On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: The Wingfeather Saga Book 1

If a book is able to make you laugh and cry along with the characters, then that is a good book.Also, this is book aimed for younger audiences, like really young, I mean kids, yet I still enjoyed reading it.The first 60 pages or so might seem a little slow, where your getting used to the writing, the world, the characters etc. but it picks up the pace after that.It has its usual fantasy tropes but boy do I enjoy that and I did it in this too.Give it a try, you might be surprised. The author is a musician too, so check out this songs also.

I consider myself well read across fantasy literature, from the greats to lesser known one shots, and across the breadth of whimsy, low and high fantasy. I am also an artist and worldbuilder in this genre myself, so I have high standards.This series of books is one of the best I have ever read.It's a slow start, admittedly; it took almost the entirety of this first volume for it to truly click. The tone is an interesting blend of weird humour and serious adventure, but it does actually manage to straddle both and have the laughs enhance the drama (and vice versa) without compromising either. If it seems like a frivolous adventure at first, stay with it: there is plenty of genuine peril to come.Every trope you encounter is quickly undercut and freshly re-served, the overall narrative travels far across both geography and character change and the people at the heart of it: both heroes and villains - are superbly drawn, genuinely grow and will surprise and delight you.The later books gain momentum and are arguably better, but this first one isnt just a stepping stone to endure but a crucial and critical part in its own right.The last thing I will say is the greatest compliment I can pay any book: I constantly wanted to illustrate it!Highly, highly recommended.

I loved this book! I would recommend this to any child 10-16. It really gripped me with a warm tickle

Excellent story. Great descriptive writing. Witty and quirky world building. Looking forward to where this goes. Have also used the audible version for the middle of this book which is very well done too.

I am indebted to Jonathan Rogers’ excellent review of this book (as featured on The Rabbit Room podcast) in urging me to read it for myself. He makes the point that the world of Aerwiar is no stranger to the reader than our own world is to children. To quote Rogers, “A pearl comes from an irritated oyster? If you say so, but it sounds like you’re pulling my leg.”Leg-pulling is, in fact, the exact sensation I experienced when being introduced to Aerwiar in the first few chapters. It was delightfully far-fetched. I felt like I was listening to an old man, like Podo himself, spinning tall tales. Andrew Peterson’s prose is unorthodox and lyrical, weaving together scenes of courage, beauty, and pathos with cunning humour. I loved it.And here’s the thing: the longer I spent in the Glipwood Township, in the land of Scree, in the world of Aerwiar, the less bizarre it seemed to me. I became so entrenched in the story that everything suddenly belonged. The Igiby children truly could not have inhabited any other world but this one.Whom can I trust? That is a question and a theme that I have encountered over and over again in the realm of children’s fiction. As a reader, I ask this question, too. I was not disappointed by Andrew Peterson’s response to it. He gives us a lifelike hero-child who doubts himself and others, who makes mistakes aplenty, but who is learning to listen to the right voices.My recommendation: read this book with as many little people gathered around you as you can find, in as many different voices as you can muster. I don’t recommend it as an ebook or an audiobook, as the footnotes, maps, and appendices are well worth the investment in paper and must be experienced in all their riotous mirth.I look forward to rereading this book with my boys once they are past toddlerhood. Until then, I am ordering the rest of the saga so that I can rest easy in my mind about the fate of those Igibys.

I read this for a book club (adults) though it is Young Adult category. The story is engaging enough, though there are issues. Nothing tied together until the last few pages, which is frustrating. Still, it’s a fun read, and the theme of sibling unity is a good one.