Silverwing (series)
Encyclopedia
The Silverwing Book Series is a series
of books by Kenneth Oppel
featuring the adventures of Shade, a young bat
.
, and often mocked by his peers, who take pride in their size and strength. He does not know of his father, but has heard many great stories about him from his mother and the rest of the colony. He is naïve to the dangerous world around him, where owls rule the skies, and he is dared to look at the sun - which in their world is forbidden - without much idea about the consequences. This starts off a chain of events, which test both his loyalty and strength to the fellow bats.
He is the main protagonist of the series, and saves his colony more than once, and slowly rises in the ranks to become the respected Silverwing he always wanted to be. In 'Firewing', he plays the father role and appears briefly in the main plot until about half way through.
In the first book, Shade and her meet one night during Shade's migration. Shade goes off track and starts to end up over the ocean. He clings to the sail of a boat and reaches an island. There he is greeted by Marina. She is of great help to him, even if he found her mildly annoying. In the second book, Shade claims Marina as his mate. In Firewing, her role is much more minor compared to the other two books in the series; she briefly appears in the beginning and is only mentioned in the ending.
Her name comes from Marine
, meaning "of the sea".
s by humans, and seeks to return home, he and his trusty sidekick Throbb. His carnivorous nature makes him eat many kinds of animals, including birds, enraging the owl
s against Shade.
In the first book, Goth and another carnivorous bat, Throbb, are captured by scientists. They escape, meet Shade and Marina, and plot to follow them to the Silverwings' hibernaculum, where they could spend the winter devouring the entire colony. In the end, Goth was badly wounded and Throbb killed by a bolt of lightning
. The demon-god Cama Zotz healed Goth and made him King of the Vampyrum Spectrum, but Goth was killed when the high priest Voxzaco, dropped a powerful explosive device on the temple in an attempt to sacrifice everyone to resurrect Cama Zotz.
His name comes from the English word Gothic.
His name comes from griffin
, a blend between two animals: an eagle
and a lion
. A fitting name for a hybrid bat (though he doesn't think so).
. They are carnivore
s and eat just about anything smaller than them, including other bats. They worship the Mayan bat god Cama Zotz
.
is burned to the ground by owls. Later on, a new tree is hollowed out, and becomes the new Tree Haven. This is where Griffin lives, and the creation of it can be read about at the end of Sunwing
where Shade's colony goes to hibernate during the winter.
. Home to the Vampyrum Spectrum bats and the Pyramid. It's also hosts creatures including large insects, southern owls and other exotic things that northern bats haven't seen.
that overlooks Rio de Janeiro
. The survivors of the explosions from the metal disks
use this as a safe haven from the Vampyrum.
At the place where Zotz fought and killed his counterpart Nocturna, a great Tree made seemingly of fire grows. Entering it, the bats become as Nocturna has become; an observing intelligence in the natural world.
s, seeing themselves as being both, but neither, refrained from fighting. At the end of the war, the two warring factions banished the bats. They could not see the sun again because they refrained.
s and the bats fought 15 years before the Silverwing book. The bats lost. Later, Shade Silverwing and Owl Prince Orestes called for a truce, under which bats were given freedom to move under sunlight for as long as they caused no trouble.
Book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....
of books by Kenneth Oppel
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....
featuring the adventures of Shade, a young bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
.
Synopsis
When Shade Silverwing breaks an age-old law, looking at the sun, the owls burn down his beloved Tree Haven. They go to Hibernaculum where they rest for the winter. Along the way, he meets Marina Brightwing who helps him throughout the series. They also meet other characters like Goth and Throbb, bats who are part of the Vampyrum Spectrum, Zephyr, a bat that can see past, present and future, and Scirocco, a bat who wants to be Human.Shade
Shade Silverwing is a runtRunt
A runt is a smaller specimen in a group of animals, usually of offspring in a litter.Runt may also refer to:*Runt , a 1970 album by Todd Rundgren, originally credited to the band Runt...
, and often mocked by his peers, who take pride in their size and strength. He does not know of his father, but has heard many great stories about him from his mother and the rest of the colony. He is naïve to the dangerous world around him, where owls rule the skies, and he is dared to look at the sun - which in their world is forbidden - without much idea about the consequences. This starts off a chain of events, which test both his loyalty and strength to the fellow bats.
He is the main protagonist of the series, and saves his colony more than once, and slowly rises in the ranks to become the respected Silverwing he always wanted to be. In 'Firewing', he plays the father role and appears briefly in the main plot until about half way through.
Marina
Marina Brightwing is Shade's closest friend and companion. She is one year younger, but wiser than Shade. Because she has a tracking band, she was banished from her colony and went to live on an island.In the first book, Shade and her meet one night during Shade's migration. Shade goes off track and starts to end up over the ocean. He clings to the sail of a boat and reaches an island. There he is greeted by Marina. She is of great help to him, even if he found her mildly annoying. In the second book, Shade claims Marina as his mate. In Firewing, her role is much more minor compared to the other two books in the series; she briefly appears in the beginning and is only mentioned in the ending.
Her name comes from Marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
, meaning "of the sea".
Goth
A cannibal bat, prince to the Vampyrum spectrum, is deceptive and cunning. He was taken from his home in the jungleJungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
s by humans, and seeks to return home, he and his trusty sidekick Throbb. His carnivorous nature makes him eat many kinds of animals, including birds, enraging the owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s against Shade.
In the first book, Goth and another carnivorous bat, Throbb, are captured by scientists. They escape, meet Shade and Marina, and plot to follow them to the Silverwings' hibernaculum, where they could spend the winter devouring the entire colony. In the end, Goth was badly wounded and Throbb killed by a bolt of lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. The demon-god Cama Zotz healed Goth and made him King of the Vampyrum Spectrum, but Goth was killed when the high priest Voxzaco, dropped a powerful explosive device on the temple in an attempt to sacrifice everyone to resurrect Cama Zotz.
His name comes from the English word Gothic.
Griffin
Shade and Marina's son, and therefore a Silverwing/Brightwing hybrid. He hates the idea that he is nothing like his father, although he knows it. He is a constantly worrying over anything and everything and looks for the worst in any situation.His name comes from griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
, a blend between two animals: an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
and a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
. A fitting name for a hybrid bat (though he doesn't think so).
Silverwings
The Northern Bats have an Elder hierarchy, with one being elected high elder.- Ariel: Shade's mother. Since the loss of her mate, Cassiel, she has become very protective of Shade. At the end of SunwingSunwingSunwing is a popular children's book written in 1999 by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It is the second book in the Silverwing series, preceded by Silverwing and succeeded by Firewing.- Part I :...
, she is elected elderElder (administrative title)The term Elder is used in several different countries and organizations to indicate a position of authority...
.
- Cassiel: Shade's father. He went missing searching for the "secret of the bands", before he was born. He is also banded. Shade eventually found him in the Southern Jungle.
- Mercury: A male; the only one who stays with the females and their young outside of winter. He acts as a messenger amongst the Silverwings, befitting his namesakeMercury (mythology)Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
.
- Chinook: A promising newborn in SilverwingSilverwing (novel)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...
. He looked down on Shade and, at times, didn't seem to notice him. At the end of Sunwing he and Shade become brothers and friends, because his parents died and he was adopted by Ariel.
- Plato and Isis: Chinook's parents who travel with the other Silverwings to the human building at the beginning of Sunwing. They perish in the firestorm in the jungle. Their names come from Ancient Greece and Egypt respectively.
- Greg: an old silverwing.
- Jarod, Osric, Yara, Rasha and Penumbra: Newborns; friends and admirers of Chinook.
- Frieda: An elder of the Silverwing colony who is banded. She is the oldest bat in the colony and thus the wisest. She helps Shade, even though he did something foolish. At the end of Sunwing, she dies at Bridge City. In the Underworld, she meets Griffin, telling him where to find the tree of life, a possible means of escape for him.
- Bathsheba: An elder who seems content the way things are. When Shade breaks the law, she was very vocal about having him turned over to the owls rather than suffer the consequences.
- Lucretia: One of the female elders.
- Aurora: One of the female elders.
- Icarus: A male; he is optimistic about what the bands foretell.
- Luna: A Silverwing newborn, and Griffin's best friend. During Griffin's plan to steal fire from humans, Griffin drops the lit grass on her causing her to burn to death. He meets her in the Underworld, and they fly to the tree together. She comes back to the Upperworld with Griffin.
Vampyrum Spectrum
The Vampyrum Spectrum, unlike the Silverwings, has a monarchyMonarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
. They are carnivore
Carnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
s and eat just about anything smaller than them, including other bats. They worship the Mayan bat god Cama Zotz
Camazotz
In Maya mythology, Camazotz was a bat god. Camazotz means "death bat" in the K'iche' language. In Mesoamerica the bat was associated with night, death, and sacrifice.-Etymology:...
.
- Throbb: A weakling taken from his home in the jungleJungleA Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
, alongside Goth. He lacks courage and is forced to do Goth's bidding. He ends up being turned to ashes by a lightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
bolt while in a thunderheadCumulonimbus cloudCumulonimbus is a towering vertical cloud that is very tall, dense, and involved in thunderstorms and other inclement weather. Cumulonimbus originates from Latin: Cumulus "Heap" and nimbus "rain". It is a result of atmospheric instability. These clouds can form alone, in clusters, or along a cold...
. His ghost serves Cama Zotz in the Underworld by aiding in an attempt to tunnel through to the world of the living.
- Voxzaco: A High Priest that talks to Cama Zotz by eating strange, possibly hallucinogenic, herbs(shrooms). His spine is crooked due to age. He is able to interpret the stone calendarAztec calendarThe Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica....
that serves religious purposes. He commits suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by dropping a bomb that destroys the temple in an attempt to sacrifice 100 hearts to Zotz. In the third book, Zotz reveals that his ghost is suffering eternal torment in his stomach for his failure.
- Phoenix: One of the dead. A female servant of Zotz. Her name is derived from the phoenixPhoenix (mythology)The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
, a legendary bird who rejuvenates itself through an immersion in fire. Failed to be restored with Goth, for Shade kills himself for Griffin when she was meant for Shade's life force. She is to become Goth's mate when she comes to life.
- Murk: A rare benevolent Vampyrum who traveled to the Tree with Shade, Yorick, Nemo, and Java.
Other bats
- Zephyr: An albino bat who lives in a church spire, a central hub for migrating bat colonies. He is very old and has lost his ability to see, but he uses his sonarSonarSonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
with great accuracy. He also can see into the past and future using his ears. He has a vast knowledge of medicinal herbs. His name comes from the Greek god Zephyrus, god of the west wind.
- Scirocco: [Deceased?] A long-eared bat that led a movement among the banded bats, saying they were promised to become humans. It is unknown what happened to him, but most likely he was eaten by Goth and Throbb.
- Penelope: [Deceased?] A banded Brightwing, and one of those who followed Scirocco. It is unknown whether or not she was among those who escaped from Goth and Throbb.
- Caliban: A mastiff batMastiff BatThe name Mastiff Bat is applied to certain species of the bat family Molossidae or so called Free-tailed Bats. It is usually applied specifically to the following genera:* Chaerephon * Eumops...
who leads a survival group living in Statue Haven. The group consisted of bats used by humans to carry fire (bombs) and were led by Shade's father until he was captured by the Vampyrum Spectrum. Statue Haven was based on the statue of Christ the Redeemer statue above a city in Brazil.
Dead bats in Zotz's kingdom
- Yorick: A Silverwing bat who had been dead for roughly 500 years. He always wants his way because he has the map to the Tree. He crashed into a tree and died, which severely damaged his wing and has to suffer the pain.
- Nemo: Is from the coastal waters way down south. He is a fish eater. Has long, sharp claws to catch fish. He has been dead for 452 years.
- Java: A foxwing; even bigger than Goth, Java has a wingspan of 5 feet, though she is a runt like Shade. She is not hostile toward any living thing. She doesn't have the gift of echolocationAcoustic locationAcoustic location is the science of using sound to determine the distance and direction of something. Location can be done actively or passively, and can take place in gases , liquids , and in solids .* Active acoustic location involves the creation of sound in order to produce an echo, which is...
, which Shade doesn't like, but has huge eyes to see with.
Other animals
- Brutus: an owlOwlOwls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
general; he led the burning of Tree Haven after Shade glimpsed the sun.
- Orestes: an owl prince; son of King Boreal. One of those who persuaded the owls to lift their ban on the presence of bats in daylight. Like Shade, he is a runtRuntA runt is a smaller specimen in a group of animals, usually of offspring in a litter.Runt may also refer to:*Runt , a 1970 album by Todd Rundgren, originally credited to the band Runt...
.
- Romulus: King of the Northern ratRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s. At first he is considered a freak because of winglike flaps of skin between his fore and hind legs, which for his part lead him to believe that bats and rats have a common ancestor. When his brother Prince Remus fled he took command.
- Remus: Prince of the Northern rats. He is distrustful of everyone, to the point of paranoiaParanoiaParanoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
. Eventually he scares himself into abdicationAbdicationAbdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...
from the throne. Romulus and RemusRomulus and RemusRomulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
's names come from Roman mythology, as the first founders of RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Tree Haven
A place where newborn bats are raised by their mothers during the spring and summer. The tree haven in SilverwingSilverwing (novel)
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...
is burned to the ground by owls. Later on, a new tree is hollowed out, and becomes the new Tree Haven. This is where Griffin lives, and the creation of it can be read about at the end of Sunwing
Sunwing
Sunwing is a popular children's book written in 1999 by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It is the second book in the Silverwing series, preceded by Silverwing and succeeded by Firewing.- Part I :...
Hibernaculum
A place behind a waterfallWaterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
where Shade's colony goes to hibernate during the winter.
Jungle
A rain forest, most likely in Central AmericaCentral America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. Home to the Vampyrum Spectrum bats and the Pyramid. It's also hosts creatures including large insects, southern owls and other exotic things that northern bats haven't seen.
Statue Haven
A statue of Jesus ChristChrist the Redeemer (statue)
Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is tall, including its pedestal, and wide. It weighs 635 tonnes , and is located at the peak of the Corcovado...
that overlooks Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. The survivors of the explosions from the metal disks
Bat bomb
Bat bombs were bomb-shaped casings with numerous compartments, each containing a Mexican Free-tailed Bat with a small timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute in mid-flight and open to release the bats which would then roost in eaves and...
use this as a safe haven from the Vampyrum.
The Pyramid
Home to the royal order of Vampyrum, Goth's home. It's filled with millions of Vampyrum. It was destroyed when Voxzaco dropped an explosive on it, killing all the Vampyrum.Underworld
A place created by Cama Zotz for his Vampyrum Spectrum. It is beneath the earth and is mostly made up of pictures that occur in bats' minds as a result of conflicting sonal vibration, giving the appearance of images. All bats that die end up there. It is possible, but rare, for a living thing to enter the Underworld; where the denizens will notice a "glow" about them.At the place where Zotz fought and killed his counterpart Nocturna, a great Tree made seemingly of fire grows. Entering it, the bats become as Nocturna has become; an observing intelligence in the natural world.
Great war
The great war between the birds and the beasts happened approximately 65 million years before the story. The batBat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, seeing themselves as being both, but neither, refrained from fighting. At the end of the war, the two warring factions banished the bats. They could not see the sun again because they refrained.
War to bring back the sun
A war between the owlOwl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s and the bats fought 15 years before the Silverwing book. The bats lost. Later, Shade Silverwing and Owl Prince Orestes called for a truce, under which bats were given freedom to move under sunlight for as long as they caused no trouble.