TRIPLE Book Review: Silverwing, Sunwing, Firewing

Well, since I enjoyed Kenneth Oppel's Starclimber, I figured, hey, since he's got some more books published, I may as well read them. So here we go with my first-ever TRIPLE book review.

Silverwing
Sunwing
Firewing
Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Fantasy

Hmm, since there are three books I'm reviewing, I'm going to have to try a different format for this one...

Silverwing:
Summary: Shade is a young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony. But he's determined to prove himself on the long, dangerous winter migration to Hibernaculum, millions of wingbeats to the south. During a fierce storm, he loses the others and soon faces the most incredible journey of his young life. Desperately searching for a way to rejoin his flock, Shade meets a remarkable cast of characters: Marina, a Brightwing bat with a strange metal band on her leg; Zephr, a mystical albino bat with a strange gift; and Goth, a gigantic carnivorous vampire bat. But which ones are friends and which ones are enemies? In this epic story of adventure and suspense, Shade is going to need all the help he can find -- if he hopes to ever see his family again.

Goods- There were plenty of good things to devour throughout this book. The plot had many twists to it, and I was happily blindsided by them here and there. I feel like the author did well to keep the story moving forward at the brisk pace, but creating essential details along the way. The humor levels were perfectly placed so that it was unexpected and fun. The characters were well thought out, and therefore, had depth to them, which made it possible for me to keep reading without being bored to tears. Which would be quite bad as my eyes get red and puffy when I cry, and my nose starts running like mad.
Bads- If you are of the younger audience, you might not want to read this. It gets a squick bloody here and there, and I'm not sure that would be appropriate if you are below the age of 11.
Other- It's very cute at the beginning. That's just how I can describe it as. Cute. A little bat and his family...awww. But as you continue it's not all fuzzy and warm feeling like a Snuggie, which is sad, because I thoroughly enjoy a fuzzy Snuggie to keep my toes warm.
Rating- 4

Sunwing:
Summary: Shade, a young silverwing bat in search of his father, discovers a mysterious Human-made building containing a vast forest. Could his father be there? Home to thousands of bats, the indoor forest is warm as a summer night, teeming with insect food, and free from the tyranny of the deadly owls. But Shade and his friend Marina aren't so sure this is paradise. Shade has seen Humans enter the forest and take away hundreds of sleeping bats for an unknown purpose. And where is Shade's father?

Before long Shade and Marina are on a perilous journey to the far southern jungle, where the vampire bat Goth rules as king of all the cannibal bats. Now Shade must use all his resourcefulness to find his father -- and stop Goth from creating eternal night.

Goods- Plenty of action in this book, and there again was a solid plot with good plot twists. There wasn't as much humor in this book, but this one was more intense than the first. I actually wanted to throw the book across the room at some of the twists, and as odd as this may be, that is actually a very good thing. If there are not parts that I love/hate, then it's not quite as good as if I did love/hate parts of it. The author kept me on my toes (particularly my big toe) and I actually had a lot of times where the twist was so unexpected my toe nearly fell off. The descriptions were excellent, making sure I knew where this main character was, without spending five pages on it.
Bads- Again, a wee bit gory at some parts, especially the parts where the cannibal bats are arriving. So again, if you are below 11, it probably won't settle nicely with you, and your breakfast might just make it's reappearance.
Rating- 4

Firewing:
Summary:

The forest heaves and splits in a terrible quake, and Griffin, a newborn Silverwing bat, is sucked down a fissure deep into the earth. Shade, Griffin's father, soon realizes that his son has been drawn into the Underworld and embarks on the most dangerous of journeys to rescue him. Shade knows he must find Griffin quickly -- legend says that if the living stumble into the land of the dead, they have only a short time before death claims them, too. But something else is hunting Griffin -- a deadly foe Shade hoped he would never see again. Who will find Griffin first?

Goods- Oh ho! Now this was a really intense book. It was a race to find the MC before he got devoured by the evil cannibal bat who actually has selfish motives for everything. I really liked this one in the trilogy, and I'm thinking either this one or Sunwing were the best. There was so much suspense with each chapter, it was mind-boggling. Good descriptions again, and plenty of tiny details to pay attention to. There was one plot twist at the very end that left me saying, "Wait, what now?" With both eyebrows quirked skyward and my nose twitching, I reread that one and wanted to throw the book in a boiling vat of jello, but thankfully restricted myself in time. It was astonishing. I really loved the ending though. It was bittersweet. A character died, but somehow it was bittersweet...how can this be? Well, actually I do know how it can be. One MC gave their life for the other, therefore dying and not being able to return home, while the other was able to reunite with loved ones. Oh, that ending nearly lost me my big toe again.
Bads- A final time, if you are too young for this book, you just might be frightened during some parts. This one was not nearly as gory as the second, but it had its moments.
Rating- 4.2

And there we go! If you didn't feel like reading all of that, to put it shortly, I really loved this series more than Mr. Oppel's Airborn trilogy, and recommend it, but it does seem a tad childish in the first book, so if you make it past that one, I promise the others are not the same.
<3 Sea