“Hearing Oskar call him and his siblings ‘the stuff of legends’ gave Janner goose bumps, but it also gave him a shiver in his stomach. He had read enough stories to know that legends became so by great suffering and great feats. Janner didn’t want to suffer, and he wasn’t sure he was brave enough or smart enough to accomplish anything legendary. ... [He] shook his head at the wonder of it.” -North! Or Be Eaten, Chapter 28: “O Anyara!”
By Way Of Introducing
Every now and again, my youngest brother Calvin (8) invites me to ‘play outside’ with him. Usually we go for a walk, hunt for skinks, or perform some similar venture requiring nothing but a stick or two and a wealth of imagination. These times are immensely precious and endearing. Long will I treasure in my memory the winding, lilting conversations, or when Calvin breaks into a period of silence with a dreamy statement of “I like our family; don’t you?” We are always building stories together—stories about the neighbors’ horses, about dragonflies meeting the evil wasps in battle. There are many speculations to be made—the smallest llama of the pack that surely has the greatest spitting-range of the lot. And then there are the millions of wee, childlike fantasies beginning with “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” These moments of seeing the world through a child’s eyes and really almost being a child again myself are the moments worth remembering, for they are the moments when God paints his world with the boldest and most beautiful colours of grace and my mind’s eye is free to behold with wonder.
All that digression is to say, if walks with my youngest brother were books, they’d be Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga. As a fan of Andrew Peterson, this comes as a reaffirmation of what I’ve known (and been delighted by) since Track 4 of his Far Country album: Andrew’s little boy heart is most definitely still alive (the song’s name is “Little Boy Heart Alive,” by the way). Everything I’ve come to appreciate and expect of Messr. Peterson—which is quite a bit—was met and surpassed in these books. The language is striking and poetic (no surprise to anyone who’s paid an ounce of attention to his song lyrics), the story is simple enough to be beautiful and complex enough to be engaging (sort of like the Gospel content in his songs), and did I mention? The ‘scope of this man’s imagination seems to know no limits. When it comes to personalities and creatures, you never know what you’ll meet around the next bend in this story (think Narnia meets Milne's Winnie-ther-Pooh). The only thing you know for certain is that you’ve never seen the likes of it before…
Who Is Andrew Peterson?
Andrew Peterson is the author of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Book One in the Wingfeather Saga, and The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats. He’s also the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist of ten albums, including Resurrection Letters II. He and his wife, Jamie, live with their two sons and one daughter in a little house they call The Warren near Nashville, Tennessee. Visit his websites: www.andrew-peterson.com and www.rabbitroom.com
What Is The Story?
Without giving away too much of the plot (hopefully), the general idea of the story is as follows. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (Book 1 of the Saga) tells the tale of Janner Igiby, a young Skreean lad with an imagination which is beginning to stretch past the boundaries of his family’s little cottage in Glipwood. His thirst for adventure and desire to find out more about his past lead Janner, his brother Tink, and his sister Leeli through a series of trials and adventures. Dark Sea culminates with the revelation that they’re not just ordinary children, but the stuff of legends, heirs to a kingdom across the sea.
In North! Or Be Eaten (Book 2), the story continues to center around Janner. The Igiby children quickly discover that being the stuff of legends basically means that ‘most everybody good has forgotten you and ‘most everybody bad wants to kill you. Thus, they are forced to flee Glipwood Town and their childhood world. Their escape brings readers to the very brink of Fingap Falls, over the Stony Mountains, and across the Ice Prairies, while villains galore try to stop the Igibys permanently. Fearsome toothy cows and horned hounds return, along with new dangers: a mad man running a fork factory (woe!), a den of rockroaches, and majestic talking sea dragons (quite possibly the best literary rendering of dragons ever, I think).
Repent! Or Be Eaten (Not Really, But Yeah)
In one sense, North! isn’t obviously written by a Christian. There is nothing overtly Christian or moralizing about the tale. It takes place in another world, and while the family serves ‘the Maker’ there are no references to Christ or God’s Word. At the same time, in another sense, the author is obviously a Christian because the story resounds with the Christian imagination. The themes and movement of the story just make sense to a Christian mind. Yes, the style and plot are creative and exciting, but they’re also familiar because they come from a well of Christian suppositions and Christ-centered thinking.
For instance, in the first book the evil from the broader world has to be brought to light in the semi-idyllic lifestyle of the Igibys. There’s a brilliant scene where Janner is enjoying the happy scene of a festival, until the well-placed remark of an elder opens his eyes to the falseness of this happiness. Janner has grown up happy and content, but only because his eyes have been stopped to the misery and joylessness of the existence of those around him. Once his eyes are opened, he and his family are unable to live in complacency towards the evil around them any longer. This progression is easily related to the Christian life: it’s easy to build a cocoon around ourselves and pretend that there isn’t a war raging over our heads, but sooner or later we must don our armour and step into the battle.
North! Or Be Eaten further explores the nature of that battle. Igiby children leavethe world which they had previously (in Dark Sea) only observed passively as it invaded their cocoon. As they battle the evil in the broader world, they discover more and more the struggle they face to pursue their callings in a Maker-honoring fashion rather than as a means of paying homage to Self. Suddenly, Janner has the responsibility of a legend on his shoulders. At the same time, he’s finding that the responsibility given him long before he discovered his heirship hasn’t gone anywhere, and proves to be the hardest of all to carry. This responsibility is perhaps more legendary than inheriting a kingdom: ‘love one another.’ This is easily understood in the Christian context as well: battling principalities and powers at work within our culture, all the while keenly aware of the battle for our own souls that takes place internally.
Another highly understandable theme is the triumph of good over evil. Darkness is not treated flippantly, but even when it gets awfully dark its conquest is never quite complete. There is also the conflict between hope and despair. Of course, hope reigns strong in a beautiful way, and there are even splashes of humor throughout the darkest of situations.
(Just as a disclaimer, the resounding Christianity throughout the book really is more of the total picture and definitely not restricted to a few specific ideas conjured by my own dubious brain. There are certainly specifics to be ‘logicked’ out of the plot, but I don’t want the idea of the totality of it obscured by my paltry specifics. It really is like being in a fictional place full of strange things one has never seen or heard of before—and yet finding yourself at home. That’s as best as I can describe it.)
By Way Of Concluding
If you haven't read Dark Sea or North!, do. The story is beautiful and engaging, and you'll have tons of fun. You’ll learn about Toothy Cows, Thwaps, Totatoes, the Fangs of Dang, and many other creatures and persons with delightfully odd names. But there’s more—there’s courage and laughter, sorrow and pain, hatred and darkness, and a whole lot of love. In an immensely fun way, North! Or Be Eaten portrays a world painted with the grace of God in wondrously bright colours. The ‘little boy heart alive’ of the story combined with a simple yet intricately-woven Christ-likeness turn a fun, lively fantasy tale into a bright gem of literature that can be understood and appreciated at many levels.
Oh - and be sure to watch those footnotes.
N.B.: Andrew Peterson’s bio, as well as portions of the book synopsis, were given me by the publicist and therefore are not actual inventions of my own. The same goes for the artwork and quote.
Do you know that your writing resembles Andrew Peterson's work? It has the same humorous and beautifully descriptive style to it. I couldn't help but think that while reading "On The Edge of The Dark Sea of Darkness" and then going to your blog. You really should consider writing a book yourself someday...
Nice review. :-) I definitely want to read it! And footnotes, when employed properly, are great. ;-)
I second Dani's post.
Thanks for reviewing. It's a breath of fresh air in a literary world populated by the likes of "Twilight".
I had never heard of these books before, but based on your review, I'm going to look them up at the library. They sound a lot like a C.S. Lewis-type world. What age range are the books intended for?
Calvin (8) really enjoys them, and I think someone as young as five or six would be able to appreciate the storyline, although with some of the slightly darker aspects of the storyline (and by dark I mean, there are big ugly bad guys) someone reading it to a younger child would probably be best. But in spite of the darkness it remains a very simple and light tale, so I think young children would find it engaging even if they're not quite capable of working through a plot on their own yet. (It actually took some of the older kids in our family longer to get into it just because the simple nature of the story (particularly for pre-teen boys) is a bit off-putting, but they're going along with it well now...)
By the way, if anyone's interested, Andrew gives a very thoughtful note to parents here on why he writes, etc: http://wingfeathersaga.com/?page_id=265
You sent me Dark Sea for Christmas, and I count it as one of the most thoughtful and welcome gifts I've ever received. ^.^ And not just because I love to read. You're splendiferous, and I've explored more of Andrew Peterson's music because of it. I'll say for sure, some of those songs just make me fall hard for Jesus all over again.
In my book, anyone is blessed who moves a friend nearer to Jesus. And you count tenfold. ^.^