Swordbird
Encyclopedia
Swordbird is a children's
fantasy novel written by Nancy Yi Fan. A prequel, Sword Quest
, was released January 22, 2008. A sequel, Sword Mountain, based on Sword Mountain, home of an eagle tribe mentioned in Sword Quest
, is to be published in early 2012.
and lord of Fortress Glooming, watching the construction of his fortress. Farther in the forest of Stone-Run are two tribe
s: the Bluewingle tribe of the blue jays and the Sunrise tribe of the cardinals, which are at war with each other, each accusing the other of stealing their eggs
and food, not knowing that this is actually the work of Turnatt.
A member of the Bluewingle tribe, a female blue jay
named Aska, meets a robin
named Miltin, a slave at Fortress Glooming , who warns her of Turnatt. Aska leaves and tells the two tribes of Turnatt.
The groups make amends in time for the Bright Moon Festival, during which the Flying Willowleaf Theater arrive and help celebrate by telling the legend of Swordbird, a giant dove-like bird of peace with magical powers. The celebration is cut short when a group of Turnatt's soldiers attack, attempting to capture and enslave the two tribes and the members of the Flying Willowleaf Theater.
The tribes manage to defeat the soldiers and decide to summon Swordbird, thinking that he is the only one with the power to defeat Turnatt, using his Leasorn Sword. The only problem is that Swordbird can only be summoned by a song and one of the Leasorn Gems, which are said to be crystallized tears of the Great Spirit. There are only seven Leasorn Gems in the world, with an eighth one in Swordbird's blade. All hope seems lost until a recently-escaped Miltin tells them that his tribe has one of the Leasorn Gems.
The tribes decide to send Aska and Miltin over the White Cap Mountains to reach Miltin's home, the Waterthorn tribe.
While Miltin and Aska are away, Turnatt sends his crow spy, Shadow, to destroy the two villages. Shadow and his group manage to set the Bluewingle tribe's home ablaze. The Bluewingle tribe take refuge with the Sunrise tribe. Shadow and his group attempt to light the Sunrise village on fire too, but are attacked by the tribe members and scattered.
At the White Cap Mountains Aska and Miltin are attacked by a group of Slarkills and Miltin is mortally wounded and slowly dying. The two make it to the Waterthorn tribe where Miltin dies and Aska convinces the tribe to aid her tribes against Turnatt. The Winterhorn tribe arrives in time to help the Sunrise and Bluewingle tribes and the members of the Flying Willowleaf Theater in their battle against Turnatt and his attacking army.
Aska manages to summon Swordbird, who quickly kills Turnatt. With their leader dead, Turnatt's army leave and the birds of Stone-Run release all those enslaved in Fortress Glooming. Two years later, Aska is married to Cody, an old friend of hers, the Sunrise and Bluewingle tribe have formed together as the Stone-Run Forest tribe, and Fortress Glooming has been made into the Stone-Run Library. The story ends with Cody and Aska visiting the grave of Miltin and leaving one of Swordbird's feathers.
The book has received mostly positive reviews. People magazine saying "Would be a standout even if it wasn't written by a 12-year-old." JaneFriedman, President, CEO of HarperCollins said "Swordbird has an old-fashioned sense of values, which is what a lot of the great writers have." And Mary Ann Fraser, of The Book Sense National Bestseller List said "Nancy Yi Fan introduces us to a bird world of discord, inhabited by warring cardinals and blue jays and accompanied by her own detailed line drawings (which were in fact drawn by Mark Zug
). The goal is peace and freedom, and the vehicle is courage and friendship. A delightful debut!" However some critics pointed out lack of originality, a plot straight out of the Redwall
series, stiff, hollow, and bland characters, and a villain that is annoying, rather than evil. Still others have complained about inaccuracies (e.g. the book claims cardinals are larger and stockier than blue jays, while blue jays are actually substantially bigger than cardinals,) and the fact that the hawk villain was male as well as being big and strong, while it's more likely that a female hawk, being larger, would qualify more easily as a villain.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
fantasy novel written by Nancy Yi Fan. A prequel, Sword Quest
Sword Quest
Sword Quest is a 2008 children's adventure novel by Nancy Yi Fan. It is a prequel to Swordbird which was published in February 2007.-Plot:There is war in the kingdom of birds, which was started by the prehistoric birds known as the archaeopteryxes...
, was released January 22, 2008. A sequel, Sword Mountain, based on Sword Mountain, home of an eagle tribe mentioned in Sword Quest
Sword Quest
Sword Quest is a 2008 children's adventure novel by Nancy Yi Fan. It is a prequel to Swordbird which was published in February 2007.-Plot:There is war in the kingdom of birds, which was started by the prehistoric birds known as the archaeopteryxes...
, is to be published in early 2012.
Plot
The story begins with Turnatt, an evil tyrant hawkHawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
and lord of Fortress Glooming, watching the construction of his fortress. Farther in the forest of Stone-Run are two tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s: the Bluewingle tribe of the blue jays and the Sunrise tribe of the cardinals, which are at war with each other, each accusing the other of stealing their eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
and food, not knowing that this is actually the work of Turnatt.
A member of the Bluewingle tribe, a female blue jay
Blue Jay
The Blue Jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common near and in...
named Aska, meets a robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
named Miltin, a slave at Fortress Glooming , who warns her of Turnatt. Aska leaves and tells the two tribes of Turnatt.
The groups make amends in time for the Bright Moon Festival, during which the Flying Willowleaf Theater arrive and help celebrate by telling the legend of Swordbird, a giant dove-like bird of peace with magical powers. The celebration is cut short when a group of Turnatt's soldiers attack, attempting to capture and enslave the two tribes and the members of the Flying Willowleaf Theater.
The tribes manage to defeat the soldiers and decide to summon Swordbird, thinking that he is the only one with the power to defeat Turnatt, using his Leasorn Sword. The only problem is that Swordbird can only be summoned by a song and one of the Leasorn Gems, which are said to be crystallized tears of the Great Spirit. There are only seven Leasorn Gems in the world, with an eighth one in Swordbird's blade. All hope seems lost until a recently-escaped Miltin tells them that his tribe has one of the Leasorn Gems.
The tribes decide to send Aska and Miltin over the White Cap Mountains to reach Miltin's home, the Waterthorn tribe.
While Miltin and Aska are away, Turnatt sends his crow spy, Shadow, to destroy the two villages. Shadow and his group manage to set the Bluewingle tribe's home ablaze. The Bluewingle tribe take refuge with the Sunrise tribe. Shadow and his group attempt to light the Sunrise village on fire too, but are attacked by the tribe members and scattered.
At the White Cap Mountains Aska and Miltin are attacked by a group of Slarkills and Miltin is mortally wounded and slowly dying. The two make it to the Waterthorn tribe where Miltin dies and Aska convinces the tribe to aid her tribes against Turnatt. The Winterhorn tribe arrives in time to help the Sunrise and Bluewingle tribes and the members of the Flying Willowleaf Theater in their battle against Turnatt and his attacking army.
Aska manages to summon Swordbird, who quickly kills Turnatt. With their leader dead, Turnatt's army leave and the birds of Stone-Run release all those enslaved in Fortress Glooming. Two years later, Aska is married to Cody, an old friend of hers, the Sunrise and Bluewingle tribe have formed together as the Stone-Run Forest tribe, and Fortress Glooming has been made into the Stone-Run Library. The story ends with Cody and Aska visiting the grave of Miltin and leaving one of Swordbird's feathers.
Awards and Reviews
Swordbird, a New York Times bestseller, was nominated for the Book Sense Children's Picks List for Spring 2007.The book has received mostly positive reviews. People magazine saying "Would be a standout even if it wasn't written by a 12-year-old." JaneFriedman, President, CEO of HarperCollins said "Swordbird has an old-fashioned sense of values, which is what a lot of the great writers have." And Mary Ann Fraser, of The Book Sense National Bestseller List said "Nancy Yi Fan introduces us to a bird world of discord, inhabited by warring cardinals and blue jays and accompanied by her own detailed line drawings (which were in fact drawn by Mark Zug
Mark Zug
Mark Zug is an artist and illustrator who is known for his work with the Septimus Heap series and Harlan Ellison's adaption of I, Robot. He has illustrated many collectible card games, including Magic: The Gathering and Dune, as well as books and magazines. He lives in Pennsylvania.- Biography...
). The goal is peace and freedom, and the vehicle is courage and friendship. A delightful debut!" However some critics pointed out lack of originality, a plot straight out of the Redwall
Redwall
Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
series, stiff, hollow, and bland characters, and a villain that is annoying, rather than evil. Still others have complained about inaccuracies (e.g. the book claims cardinals are larger and stockier than blue jays, while blue jays are actually substantially bigger than cardinals,) and the fact that the hawk villain was male as well as being big and strong, while it's more likely that a female hawk, being larger, would qualify more easily as a villain.