''Sunshine'' is a
fantasy novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...
featuring
vampires written by
Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel ''The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 2022 ...
and published by
Berkley Publishing Group
Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berkl ...
in 2003. ''Sunshine'' won the
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 2004.
Plot summary
The story is set in an
alternate universe, taking place after the "Voodoo Wars", a conflict between humans and the "Others". The Others mainly consist of
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...
s,
werewolves
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
, and
demons, though the main conflict occurs between humans and vampires. As a result of this war, "bad spots", or places where black magic thrives, have appeared more frequently.
Rae "Sunshine" Seddon, the pastry-making heroine of the novel, has the misfortune of being caught off-guard at her family's old lake side cabin and is abducted by a gang of vampires. She is confined to the
ballroom of an abandoned mansion with Constantine, a vampire shackled there by vampires of a rival gang, led by Constantine's enemy Bo. Bo's intention is to allow Constantine to slowly die of hunger and exposure to sunlight. Rae is brought as bait for him, and the vampires cut her upper chest as temptation. However, Rae not only manages to defy the supposed power that any vampire has over a human, but also uses her all-but-forgotten magical powers of transmutation, taught to her by her grandmother, to effect an escape.
Rae realizes that the magical lineage she has ignored allows her to draw power from the sunlight, ergo transferring her ability through touch to Constantine and allowing him to be under the light of day, so long as contact is maintained. Through this
symbiotic relationship
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
, the two of them make an escape.
Despite her best efforts, all does not return to normality once Rae is back home. Her friends and family are shocked by her survival of an encounter with vampires, and over time she both starts to become more affected by the trauma and refuses to tell anyone the circumstances leading to her alliance with a vampire. As it becomes clear that the conflict with Bo and his gang is only beginning, Sunshine begins to embrace her
magical ability, is coerced into working with the "Special Other Forces", wonders what kind of tentative partnership can exist between two individuals whose races are bitter enemies, and, finally, works with Constantine to overthrow Bo for good.
Characters
Rae "Sunshine" Seddon: A young woman who works as the baker at a coffee shop called Charlie's Coffeehouse. Born Raven Blaise. Her father, whom her mother left when Sunshine was small, was part of a powerful magic-wielding family.
Sadie, or Mom: Sunshine's mother. She is married to Charlie and also works at the coffeehouse.
Charlie Seddon: Owner of Charlie's Coffeehouse and Sunshine's stepfather.
Constantine: A vampire held in captivity by the same vampires that captured Sunshine. He is somehow different than the other vampires (exactly how is never revealed in the book, although it is clear it has something to do with his eating habits, as the setup with Sunshine is clearly meant to make him drink from and kill her), but he is able to go out in moonlight which most vampires his age cannot.
Mel: The chef at Charlie's and Sunshine's boyfriend. He has a mysterious past about which much is implied, but nothing explained. He is heavily tattooed with wards, which can be dangerous, and used to be part of a motorcycle gang. He and Sunshine have a comfortable "don't ask-don't tell" policy.
Miss Yolande: Sunshine's landlady who turns out to be a talented wardkeeper.
Beauregard ("Bo"): Sunshine and Constantine's mutual enemy. He is a vampire and Constantine's contemporary, and runs a large gang, which is how he captured Sunshine.
Pat: The SOF ("Special Other Forces" or "Sucker Cops") agent to whom Sunshine is closest (several of them are regulars at the coffeehouse). He's 1/4 demon, but keeps this a secret, as it would cost him his job - but the SOF, it's revealed, is riddled with partbloods.
Aimil: librarian, long-time friend of Sunshine's. It is revealed that she's been part-time with the SOF for 20 months. Also a partblood.
Sequel
McKinley, when addressed about the prospect of a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to ''Sunshine'', answered: "I'd love to write more about Sunshine — I know quite a bit about what happens to her — but it's not up to me. If you want to nag someone, find the mailing address of the Story Council and nag them to send me the sequel."
Instead of a direct sequel, McKinley is planning a novel, tentatively entitled ''Albion'', set in the same universe as ''Sunshine''.
[{{Cite web, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021071120/http://robinmckinleysblog.com/2008/11/08/the-signing-continued , url=http://robinmckinleysblog.com/2008/11/08/the-signing-continued , archive-date=October 21, 2010 , title=The Signing Continued , last=McKinley, first=Robin, date=November 8, 2008, website=Robin McKinley, access-date=March 19, 2016]
References
American fantasy novels
2003 American novels
Novels by Robin McKinley