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From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—The story of Darkwing is set 65 million years ago, during the early Paleocene era just years after the enormous C-T dieback event. Dusk and his family are chiropters, small arboreal mammals that glide and feed on insects. Changes are coming to their world, and not the least of them are Dusk's abilities of flight and echolocation. Although his family stands by him, most of the colony is very uncomfortable with his flying, fearing reprisal from the birds that live above them in the trees. All concerns about Dusk's oddities or their avian neighbors are swept aside when an outcast prowl of felids, led by the bloodthirsty Carnassial, attack the colony and Dusk's special abilities help to guide his fellows and keep them safe. During their search for a new home, his quick wits are all that stand between the colony and disaster. In their quest, the chiropters encounter deadly predators, from saurian holdouts to shrewlike soricids with poisonous saliva. Betrayals from both within the colony and without add to the excitement in this adventure. Readers will feel for Dusk as he decides repeatedly not to abandon his colony, despite their treatment of him. In Darkwing, Oppel offers a celebration of difference in addition to a wonderful imagining of a pivotal moment in evolution. An author's note highlights some of the actual fossil species that appear. One cautionary note—the descriptions of animals eating each other may be disturbing to sensitive readers.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* In his Silverwing series Oppel spun a contemporary fantasy about the world of bats. In this ambitious new stand-alone fantasy, he turns the clock back 65 million years to imagine the world of the bats' earliest ancestors, which he calls "chiropters." These tree-dwelling creatures are flightless, using their wings (which they call "sails") to glide through the air, from tree to tree. Only Dusk, youngest son of the colony's leader, has made an evolutionary leap; not only can he fly, he can also see at night, using echo vision. Predictably, the others regard him as a mutant to be shunned—all but his father, who wisely considers his son's differences as gifts. Dusk's real nemesis, however, is a beast (a "felid") called Carnassial, who is the first of his kind to be carnivorous and, like Dusk, is shunned by his own. Clearly the world is poised on the brink of remarkable change, and the future belongs to these two. Oppel writes with keen insight and empathy about the condition of being "other" in the context of a richly plotted, fast-paced story that—though sometimes too heavily anthropomorphized—is captivating reading from beginning to end. Cart, Michael
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Superior to Firewing, brings the Silverwing Saga back to its former glory,
By
This review is from: Darkwing (Hardcover)
Darkwing is the latest novel in Kenneth Oppel's Silverwing saga, and serves as a prequel which tells the story of the very first bat.A definite formula is beginning to emerge in the Silverwing series; there are some concepts used here that will be familiar to people who've read Silverwing, Sunwing and Firewing. We've got the ostracized protagonist (Shade/Griffin/Dusk) who differs from the others (Runt/Hybrid/Transitional Form), his spunky female companion (Marina/Luna/Sylph), and the cunning, ruthless, meat-thirsty villain (Goth/Carnassial). Carnassial's attack against the Chiropters parallels the Owls' attack on Tree Haeven in Silverwing, the Chiropters' search for a new home parallels the Silverwings' migration to Stone Hold. However, these are merely casual similarities. Despite its somewhat derivative nature, Darkwing holds up pretty well. Silverwing is a great book in general, and serves well as a start to the series- Sunwing continued from where Silverwing left off and tied up the loose plot threads into a neat little package. Firewing, OTOH, was rather superfluous, continuing a story that didn't need to be continued. Darkwing, however, doesn't simply pick up where the others left off, it fleshes out the series' background and expands the Silverwing mythos, while at the same time, standing on its own; one doesn't *need* to have read the other books to enjoy Darkwing. Darkwing also succeds in other areas. The characters are interesting and engaging, and well developed. Dusk's parallels to Carnassial form a satisfying contrast. Carnassial remains a serious threat throughout the duration of the story, (unlike Goth, who degenerated into a frustratingly inept fool in Firewing.) An interesting moral dillemma is presented in the Chiropters' refusal to participate in the genocide of the dinosaurs. It's technically well written and the plot is tight and moves along at a swift and engaging pace; not once did I feel as though the story lagged, or felt the need to skim over any parts. The prehistoric setting is a breath of fresh air. The Cenozoic is an age full of weird and interesting critters that are ripe with potential that is rarely exploited. Whereas the addition of non-bat animal characters in the Silverwing cartoon was extremely detrimental, in the case of Darkwing it helps to enhance the setting. There are also a few sporadic illustrations in the book, usually at the beginnings of each chapter. They're very nice, stylised pencil drawings, and help to enhance the overall reading experience. All-up, Darkwing is a good book that brings the Silverwing Saga back into form. On par with Silverwing and Sunwing, and *much* better than Firewing. Highly reccomended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who knew bats could be so charming!,
By Crazy about books! (St. Albert, AB) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Darkwing (Hardcover)
Both my sixteen-year-old daughter and I read Darkwing and we loved it! It is a wonderful expansion of the Silverwing saga. Kenneth Oppel has created another world through the eyes of bats and this fantasy has a marvellous twist on the history of the creatures. We really were rooting for the misfit Dusk and his spunky sister Sylph as they journeyed through many treacherous places during their search for a new home. It kept us captivated as they fought off one danger after another. I had to wrestle the book away from my son in order to read it and I am very glad I did. We would recommend it to people of all ages!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Prequel,
By
This review is from: Darkwing (Paperback)
This book can either be seen as a first book in a new series or as the 4th in an old series, written as a prequel. If it is a prequel it might be a record-breaker for time span. For Darkwing is a book set 65 million years ago. It is the story of a bat named Dusk, who does not know that he is a bat. He was born of a species named chriopter, and son of the Colony's leader Icaron. However Dusk is different - his sails(wings) are furless, his coloring is darker, and he is stronger in the shoulders and chest than other chriopters.The story is set in the animal world in a time when the dinosaurs were in the process of dying off, and most other species were becoming overpopulated. Thus, nature, in an attempt to balance the ecosystem, was allowing to emerge, new breads of predators. Oppel writes amazing books, as is evident by his numerous awards and nominations. His accolades include over a million copies of the Silverwing trilogy, The Governor General's Award, a Michael L. Printz Honor book, and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award and many others. He has accumulated book awards both at home in Canada and across the pond in the UK. In Oppel's writings, he crafts his words and draws you into the world in ways you have never seen or imagined. Silverwing, written from a bat's perspective, is written without using any color - all the descriptions are in black, white, silvers and grays, as seen from the bat's perspective. In the same way, this book told from multiple first person perspectives, helps you see a prehistoric world from the animal's eye, whether it is the bat or Miacas. In this book we follow Dusk and his colony as they try to find a new home in the world, after being driven from their family tree by Carnassial, who was driven from his pride for becoming a carnivore and is the leader of a smaller pride. Both Dusk and Carnassial must come to realize that the world is not as it was, and is changing fast. They must each come to grips with their differences, and help their families find their new place in the world. The story is very well written, and will compel you to keep reading. As you turn the pages quicker and quicker, you will realize that as things in the world that long ago were racing towards change, you also will find yourself racing for the end of the book. This book can either be seen as a prequel to the Silverwing trilogy, or as this reviewer hopes, the first in a new series about the bats from long ago. Either way Darkwing is a book to be enjoyed again and again. (First Published in Imprint as 'Imprint's Reading' 2007-09-14)
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