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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga, #1)

Andrew Peterson

Start date: June 1, 2023

Finish date: June 30, 2023

Discussion: ✯Book of the Month✯

Discussion leader: Sharon Loves to Read

Why we're reading this: Voted second place from our top BotM nominations! https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...…more
[close] Voted second place from our top BotM nominations! https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

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* ⭒September 2025 BotM - The Mermaid’s Tale [Questions]⭒
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What Members Thought

May 04, 2024 Celeste rated it really liked it

Shelves: christian, fantasy, middle-grade

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is middle grade fantasy done so well. The world building is fantastic. The writing is this great balance of funny and serious. The characters are charming and quirky and easy to love. The story itself is compelling, and the pacing is pretty solid. And the fact that it’s coming from a Christian worldview makes it even better, in my opinion. Then there’s the fact that this is the first of a completed series. It has been and is going to be a perfect series fo On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is middle grade fantasy done so well. The world building is fantastic. The writing is this great balance of funny and serious. The characters are charming and quirky and easy to love. The story itself is compelling, and the pacing is pretty solid. And the fact that it’s coming from a Christian worldview makes it even better, in my opinion. Then there’s the fact that this is the first of a completed series. It has been and is going to be a perfect series for so many kids and families, and even adults like me who just like middle grade fiction. I honestly can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

Twelve year old Janner Igiby is fed up with the quiet life he leads with his mom, grandpa, and siblings. They live on the outskirts of the village of Glipwood, in a cottage on a cliff, high about the Dark Sea of Darkness. What used to be a land of peace and tranquility has been overrun with the reptilian Fangs of Dang, minions of the evil Nameless One named Gnag. The day our story begins, Janner is being allowed to attend the Dragon Day Festival in Glipwood, and has been entrusted with the care of his siblings: his brother Tink, age eleven, and their little sister Leeli, who never goes anywhere without her crutch and her faithful dog, Nugget. And of course, things go wrong from there.

My very favorite aspect of this book was the relationship between the siblings. Most books tend to portray siblings one of two ways: either they are constantly at each other’s throats, or they have such a perfect relationship that it’s wholly unbelievable. Neither was the case here. We see Janner’s very relatable frustration with having to keep track of his siblings, but we also see how much all three love and respect each other. There’s a genuine friendship here that I just adored. My brother has always been one of my best friends in the whole world, so seeing this kind of sibling relationship made me very happy.

I only had a couple of issues with this book. It felt very much like a first book in a series to me, laying groundwork in terms of world building and plot and character development. This hindered the pacing a bit. There were also certain aspects that struck me as silly, be it in tone or description. It brought to mind more comedic fiction, like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which isn’t a story style that really works for me. But keep in mind that I am very much not the target audience for this series. That heavier world building in book one will really aid young readers, and the sillier portions will delight them. Which means that this book is exactly what it intended itself to be.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a book that I’ve owned for close to a decade, and I’m so glad that I finally decided to read it. It was fun, absorbing, and exactly the kind of wholesome story that I’m craving right now. I can already tell that this is a series I’m going to love sharing with my nieces when they’re a few years older. Peterson’s style really connected with me, and not only am I excited to continue on with the series, I’m interested to try his nonfiction work. I’ll be giving his music a listen, as well! ...more

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Sep 07, 2022 Becky Harris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Exceptionally fun, engaging book that is hard to put down (But only after the first maybe 20%--and the prefaces made me want to give up almost immediately. I understand that he is trying to make a boring/serious subject lighthearted in the prefaces but all the asides and quirky writing almost turned me OFF to the book.) We did this as a family read-aloud and the kids loved it and begged me to read more each time we would put it away for the day. There are a few contrived-feeling instances, but n ...more

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Feb 05, 2016 Azalea Dabill rated it really liked it

An excellent book. And not just for kids . . .

I'm primarily a YA and fantasy reader, but this is a grand adventure with surprising twists of tongue and coming of age themes, both in the characters' lives and in the rebirth of a kingdom.

If you liked Jonathan Rodger's The Wilderking trilogy or Wayne Thomas Batson's The Door Within trilogy, you'll love this series! ...more

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