Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Yi Fan's Swordbird or Sword Quest.
Swordbird Parodies
Introduction
You may or may not have heard about these books. They've been on the New York's Bestseller list for a few weeks, yet I haven't seen a single Fanfic of them on the site. The books are Swordbird and Sword Quest, two books in a series written by Nancy Yi Fan.
Why are these books remarkable? The author, Fan, wrote Swordbird when she was twelve years old. Twelve years old. Can you imagine writing a full length fantasy novel at twelve years old?
The second book, Sword Quest, was written after Swordbird, when Fan was fourteen. However, the book is technically a prequel to Swordbird.
So what are Swordbird and Sword Quest about? The titles say it all. Swordbird is set in a fantasy forest, where birds, namely blue-jays, cardinals, robins, and other songbirds, once lived in peace and harmony. However, an evil hawk lord has moved into the forest with his army of crows and ravens, and has begun construction on a massive fortress. The hawk lord, Lord Turnatt, seeks to take over the entire forest and enslave the blue-jays and cardinals.
Here is where the swords come in.
There are two native tribes of birds in the forest. The Bluewingle tribe consists of blue-jays, while the Sunrise tribe consists of cardinals. In order to easily take over the forest, Turnatt goes on a series of raids, plundering the two tribes of food stores and eggs, while leaving the evidence to look like the opposing tribe committed the crime. The plan works, and the two tribes, once close, begin fighting each other, ignoring Turnatt and his fortress.
I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who wants to read the book, so I'll keep this synopsis short. A blue-jay named Aska finds out about the fortress and returns to her tribe to warn them about Turnatt. However, Turnatt's army is too powerful for even the combined forces of the Sunrise and Bluewingle tribes. The only chance in defeating him lies in summoning the Swordbird, a mythical hero that is the namesake of the book. To summon him, Aska and her new robin friend Miltin must travel to Miltin's tribe, the Waterthorn tribe, because they have a Leasorn gem, a gem that is required to summon the Swordbird. After a trip through the mountains and back, Aska returns with the gem in time for the final battle…
Sword Quest, the prequel to Swordbird, delves further into the history of the Swordbird world, and explains how the Swordbird came to be. I'll explain Sword Quest later, when (or if) I write "Sword Quest Parodies".
Well, I believe this should suffice as a good introduction. Now, let's take a look at some of the parodies of Nancy Yi Fan's Swordbird, shall we?