel by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It is the prequel and fourth addition to the Silverwing series, and takes place 65 million years before the events of the first book, Silverwing...
.
Plot
Part OneShade, a young Silverwing bat, is constantly teased for being the runt of his colony. Shade had lost his father, Cassiel, before he was even born, and his mother, Ariel, is constantly worrying for his safety.
One day Shade is being teased and bullied by Chinook, the most popular newborn. In response, Shade challenges Chinook to look at the sun. This is forbidden by law, and any bat caught out when the sun rises can be killed by owls. Chinook returns before the sun comes up, but Shade keeps waiting until he sees a bit of the sun. An owl sees this and attempts to catch and kill Shade, but Ariel rescues him in time.
Back at the Silverwings' roost, called Tree Haven, Shade is apprehended by the four elders: Bathsheba, Aurora, Lucretia and Frieda. Despite Bathsheba's intentions of punishing Shade, Frieda defends him sufficiently enough to escape punishment. Frieda later corners Shade and asks him eagerly about the sun. She takes him to the Echo Chamber, where she sings the history of batkind into his head. Shade sees that once, millions of years ago, bats were allowed to see the sun. Then the birds and beasts had a war, and both sides tried to recruit the bats. The bats refused to fight, and at the peace treaty, the birds and beasts banished the bats from ever seeing the sun again. But Nocturna, the bat goddess, promised to the bats that one day they will return to the sun.
Frieda shows Shade a metallic band given to her by humans, and says it is part of the Promise.
Soon the local owls, led by General Brutus, come to Tree Haven demanding for Shade. Shade is about to sacrifice himself before Ariel stops him. Frieda refuses to hand over Shade, and in response, the owls burn down Tree Haven. Despite Bathsheba's complaints, Frieda orders the Silverwing colony to join the males at Stone Hold and, from there, migrate to their winter retreat of Hibernaculum. Before the journey, Ariel teaches Shade a sound map, which uses landmarks such as a cathedral, a valley shaped like a wolf's head and a waterfall. While Shade's colony is migrating, a strong storm breaks out and separates Shade from his colony.
Luckily, Shade lands on a human fishing boat. He eventually finds his way to an island and meets Marina, a Brightwing bat who, like Frieda, is banded. Marina agrees to help Shade locate the Silverwing colony. While journeying to the city, Shade and Marina encounter a Graywing colony, who distrust Marina because she is banded. The Graywings offer to take Shade to the Silverwings, but Shade refuses when they say Marina cannot come. Soon the two reach the city.
Part Two
In the city, Shade and Marina are captured by pigeons, who accuse them of killing two of their soldiers. Shade and Marina are hauled to the pigeons' camp, where the owl ambassador questions them extensively. When Shade and Marina refuse to answer, the owl orders that the pigeons amputate their wings. Before the pigeons could do this, Shade and Marina escape to the cathedral, where the pigeons are afraid of the stone gargoyles. In the cathedral, Shade and Marina meet Zephyr, an albino bat. Zephyr heals Shade's wounds by the pigeons and puts him to sleep with a mysterious leaf.
When Shade wakes, he sees humans for the first time: praying in the cathedral. When his wound has healed, Zephyr tells them that he has encountered Frieda and the Silverwing colony, and instructs them to follow the cathedral star. Zephyr escorts them to the outskirts of the city, where he reveals that he is a seer and predicts of a great journey by Shade to bring back the sun to bats and that Shade's father, Cassiel, is alive. Shade and Marina leave the cathedral and Zephyr behind and fly out of the city.
A short way south, Shade and Marina encounter an owl, who attempts to kill them. Before the owl can, he is himself eaten by two carnivorous bats: Goth and Throbb. Goth and Throbb are responsible for the death of the two pigeon soldiers and, like Marina, both are banded. Shade offers to escort Goth and Throbb south in return for Goth and Throbb's protection from owls. Goth and Throbb agree, but Goth secretly formulates a plan to bring the Silverwings' to the south, where they would provide an endless array of slaves. Goth is worried about Marina, who might affect Shade, and instructs Throbb to kill her. However Throbb mistakes another Brightwing bat for Marina and Shade sees Throbb eating it. Throbb then chases after Shade, who returns to their makeshift roost to warn Marina. Goth suspects that Shade know what they are doing and follows them. Shade and Marina are rescued by a human airplane which shoots darts into Goth and Throbb. Shade and Marina escape, and Goth is supposedly dead.
Part Three
Soon both Shade and Marina feel the full impact of winter as they head towards the mountains. They find the Graywing colony that they had encountered outside the city eaten by owls. Knowing that it was dangerous in the skies, Shade and Marina seek refuge in an abandoned Human cabin. There, they meet thousands of banded bats, led by the bat Scirocco. Scirocco explains to Marina that the banded bats are meant to be turned into humans to win back the sun. Shade and Marina disbelieve him, until Scirocco actually turns into a human before their eyes, using echos to conjure the illusion. Scirocco invites Marina to stay with the banded bats, and she initially accepts. But when Shade leaves to set off on his own, Marina joins him. This was just as well, because, unbenownst to them, Goth and Throbb are still alive and have eaten Scirocco and most of his bats, while using their bands as hunting trophies.
Soon Shade recognizes another of Ariel's landmarks: a valley in the shape of a wolf's head. In the valley, Shade and Marina see Goth and Throbb overhead. Knowing that they are still alive, Shade and Marina take refuge on the sewers of a human town. Unfortunately they are captured by the resident rats, who take them to their leader Prince Remus. Remus believes that they are the ones who had eaten countless rats and other animals (in fact it was Goth and Throbb), and sentence them to drowning. Before the rats drown them, Remus's brother Romulus calls for them, and Remus relents. Romulus explains that Remus's kingdom is on the edge of collapse and desertion and mutiny are commonplace. Romulus shows Shade and Marina that he has proto-wings on his arms, the reason that Remus imprisoned, claimed by his brother that he is a freak. Romulus helps Shade and Marina escape by uncovering a secret tunnel he uses to get to the human town, and hopes they can meet again someday.
Outside the tunnel Shade and Marina are sighted and caught by Goth and Throbb, who threaten to eat them unless Shade guides them to Hibernaculum. Shade reluctantly agrees, and Goth tries to tempt him with meat and the promise that Zotz, the Vampyrum Spectrum god, will allow him to grow bigger. Shade is tempted because he is tired of being small, but refuses to eat meat. However, the next day Shade relents and asks for Goth to take him to the jungle in exchange for guiding them to Hibernaculum. Goth accepts, and believes Shade is honest. While out hunting, Shade discovers the leaves Zephyr used to put him to sleep. Secretively, Shade is creating a plan to let him and Marina escape from Goth and Throbb. He chews the leaf he found and pretends to be eating meat that he asked for to drizzle the leaf juice onto the meat so that Goth and Throbb will both fall asleep after eating the drugged meat. While Goth and Throbb are sleeping, Shade then leads Marina outside and they fly in the light of day.
Very soon Shade and Marina encounter yet another owl, which Shade scares away by singing a picture of Goth into its head. Ironically Goth and Throbb recover sooner than Shade expected and are following them yet again. Shade and Marina spot a thunderhead and dive straight into it. Goth and Throbb follow, and in the ensuing melee Goth steals Marina's band. This is disastrous for Goth, as the thunder is attracted to his and Throbb's metal bands they stole and subsequently electrocute him and Throbb. Throbb is turned to ashes before Shade and Marina's eyes, but Goth survives for another day.
Shade and Marina continue down a river to a waterfall: Ariel's last landmark. There, they discover Hibernaculum, a cave hidden where the waterfall meets the ocean. Shade reunites with the Silverwings, and they also adopt Marina. Shade tells the news that the owls have closed the skies because of Goth and Throbb's murders, and Frieda is relieved that the Silverwings arrived at Hibernaculum just ahead of the news. Frieda then prepares a journey to find out about the truth of the bands and to find Cassiel for Shade's sake. A debate ensues, as Bathsheba refuses to go, considering it too dangerous, but most of the Silverwings, including Chinook, are ready to help Shade. Shade finally sets down to sleep, knowing that the journey is only beginning.
Chapters
Part One1. Shade
2. Tree Haven
3. The Echo Chamber
4. Ablaze
5. Storm
6. Marina
7. Into the City
Part Two
8. Goth
9. Pigeon
10. Keeper of the Spire
11. Star Map
12. Closed Skies
13. Dark Allies
14. Escape
Part Three
15. Winter
16. Transformation
17. Wolf Ears
18. Rat
19. Romulus & Remus
20. Capture
21. Betrayal
22. Thunderhead
23. Hibernaculum
Characters
Shade- A young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony. Shade is clever and resourceful, easily outwitting Goth on more than one occasion. Shade also is patient, not rushing his decisions, and is the more skeptical of Scirocco's transformation. However, he is also slightly greedy for power and is nearly persuaded by Goth into eating meat. Shade's curiosity was what caused Tree Haven to be burned down and the ensuing war, but it also causes Shade to know more about the bands than most other bats. Shade also tries very hard to look good in front of the other newborns, like daring Chinook to see the sun in the first place and veering away from Ariel when she offered to fly for both of them, causing him to be lost in the storm. Son of Ariel and CassielGoth- A carnivorus Vampyrum Spectrum bat from the southern jungles. Goth is ruthless, not caring for anyone unless they were needed. He is also cunning, planning to eat Shade before they arrive at Hibernaculum and eating all the Silverwing bats in their sleep. Goth looks down on Nocturna and the humans, because a human subjected him to scientific experimentation, and believes Zotz is the true master. Eventually Goth's arrogance at underestimating Shade leads to his downfall, as Shade drugs him and electrocutes him. Goth, however, is still alive to fight another day.
Marina- A Brightwing bat slightly older than Shade. Marina, although annoying at times, is devoutly loyal to Shade, abandonning Scirocco to follow him. She is also level-headed, being suspicious of Goth and Throbb even before they revealed their true colors. Unlike Shade, she is not easily enraptured and impressed at Goth's size, which leads Goth to identify her as the main threat at first. But Marina is convinced that Shade has betrayed her when Shade appeases Goth, and rushes her decisions a lot.
Throbb(deceased)- Goth's lieutenant and second-in-command. Throbb is dull-witted and dumb, easily manipulated by Goth. He mistakes another Brightwing bat for Marina, thereby allowing Shade and Marina to escape. Later, Throbb develops frostbite on his wings, which strengthens Goth's determination to get to Hibernaculum. Throbb is electrocuted by a thunderhead along with Goth, but, unlike Goth, is killed.
Frieda- The chief elder of the Silverwing tribe. Unlike the other Silverwings, she does not ridicule Shade for his size and even shows him the secret Echo Chamber. Frieda is a lot like Shade in the fact that she wanted to see the sun when she was young. Frieda does what has to be done, even sacrificing Tree Haven to keep Shade safe. At Hibernaculum, Frieda argues for Shade and brings most of the Silverwing bats to follow him.
Zephyr- An albino bat and the Keeper of the city Spire. Zephyr is a bat traffic regulator, aiding and helping other bats when they are migrating. Zephyr is also an oracle, and accurately predicts the events of the book before they even happen. Zephyr also heals Shade's wing and Shade later uses Zephyr's sleep-leaf to drug Goth and Throbb.
Bathsheba- An elder of the Silverwing tribe. Bathsheba is sort of the "anti-Frieda" in the fact that she is hasty and impatient, and was even willing to sacrifice Shade for Tree Haven. Bathsheba is also conservative, abiding by the law even though it is unfair, and has ambitions of usurping Frieda. At Hibernaculum, Bathsheba manages to convince some Silverwings to stay behind.
Ariel- Cassiel's mate and Shade's mother. Ever since Cassiel's supposed death, Ariel has been uberparanoid of the safety of her son. She saves Shade from the owls, and was willing to sacrifice herself to the owls before Frieda's intervention. She also teaches Shade the sound map in case he got lost (which he did). During the storm, Ariel offers to fly for both of them, but Shade refuses. At Hibernaculum, Ariel initially disbelieves Shade's claim that Cassiel is alive, but relents when Icarus, a friend of Cassiel, admits there is no proof that he is dead.
Scirocco(deceased)- The charismatic leader of a group of banded bats whom Shade and Marina meet in the mountains. Scirocco is a liar, using sound images and echolocation to delude the other bats to turn into humans and give him power. Scirocco totally ignores Shade, and uses his charm on Marina, whom he convinces to stay with them (although Marina later changes her mind). Shade and Marina unknowingly lead Goth and Throbb right to Scirocco's bats, and they eat them.
Romulus- A flying rat who is imprisoned for his wings. Romulus is curious about batkind, and regards them and rats as distant cousins. He spares Shade and Marina from the fate of drowning and digs a tunnel for them to escape.
Remus- The hyperactive, paranoid younger brother of Romulus. Remus is haughty and arrogant, not knowing that desertion is rampant in his kingdom. He also believes the king regards him highly, when in fact the king despises him. Remus was about to drown Shade and Marina, but relents to Romulus's plea.
Chinook- The most promising Silverwing newborn. Chinook treats Shade as inferior, due to his size, but Chinook is also extremely dumb. He believes his father has a wingspan of three feet (somewhere in the Goth range) and even forgets Hibernaculum's name until Shade reminds him. Chinook, although boastful, is a coward at heart, shying away from the sun before Shade does. Despite his flaws, Chinook agrees to go with Shade at Hibernaculum.
Cassiel- Ariel's mate and Shade's father. Cassiel is banded along with many other males, and goes missing while searching for the truth of the bands. Ariel tells Shade that he was eaten by owls, but at Hibernaculum, Icarus tells Shade that Cassiel went inside a human building with another bat called Hanael. He is not actually seen in the book.
Nocturna- The goddess of the northern bats. Nocturna disapproved of the beasts' banishment of the bats, so she gave the bats the Promise that they will return to the sun. She gave the bats many things, like dark fur to camouflage in the night, echolocation and sound images. The metal bands given by the humans are a part of Nocturna's Promise, but many bats interpret the Promise differently. For instance, Scirocco says that Nocturna only selects the worthy to turn into humans, and the bands are given to the worthy, while Frieda concedes that they know nothing of the bands.
Zotz- Cama Zotz, or Zotz as he is called in the book, is the god of the Vampyrum Spectrum bats. Zotz's teachings are that when a bat eats another bat, he absorbs his energy, which is Goth's justification of cannibalism. Goth and Throbb follow Zotz's teachings fanatically, and even Shade is tempted slightly. According to Goth, Zotz is also worshipped by humans, unlike Nocturna.
Brutus- The general of the owls around Tree Haven. Brutus's owls burn down Tree Haven in response to Shade's actions.
Penelope(deceased)- A Brightwing bat who is part of Scirocco's group. She is killed by Goth and Throbb
Icarus- A male Silverwing elder. Icarus tells Ariel and Shade of Cassiel's whereabouts.
Aurora and Lucretia- The two other female Silverwing elders. They do not have a line in the whole book.
Jarod- Chinook's companion and sidekick. Jarod constantly praises Chinook for his hunting abilities.
Osric, Penumbra and Yara- Three Silverwings who are always seen together.
Owl Ambassador- The owl ambassador to the pigeons in the city. She questions Shade and Marina extensively, but the two refuse to relent. She then orders the pigeon captain to amputate their wings and returns to report to the royal house, but Shade and Marina escape harm.
Owls- Shade and Marina encounter two owls on their journey. Both try to eat them but are unsuccessful. The first encounter, outside the city, was thwarted by Goth and Throbb as they eat the owl in return. The second, after Shade had drugged Goth and Throbb, was scared away by Shade using sound imaging.
Pigeon Captain- The captain of the pigeons in the city. He questions Shade and Marina, and soon calls the owl ambassador. Later, the captain tries to amputate Shade and Marina's wings, but the two escape.
Private Saunders- A pigeon soldier in the city. He is gravely injured by Goth and Throbb, and attempts to convince the other pigeons that bats have three-feet wingspans. He is hauled away by the pigeon captain.
Humans- Humans make an appearance in the city. A scientist captures Goth and Throbb, banding them and subjecting them to experimentation, leading to Goth's mistrust and hatred of humans. Shade and Marina also see humans praying in Zephyr's cathedral, and is greatly impressed by them.
Television series
Silverwing has been adapted into a successful 13 episode, animatedAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
mini-series, shown on the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
cable channel Teletoon
Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)
Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
and currently being shown on Toon Disney
Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American cable television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company. A spinoff of Disney Channel, it mostly aired children's animated series and some live action programming. Its format had similarities to those of Cartoon Network and Nicktoons...
's Jetix
Jetix
Jetix was a worldwide children's television programming brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The Jetix brand was used for blocks and channels featuring action-related and adventure-related live-action and animated programming. It was also what Disney eventually turned Fox Kids into...
. These episodes have also been strung together to make 3 movies. The whole series is now available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
External links
- http://www.silverwing.ca/home.htm
- Silverwing Wiki