On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

This is a rich and vivid middle-grade book that I devoured! It has a shanty, yet fairy-tale driven, nostalgic vibe. And it's a high fantasy, but geared more towards kids! The MC is 12, so I can see a lot of middle schoolers really feeling drawn and attached to this book. Yet it doesn't omit the potential to capture older readers like myself (ok...I'm 26, not that old! C'mon!). Peterson is a gifted storyteller who will leave you wanting more. I know I sure do!

I've loved Andrew Peterson's music, and now I'm loving his books! He is a fantastic storyteller! I was immediately pulled into the world of Aerwiar and the story of Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby, who live in the town of Glipwood and are terrorized, along with the rest of the people, by the vicious Fangs of Dang, who have conquered their land for the evil Gnag the Nameless. The Igibys are thrown into a mystery and lots of adventure when they learn that they hold the secret to the lost jewels of Anniera. Suddenly, the Fangs are hunting them in order to kill them, and it will take all their courage to fight for their family to survive.

This was an entertaining read, with a great plot, wonderful characters, and plenty of humor. There were footnotes throughout the book with bits of history or folklore of Aerwiar, and they were hilarious! I loved that the writing didn't take itself too seriously, and I laughed out loud while I was reading quite a bit. But the story isn't compromised at all. Plenty of scary and intense things happen to the characters, and you feel every bit of the suspense. It kept me guessing until the end, wrapped up well, and left me wanting to read the next book (North! Or Be Eaten), which I'm sure I will be reading soon.

And the characters! They were all so well-written! I loved Janner and Tink and Leeli, and their sibling relationship was wonderful. They went through typical sibling struggles, but they loved and cared for each other so well. Their whole family did. I think this book did a beautiful job of showing the importance of family and how powerful it is when a family stands together. The side characters were lots of fun too- Nia, Podo, Oskar N. Reteep, Peet the Sock Man, Nugget, etc. The villains were quite villainous indeed, especially Slarb the Fang and General Khrak.

There were lessons about humility, responsibility, sacrifice, family, courage, and trusting the Maker in all things. I loved every minute of it. Well done, Mr. Peterson. I'll be reading this one again.

It's great when a book exceeds your expectations – especially when the expectations are pretty healthy to begin with. I knew Andrew Peterson could tell a story well – the best of his songs are stories. So I expected a nice little fantasy story for kids, well constructed, good imagery, and so on. I got more than that with The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.

It is a pretty straightforward kids fantasy – three child protagonists, a quaint little village, some colorful characters, nasty villains (an occupying force of humanoid lizards that eat maggots and mucous) , dragons and other strange creatures, and missing treasure. There's excitement, danger, a strong family bond, and well-rounded characters. All that's good enough.

But you take all the above and tell it with the the sensibilities of a hodgepodge of C. S. Lewis, Douglas Adams, and Neil Gaiman. There's a strong sense of play here – in the language, characters, and style. Peterson's whimsy carries this story. A few examples: the scariest creature in the world is a cow, one heroic figure wears socks on his hands, there's a running joke about rashes that speak to the inner twelve year-old in everyone.

It's these sensibilities that elevate this from a standard read, into something more – fun, daring and at times delightful, that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.