North! or Be Eaten — Review, Day Two

North! or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

Today is our second day of the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour review of the young-adult fantasy novel, North! or Be Eaten in The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson.

Today I’m going to unfurl my wings and cover some things in depth.

This also means:

PLOT SPOILERS

past the “Click to Read More“, so don’t click if you want to be surprised when you read this wonderful novel. Really, I’m serious. Don’t click.

The Author

First up, here is the blurb on the back of the book:

Andrew Peterson is the author of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, book one in The Wingfeather Saga, and The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats.

He’s also the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist of several albums, including Resurrection Letters II. He and his wife Jamie, live with their two sons and one daughter in a little house they call The Warren near Nashville, Tennessee.

But this doesn’t tell you all. He has recorded 12 albums, and is, as I write this, in the middle of writing and recording a new one.

One album that stands out from the others (that is not mentioned above) is Behold The Lamb, a Christmas album of all new songs recorded with many other recording artist.

Andrew Peterson

When I listen to Andrew’s music (and I am listening to it right now!), I am reminded of the heart and soul of Rich Mullins, and I am carried away to places where truth, beauty, and mercy play:

Its a window in the world, a little glimpse of all the goodness getting through, and all along the way the days are made of little moments of truth.

As well, Andrew is a man who is inspired to walk in the godly footsteps of C.S. Lewis. For instance, the popular website he began (“The Rabbit Room”) is named after the room where Lewis and the Inkling’s met in Oxford, which Andrew visited on a trip to England.

Based on these first novels, I would say that Andrew is well on his way to leaving us a rich legacy (similar to Lewis) of literature that will encourage generations of children to come.

Who Is Andrew Peterson? (Author of “On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness”)

What an audacious title for this post! As if I could sum up a person and put them in a box so you could look at them!

And why would I want to even attempt this? Having not read his book (which appears to be excellent from every account I have read on this CSFF blog tour), I honestly don’t have much more to talk about! However, once I started looking into his life and music, I was intrigued.

Andrew Peterson

So … who is this author? I started my quest by going to his website at www.andrew-peterson.com and here are a few facts that I have picked up:

  • He appears to be about 33 years old.
  • He is a storyteller extraordinaire—both spoken, written, and sung
  • He lives in Nashville, TN
  • His first album came out in 1996, and he has put out eight more since then.
  • He is married, and has children (whom they homeschool)

If you want to get a sample of his music, I would suggest listening to his song All The Way Home on his Carried Along CD. If that wets your ears, you can go to his music page where he has lots more available, including lyrics.

The interesting thing is that after hearing his music, for me, I instantly compared him to Rich Mullins. After Rich died in 1997 I pretty much dropped out of the Contemporary Christian Music listening scene. I felt his death and the loss of his creativity so strongly that I was keenly aware and saddened anew at the 10th anniversary of his death last year. How can it have been ten years?