Janner stared at the lantern flame, his mind overwhelmed with information. It was hard to believe that beyond the walls of this dark burrow existed a world like the one Oskar described, a world of kings and powerful stones and dark enemies. It was even harder to believe that Janner was tangled up in that world like a dragonfly in twine. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to climb the ladder and breathe the fresh air, Fangs or no. (p. 131)
In an underground burrow that serves as a hiding place for outlaws in a rundown town, neglected by the elite and left to the “ghastly Fangs of Dang,” author Andrew Peterson recreates Plato’s Cave Allegory: by the light of the fire, while reading of the First Kingdom in the First Book, Janner Igiby and Oskar N. Reteep discover the world is wilder and wider and deeper than they’d ever known.
That, I’ve argued before, is what great literature does, and that’s what Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga does, and the second volume of that trilogy – North! Or Be Eaten, now available for purchase – even more than the first book. The conversation that ensues from this moment is an argument between a man who’s had adventure and has grown cynical, and another who believes in stories and knows it’s better to be free and suffering and living a legendary story than comfortable in a land ruled by evil.
Peterson invokes the fairy tale philosophy of Chesterton when Janner asks his mother why Leeli’s song gives him visions. “Is it magic?” he asks. [click to continue…]
Last year, I wrote and podcasted on Andrew Peterson’s debut novel, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. If you didn’t take my recommendation and buy it then, then you are probably in danger of being gorged by a toothy cow of Skree. (Which means nothing to you if you haven’t read it, but trust me – it’s really bad.)
I’ve just completed a second read-through of the first book (via audiobook, which is available for a mere $3.95 at iTunes, is beautifully read, and I know you’ll enjoy). And I’m presently working through the second book of the Wingfeather Saga, which is available for purchase today: North! Or Be Eaten: Wild Escapes. A Desperate Journey. And the Ghastly Fangs of Dang. I like it even better than the first so far.
Below are some endorsements from smart literary type people. My own review will be posted here on Friday. [click to continue…]
What’s the first book you’ve finished or will finish in 2009?
I just finished Paradise Lost, by John Milton, as read by Nadia May.
As far as actual eyes-on-print goes, I’ll probably finished The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit before anything else.
I usually don’t make out much of a reading plan, because books I wasn’t planning on reading tend to find their way to the top of my list. But here are a few I know I’ll be working through in 2009:
- Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis. It’s literally a character flaw in me that I have not read this yet. That will be remedied as soon as I’m done with The Enchanted Castle.
- North! Or Be Eaten, Andrew Peterson. The first book in the series was fantastic, and I’m looking forward to the next with much anticipation.
- Harry Potter’s Bookshelf, John Granger. I’ve been waiting for this one since I knew it was in the works years ago.
- As much of The Complete Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge as I can get through.
- The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffery Chaucer. I loved these stories back in high school, and this is a new, unabridged translation.
- The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is the third book of the Earthsea cycle, which is tremendous myth-making.
- Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman’s been recommended to me over and over again, and it’s about time I read him.
You?
The My Friend Amy blog is talking reading plans today as well for the weekly “Faith and Fiction Saturdays” post.
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