The Last of the Sky Pirates
Encyclopedia
The Last of the Sky Pirates is a children's
fantasy
novel
by Paul Stewart
and Chris Riddell
, first published in 2002. It is the fifth volume of The Edge Chronicles
and the first of the Rook Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the seventh novel, following the Quint Saga and Twig Saga trilogies.
Unlike the previous books in the series, this focuses on Rook Barkwater
and Felix Lodd, but the main character of the first three books, Twig, is present as well. The story is of young Rook as he becomes a librarian knight and is put up against the Guardians of the Night, including Xanth Filantine. The character of Vox Verlix is mentioned, setting up for the sixth book, Vox
.
lives in the network of sewer-chambers beneath Undertown, in which a society of librarians has established itself, secretly opposing the cruel Guardians of Night. Rook, a lowly under-librarian, dreams of becoming a librarian knight—one of the select few to travel into the Deepwoods and gather information which may lead to the discovery of the cure to stone-sickness (an affliction which has destroyed the buoyant rocks, making skysailing impossible). Rook does not expect his dreams ever to come true—his best friend, Felix Lodd, seems a much more likely candidate—but, to everyone's surprise, Rook is chosen to be a knight, along with Stob Lumnus and Magda Burlix.
Rook, Magda and Stob make their way along the Great Mire Road, a shryke-controlled bridge that has been built to traverse the marshy Mire in place of sky ships. While on the way, Rook helps an imprisoned sky pirate, Deadbolt Vulpoon, to escape. Finally, the librarian knights arrive in the Eastern Roost, a large shryke-city. Employing the help of a male shryke, Hekkle, who is friendly to the librarians, the three make their way across the Deepwoods, eventually arriving at the Free Glades.
After arriving there, Rook, Stob and Magda are joined by Xanth Filatine, a disguised Guardian of Night who is secretly channeling information to the Guardians so that they may ambush the librarian knights as they travel. During Rook's studies, he learns to create a skycraft, which is a small, flying one-person vehicle. Xanth breaks his leg in a skycraft accident, and cannot embark upon his treatise-voyage, the journey for which the knights have been studying. Rook also makes a raid on the Foundry Glade, along with Felix Lodd's sister Varis (who saved Rook from slavers when he was very young) and the slaughterer Knuckle
. The purpose of this raid is to free the banderbear slaves that are kept there. During this raid, Rook takes a poisoned arrow to the chest to save a banderbear's life.
Rook embarks on his treatise-voyage. His goal is to find the Great Convocation of Banderbears. Rook befriends a young banderbear named Wumeru, and he follows her, against her will, to the Convocation. The banderbears discover his presence and are about to kill him when the banderbear who Rook saved in the Foundry Glade stands up for him. Rook is then introduced to Twig, the main character from the second Edge Chronicles trilogy, now an old man. Twig reveals that his sky ship, the Skyraider, has not yet succumbed to stone-sickness. Along with a crew of banderbears, the two set out to attack the fortress of the Guardians of Night: the Tower of the same name. Their purpose is to free Cowlquape Pentephraxis
, an old friend of Twig's.
While Twig and the Skyraider keep the Guardians busy, Rook sneaks into the tower on his skycraft and frees Cowlquape. As he is about to fly free, a rope becomes snagged and the skycraft is stuck. Xanth, the traitor, confronts Rook. The two had become good friends during their time together in the Free Glades, a fact that Xanth apparently had not forgotten. Xanth cuts the rope quickly, allowing Rook to fly away safely with Cowlquape.
The Skyraider, meanwhile, had succumbed to stone-sickness, and was slowly dropping over the Edge. Rook and Cowlquape mourn the end of Twig, who had been struck by a crossbow-bolt and had decided to go down with his ship. However, at the last minute, Twig's caterbird, who had sworn to watch over him for always, catches him and flies towards the rejuvenating waters of Riverrise
. Whether they make it in time is left as a cliffhanger.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
fantasy
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Paul Stewart
Paul Stewart (writer)
Paul Stewart is a writer of children's books, best known for the bestselling The Edge Chronicles, the Free Lance novels and the Far Flung Adventures series which are written in collaboration with the illustrator Chris Riddell...
and Chris Riddell
Chris Riddell
Chris Riddell is a British illustrator and occasional writer of children's literature, and a political cartoonist for The Observer. He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize seven times....
, first published in 2002. It is the fifth volume of The Edge Chronicles
The Edge Chronicles
The Edge Chronicles is a young-adult fantasy novel series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. It consists of three trilogies, plus three additional books, and others . Originally published in the United Kingdom, this series has since been published in the United States, Canada and Australia. To...
and the first of the Rook Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the seventh novel, following the Quint Saga and Twig Saga trilogies.
Unlike the previous books in the series, this focuses on Rook Barkwater
Rook Barkwater
Rook Barkwater is a fictional character in the children's book series The Edge Chronicles.-History:Rook is the great-grandson of Cloud Wolf, grandson of Twig Verginix and the great nephew of Tem Barkwater...
and Felix Lodd, but the main character of the first three books, Twig, is present as well. The story is of young Rook as he becomes a librarian knight and is put up against the Guardians of the Night, including Xanth Filantine. The character of Vox Verlix is mentioned, setting up for the sixth book, Vox
Vox (The Edge Chronicles)
Vox is a children's fantasy novel by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, first published in 2003. It is the sixth volume of The Edge Chronicles and the second of the Rook Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the eighth novel, following the Quint Saga and Twig Saga trilogies.-Plot...
.
Plot summary
Rook BarkwaterRook Barkwater
Rook Barkwater is a fictional character in the children's book series The Edge Chronicles.-History:Rook is the great-grandson of Cloud Wolf, grandson of Twig Verginix and the great nephew of Tem Barkwater...
lives in the network of sewer-chambers beneath Undertown, in which a society of librarians has established itself, secretly opposing the cruel Guardians of Night. Rook, a lowly under-librarian, dreams of becoming a librarian knight—one of the select few to travel into the Deepwoods and gather information which may lead to the discovery of the cure to stone-sickness (an affliction which has destroyed the buoyant rocks, making skysailing impossible). Rook does not expect his dreams ever to come true—his best friend, Felix Lodd, seems a much more likely candidate—but, to everyone's surprise, Rook is chosen to be a knight, along with Stob Lumnus and Magda Burlix.
Rook, Magda and Stob make their way along the Great Mire Road, a shryke-controlled bridge that has been built to traverse the marshy Mire in place of sky ships. While on the way, Rook helps an imprisoned sky pirate, Deadbolt Vulpoon, to escape. Finally, the librarian knights arrive in the Eastern Roost, a large shryke-city. Employing the help of a male shryke, Hekkle, who is friendly to the librarians, the three make their way across the Deepwoods, eventually arriving at the Free Glades.
After arriving there, Rook, Stob and Magda are joined by Xanth Filatine, a disguised Guardian of Night who is secretly channeling information to the Guardians so that they may ambush the librarian knights as they travel. During Rook's studies, he learns to create a skycraft, which is a small, flying one-person vehicle. Xanth breaks his leg in a skycraft accident, and cannot embark upon his treatise-voyage, the journey for which the knights have been studying. Rook also makes a raid on the Foundry Glade, along with Felix Lodd's sister Varis (who saved Rook from slavers when he was very young) and the slaughterer Knuckle
Knuckle
The knuckles are the joints of the fingers and toes, which are brought into prominence when the hand is clenched and a fist is made. The word is cognate to similar words in other Germanic languages, such as the Dutch "Knokkel" or German "Knöchel" , i.e., Knöchlein, the diminutive of the German...
. The purpose of this raid is to free the banderbear slaves that are kept there. During this raid, Rook takes a poisoned arrow to the chest to save a banderbear's life.
Rook embarks on his treatise-voyage. His goal is to find the Great Convocation of Banderbears. Rook befriends a young banderbear named Wumeru, and he follows her, against her will, to the Convocation. The banderbears discover his presence and are about to kill him when the banderbear who Rook saved in the Foundry Glade stands up for him. Rook is then introduced to Twig, the main character from the second Edge Chronicles trilogy, now an old man. Twig reveals that his sky ship, the Skyraider, has not yet succumbed to stone-sickness. Along with a crew of banderbears, the two set out to attack the fortress of the Guardians of Night: the Tower of the same name. Their purpose is to free Cowlquape Pentephraxis
Cowlquape
Cowlquape is a fictional character from Paul Stewart's The Edge Chronicles-Midnight Over Sanctaphrax:Cowlquape Pentephraxis was born in the biggest city in the Edge, Undertown. His father, Ulbus Pentephraxis was a leaguesman, and had once tricked a fleet of sky pirate ships...
, an old friend of Twig's.
While Twig and the Skyraider keep the Guardians busy, Rook sneaks into the tower on his skycraft and frees Cowlquape. As he is about to fly free, a rope becomes snagged and the skycraft is stuck. Xanth, the traitor, confronts Rook. The two had become good friends during their time together in the Free Glades, a fact that Xanth apparently had not forgotten. Xanth cuts the rope quickly, allowing Rook to fly away safely with Cowlquape.
The Skyraider, meanwhile, had succumbed to stone-sickness, and was slowly dropping over the Edge. Rook and Cowlquape mourn the end of Twig, who had been struck by a crossbow-bolt and had decided to go down with his ship. However, at the last minute, Twig's caterbird, who had sworn to watch over him for always, catches him and flies towards the rejuvenating waters of Riverrise
Riverrise
Riverrise is a fictional spring from Paul Stewart's The Edge Chronicles.Riverrise is the legendary source of the Edgewater River. The spring is located on a sharp summit of rock at "The black heart of the Deepwoods", and has a sacred garden at the very top. The garden was once home to Kobold the...
. Whether they make it in time is left as a cliffhanger.
Characters
- Rook BarkwaterRook BarkwaterRook Barkwater is a fictional character in the children's book series The Edge Chronicles.-History:Rook is the great-grandson of Cloud Wolf, grandson of Twig Verginix and the great nephew of Tem Barkwater...
- Felix Lodd
- Stob Lumnus
- Magda Burlix
- Deadbolt Vulpoon
- Hekkle
- Xanth Filatine
- Knuckle
- Varis Lodd
- Twig
- Orbix Xaxis