Silverwing

A little tiny bat embarks on a great big quest in this first book of what promises to be a well written trilogy. Oppel presents just enough mystery to make you want to continue the series and along the way he tackles issues of identity, oppression, friendship, and resolve with just a hint of the supernatural in the form of a religious schism between militant jungle bats and more pacifist northern bats. But it's the owls who get the worst rep. Geared towards the primary school crowd despite some gory passages (the jungle bats are meat-eating cannibals) yet the story is complex enough to entertain older readers who just want to take a break from heavier adult fare.

I know this is a juvenile book, but I loved it. I was sucked into the imaginatively created viewpoint of a bat, and especially loved the way they transmit memories and navigation sound-pictures. The interactions were so intriguing I had to keep reminding myself that Oppel was not writing about real bats.

Bats are my favourite animal, so it was no surprise that I devoured this book with glee. Shade is an excellent protagonist, Goth is a terrifying villain and the novel's complex mystery will thoroughly engage you. Read this if you like bats, mythology, the environment, epic fantasy, mystery or anthropomorphic fiction.
What I found particularly clever was the characters' names, all of which corresponded with the characters' personalities. See for yourself if you can guess the origins of each characters' names!
Probably my favourite character of all was Zephyr, an albino bat who can 'hear' echoes of the future.
Opell writes the novel through a bats-eye view: no colour is mentioned in the book apart from monochromatic ones (bats cannot see show more colour), echoes are used in many inventive ways throughout the series and popular legends about bats from all over the world are changed to suit the bats' universe.
READ IT! show less

This is a cute and appealing story about a brave young bat. Shade is a runt - bullied by his peers and very lucky to have survived his early days. However, he has a stubborn determination and courage that refuses to relent. He also is a little too curious for his own good. When, in an attempt to impress his fellow newborns, he impulsively decides to see the sun, it brings destruction and much danger down upon his community. The bats have been engaged in a centuries long way between the birds and the beasts, a war in which they refused to take sides and were banished from the day. Now, even the night has become deadly to them. When he is separated from his flock, Shade makes some unlikely allegiances - first with the brightwing, Marina show more and then with the fearsome tropical bats, Goth and Throbb. Danger, betrayal and the bitter bite of winter threaten him at every turn.

Oppel has captured the world of the bats in exquisite detail and great thought. His tale is limited (mostly, there is one mention of "yellow") to their monochromatic world where sound is important a sense as sight and being part of the colony is of great importance. He shows a strong understanding of animal behavior, and whilst his bats (and other animals) do behave in somewhat a humanized manner (the owls have fire, for example), it was never enough to bug me. He has created a charming fantasy world and I look forward to exploring it further. show less

You need to read this book. Really. Go out and buy it, or borrow it from the library, or steal it from a small child, or SOMETHING. It's fantastic. Kenneth Oppel builds a complex and believable world for his bats, who come across as sympathetic characters. I had such a good time with this book that I've actively encouraged all my friends to read it and have actually purchased it as a gift a couple of times.

Kenneth Oppel does for bats in the novel, Silverwing, what Richard Adams did for rabbits in Watership Down – he makes a creature's world into a humanized culture, complete with religious beliefs and traditions and forces of evil to be fought against. The main character, a newborn Silverwing bat named Shade, overcomes being blown off course in his colony's migration only to be captured and used by a jungle vampire bat which has escaped from captivity in the Northern hemisphere where Silverwings live. The fantasy is compelling and the characters appealing to young people, particularly Shade who frequently makes mistakes, yet presses forward with his strong beliefs. An award winner many times over, this should be in every elementary library.

This is fast-paced adventure story. Shade, a young bat is caught in a storm and is left behind by his colony during this first winter migration. The world of the bats is full of laws and customs, and danger - Shade meets friends and enemies, mystics and madmen on his journey to rejoin the colony.
This is a lovely blend of fantasy and animal adventure. While there is no magic used, the different senses give the bats a world view and a credible mythology that seems magical to a human reader. I especially enjoyed the different religious beliefs and mythologies that different types of bats developed, and the variety of reactions to human's banding of bats.

There's plenty of scope for spinning off into non-fiction, looking up the interesting show more details about bats that surface in the books - but not for a moment did research reach out and hit me on the head. There wasn't a didactic moment in the entire story.

I would recommend this to reader who like fantasy and adventure stories, especially to kids who don't like typical fantasy stories. show less