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A review by mackle13
Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel
3.0
2.75
I saw this book recommended in a group recently, and it sounded like it could be fun. The fact that it fits an October month challenge, along with the fact that my local library actually had it in the shelves, pushed it up the line a bit.
It was a cute adventure story about a runt silverwing bat who is smart and curious and questions things, when most of his colony goes along with the status quo out of (justified) fear. His biggest adventure happens when, during a storm, he gets separated from his colony and has to find his way home.
As with many stories, he makes friends and foes along the way, and has to deal with various obstacles in his path.
There's also an element of some bats being tagged with bands by humans and released, and a sort of cult that grows up around it. This aspect made me think a bit of the Secret of NIMH.
I thought the author did a good job of anthropomorphilizing the bats enough to make them relatable, but still bat enough to not come across as too cartoony. Shade was a believable character, complete with strengths and flaws, and pretty easy to root for, and Goth was pretty decent for a villain - at least for a kid's book.. My major complaint about him is that he seemed to have a villainous version of Invincible Hero.
(Also, I kind of found the one cult-group of bats more frightening than the actual villains.)
The ending was sweet, but it's definitely a set up for a series. Lots of threads left dangling to be continued on. I'm not really decided if I'll continue, though. I enjoyed it well enough, but it's not one that'll stay with me in the long-term, I don't think. I couldn't really tell you why, it just didn't. *shrugs*
I saw this book recommended in a group recently, and it sounded like it could be fun. The fact that it fits an October month challenge, along with the fact that my local library actually had it in the shelves, pushed it up the line a bit.
It was a cute adventure story about a runt silverwing bat who is smart and curious and questions things, when most of his colony goes along with the status quo out of (justified) fear. His biggest adventure happens when, during a storm, he gets separated from his colony and has to find his way home.
As with many stories, he makes friends and foes along the way, and has to deal with various obstacles in his path.
There's also an element of some bats being tagged with bands by humans and released, and a sort of cult that grows up around it. This aspect made me think a bit of the Secret of NIMH.
I thought the author did a good job of anthropomorphilizing the bats enough to make them relatable, but still bat enough to not come across as too cartoony. Shade was a believable character, complete with strengths and flaws, and pretty easy to root for, and Goth was pretty decent for a villain - at least for a kid's book.. My major complaint about him is that he seemed to have a villainous version of Invincible Hero.
(Also, I kind of found the one cult-group of bats more frightening than the actual villains.)
The ending was sweet, but it's definitely a set up for a series. Lots of threads left dangling to be continued on. I'm not really decided if I'll continue, though. I enjoyed it well enough, but it's not one that'll stay with me in the long-term, I don't think. I couldn't really tell you why, it just didn't. *shrugs*