On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness - The Wingfeather Saga Book One.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness – The Wingfeather Saga Book One
Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. And the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree.
By Andrew Peterson
Published at Waterbrook

About the book
Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog Nugget. Janner Igiby, his brother Tink, their crippled sister Leeli are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice and pursue the Igibys who hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.

Andrew Peterson spins a quirky and riveting tale of the Igibys’ extraordinary journey from Glipwood’s Dragon Day Festival and a secret hidden in the Books and Crannies Bookstore, past the terrifying Black Carriage, clutches of the horned hounds and loathsome toothy cows surrounding AnkleJelly Manor, through the Glipwood Forest and mysterious treehouse of Peet the Sock Man (known for a little softshoe and wearing tattered socks on his hands and arms), to the very edge of the Ice Prairies.

Full of characters rich in heart, smarts, and courage, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness presents a world of wonder and a tale children of all ages will cherish, families can read aloud, and readers’ groups are sure to discuss for its layers of meaning about life’s true treasure and tangle of the beautiful and horrible, temporal and eternal, and good and bad.

Who is Andrew Peterson?
Andrew Peterson is the author of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness 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 The Warren near Nashville, Tennessee. Visit Andrew’s websites: http://www.andrew-peterson.com/ and http://www.rabbitroom.com/.

My thoughts
I received the opportunity of reviewing this book when I got the invitation from Waterbrook to review Book Two of the Wingfeaters Saga. When I answered the invitation, I asked if it would be possible to get book one as well since I never read it. I told them I would review book one as well. Well when I received my book two (which by the way will be reviewed at the blog tour on Aug 17 – 21st, 2009), I had the surprise to see that the publisher included book one as well. Oh joy! I couldn’t wait to start my reading.

I just love it when I read a book and it captures my imagination. This book is a jewel in itself… It drawn me to the characters – the good and the bad ones – and it made me want to know more of what will happen. Toothy Cows, Fang of Dang and Horned Hounds seem to be hideous creatures. Actually, in the book we already have a representation of the Toothy Cows… I wouldn’t want to be face to face with one of those believe me. The Fangs represent evil in the land of Skree.

There is also a quest of jewels coming from Anniera. Where are the jewels? The Igiby children are thrown in a series of adventures that will keep you on edge. Their grand-father is a pirate – oh I see my boys liking this book already since they are so much into piracy things…! You experience the Dragons Day with the visit of the Sea Dragons. You will explore the Anklejelly Manor, get lost in a bookstore, visit the tree house of Peet the Sock Man, and cook a maggotloaf with Nia – the mother of the Igiby children.

Andrew Peterson is full of creativity and helps the reader to visualize the various characters and places written about in the book. This is a strength I consider important when you write a juvenile fiction because the kids need to “see” what they read.

What is also interesting in the book is that every once in a while there are footnotes at the bottom of the pages giving various information about history or some reference books… I was especially curious about the Creaturepedia written by Penbrick. Inside the book, you also have an example of a page from the Creaturepedia – meet the Toothy Cow. Ouch! And honestly it made me dream of having such a book in my hands to explore the world, creatures and characters of the Wingfeather Saga. That would be an interesting idea I think. But I would wait until the whole saga is written before publishing such a book.

The way it is written makes me think of the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia – The Magician’s Nephew. You get transported in a world where anything could happen and any creatures can live. The cover of On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is quite interesting as well. I find it a good representation of an old leather book which was written a long time ago to tell the magnificent story of… wait I won’t say more because I might slip the punch of the story.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see this saga be put on the big screen – either with real actors or 3-D cartoons. The book is packed with adventure and it’s only the first book of a series. I can’t wait to read Book Two and tell you what I think about it. I am expecting more adventures and hope to discover new creatures along the way.

I homeschool my kids and I am planning to read the saga to them this year. Oh! And The Wingfeather Saga now have a website… Check it out! You will find more creatures drawn from the Creaturepedia. And the books are also available on an ebook format or audio CD if you are interested.

On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is available everywhere even on amazon.ca and indigo.ca.