Sunwing (novel) facts for kids
Sunwing first edition cover.
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| Author | Kenneth Oppel |
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| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Silverwing series |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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August 12, 1999 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 243 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-00-648166-9 |
| OCLC | 41312815 |
| Preceded by | Silverwing |
| Followed by | Firewing |
Sunwing is an exciting adventure book for young readers. It was written in 1999 by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. This book is the second part of the popular Silverwing series. It continues the story after Silverwing and is followed by Firewing.
Contents
Story Overview
Part 1: The Human Building
The story begins in winter. Shade, Marina, and their friends from the Silverwing colony are flying. They hope to find Shade's father, Cassiel. They discover a large human building and fly inside. They think Cassiel might be there.
Inside, they find a huge indoor forest. It is filled with many different kinds of bats. But soon, the Silverwings realize they are trapped. They also learn that Cassiel is not there. Panic spreads when several bats disappear, including Shade's friend, Chinook. Shade and Marina manage to escape through a river that flows through the forest. They find another indoor forest, this one filled with owls.
In the owl dome, Shade and Marina meet Orestes. He is a boreal owl and the son of the owl king. More owls start to disappear. Shade soon discovers that humans are doing experiments on the bats and owls. Shade is surprised to find Goth alive in the same place. Eventually, Shade, Orestes, and Goth are captured by the humans. Marina escapes. The humans shave some fur from Shade. They attach a small metal disc to his belly and a tiny earpiece to his ear. Then, they put him on an airplane flying south. Inside the plane, he finds Chinook. Chinook is confused about the metal discs and earpieces.
Part 2: New Dangers
Marina is holding onto the plane from the outside. But the strong winds throw her off. She then helps Frieda, Ariel, and two other Silverwings escape from the human building. They meet a Graywing colony. They learn that the owls have attacked Hibernaculum, the bats' home. The owls believe Goth and Throbb's bad actions were done by Silverwings.
Hearing this sad news, they decide to find more helpers. They plan to go to Bridge City. This city might be the only safe place left for bats.
Meanwhile, on the plane, Shade and Chinook escape. They see they are near a city next to a huge jungle. Shade realizes this is Goth's homeland. They see that other bats with earpieces are being forced to fly into a target building. Shade is horrified to see that the metal discs explode when the bats reach the building. Shade and Chinook manage to remove their discs. They find a group of bats hiding from Goth's species, the Vampyrum spectrum. Shade learns more about these bats from a weak bat named Ishmael.
Part 3: The Eclipse and the Battle
Goth reaches his home in an ancient Mayan pyramid. He is made king. His priest, Voxzaco, tells him about a prophecy. It says that if 100 hearts are offered to their god Cama Zotz, a coming solar eclipse will last forever. This would let Zotz rule both the Upperworld and Underworld.
Meanwhile, the Silverwings arrive at Bridge City. They hold a meeting to discuss the threats to the bats. Romulus, the king of the Northern rats, agrees to help them. He connects them with Cortez, a Southern rat leader. Cortez can help them travel through waterways to Central America.
Shade rushes to rescue his father, Cassiel. They discover Cassiel is now a prisoner of Goth's clan. On the way, Chinook and the owl prince Orestes are captured by a small group of Vampyrum spectrum. Shade is sad about losing Chinook and Orestes. Then, he sees something burrowing into Statue Haven. He is reunited with his mother, Ariel, and Marina!
Shade, Marina, Ariel, and a group of rats led by General Cortez enter the pyramid. A big battle begins. Shade finds his father. Ishmael bravely sacrifices himself to save his trapped brother. Voxzaco realizes they cannot offer 100 hearts before the short eclipse ends. He decides to use the explosive disc Goth brought. He tries to drop it on the pyramid. As it falls, Shade uses his sound waves to hold it in place. This gives most of the northern bats time to escape. Exhausted, Shade lets it drop. The pyramid is destroyed, and everyone inside is killed.
The northern group wins and returns to Bridge City. They meet with the owl king for a truce. With Orestes' help, King Boreal agrees to let bats fly in daylight. After this, Frieda, the oldest Silverwing, dies peacefully. A new Tree Haven is built. Shade's mother, Ariel, becomes the new elder. Shade gets to know his father. The family adopts Chinook, who became an orphan after the bombing. In the last scene, Marina tells Shade that Chinook asked her to be his mate. She says she refused, wanting to be Shade's mate instead.
Main Characters
Shade - A young Silverwing bat. He is searching for his missing father, Cassiel. Shade faces many dangers, including human experiments and Goth's evil plans. He tries to save his father and other bats from being used in a dark ritual.
Marina - A Brightwing bat with a band on her wing. She is Shade's friend and joins him on his journey. Marina helps Shade escape from the human building and warns their friends. She is brave and helps prevent a war between bats and owls.
Chinook - A Silverwing bat who was once Shade's bully. He joins Shade's search for his father. Chinook is captured by humans and sent south. He survives thanks to Shade but is later taken prisoner by Goth's bats.
Goth - A large, powerful bat from the Vampyrum spectrum species. He survived a lightning strike and seeks revenge on Shade. Goth becomes king of his clan and plans to use an eclipse for eternal night. He is killed when his plan goes wrong.
Orestes - A Boreal owl and a prince. He gets trapped in the human building. Orestes becomes friends with Shade and Marina. He is later captured by Goth's bats but survives. He helps bring peace between the owls and bats.
Frieda - The wise head-elder of the Silverwing colony. She helps Shade search for Cassiel. Frieda escapes the human building and helps rescue Shade. She passes away peacefully from old age in Bridge City.
Ariel - Shade's mother. She is reunited with Shade and wants to find Cassiel. Ariel helps Marina and Frieda rescue Shade from the south. She later becomes the new elder of the Silverwing colony.
Cassiel - Shade's father. He disappeared a year before the story began. Cassiel was captured and experimented on by humans. He is later held prisoner by Goth's clan, meant for a dark ritual.
Ishmael - A Silverwing bat who was also experimented on by humans. He helps Shade free the captured bats but dies saving his brother.
Caliban - A Mastiff bat who leads a group of survivors in the jungle. He helps Shade rescue the captured bats during the eclipse.
Achilles - A Graywing elder. He helps the escaped bats and leads them to Bridge City. He plays a role in preventing a war between bats and owls.
Arcadia - A Hoary elder who believes the human building is a paradise. She refuses to believe Marina when she reveals the truth about the human experiments.
Halo - The head elder of the Freetail colony and of Bridge City. She helps discuss peace between the birds and bats.
Voxzaco - A high priest of Goth's clan. He tells Goth about the prophecy for eternal night. He tries to complete the ritual using an explosive device but fails.
King Boreal - The king of the Northern owls and Orestes' father. He believes his son is lost. Thanks to Shade, peace is made between the owls and bats.
Romulus - The King of the Rats. He helps Marina and Ariel travel to South America to rescue Shade.
