“There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world.” – Thomas Merton

“My personal life may be crowded with small petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean; but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. ” – Oswald Chambers

Thursday, April 14, 2011

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson


(Originally posted at Suddenly Señor)



Andrew Peterson has done it again. Well, for the first time.

I finally got the chance to read AP’s book which came out in 2008, but that I just recently got as a birthday present. I had put it aside for pleasure reading when some other projects got done; but I gave myself the liberty of reading it now that I’m cooped up with dengue.

I have consistently appreciated everything AP’s produced musically since his first album fell into my hands during my sophomore year of college (I pride myself in being a fan before he got popular; that is, if he’s popular). He is sort of like a friend of mine: I have a fairly good idea of what he likes, what he gets enthused about, who his friends are, and what his family’s like (well, all this through the lens of his songwriting).

Now he ventures into young adult fantasy fiction, which is really no surprise given that he’s a huge Lewis and Tolkien fan and his kids are preadolescents.

I absolutely adored this book. It’s not a genre I’m particularly inclined towards, but there’s so much to love. AP’s done a fabulous job of painting a wonderful world and characters, but at the same time putting them in absolutely fearsome situations. At times I was frustrated by the story, because it was so dark and scary (although in a very different way than a novel by Toni Morrison is dark and scary). But it’s also quite funny. I laughed out loud several times, usually at AP’s footnotes.

Pick this one up. I’m certainly eager to read books 2 and 3 of the Wingfeather Saga.