| Darkwing | |
| Author: | Kenneth Oppel |
| Illustrator: | Keith Thompson |
| Cover Artist: | Christian Alzmann |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | Silverwing |
| Genre: | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Release Date: | August 16, 2007 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages: | 322 pp (first edition) |
| Isbn: | 978-0-00-200744-3 |
| Oclc: | 123127375 |
| Preceded By: | Firewing |
Darkwing (known as Dusk in the United Kingdom) is a 2007 young adult fantasy novel by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It is the prequel and fourth book of the Silverwing series, and takes place 65 million years before the events of the first book. It describes the origins of the war between the birds and the beasts.
Darkwing was first released in Canada and the United States in August 2007. It was shortly followed with its release in the United Kingdom in May 2008. Below is the release details for the first edition hardback and paperback copies in these three publication regions.
Darkwing is a Junior Library Guild book.[1] It was well received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist[2] and Kirkus Reviews.[3]
Booklist
Kirkus Reviews highlighted the novel's "rich sensory details [that] bring to life the Paleocene epoch of 65 million years ago", as well the "lively prose and sheer imagination". Norton expanded on this sentiment, writing that Oppel provides "a wonderful imagining of a pivotal moment in evolution".
Kirkus Reviews and VOYA included Darkwing on their lists of the best books of 2007. It was also a finalist for the 2008 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.[5]