And so the why was the story. Jake Meador: Thats helpful. And you end up finding little pockets of the story that carry more weight than you ever wouldve thought. "Nia, you, Leeli, Arundelle, and Madya will go in the middle-back of the group. He cant go out to see the world so he enjoys the next best thing, being there when the world comes to him. I mean, he has to. Janner, you're hurt, so I want you in the middle. I just read this part of a book about the environmental vision of Tolkien. Peterson describes his story as epic like Lord of the Rings, witty like the Princess Bride and truth-telling like the Chronicles of Narnia. The Wingfeather Saga. Jake Meador: So I want to circle back to the thing about figuring out why Gnag the Nameless wanted to destroy the world, because I had questions about that too, but before we get there, I wanted to continue with the question about whats driving these characters, what do they care about. Jake Meador: Yeah. We try to take it seriously. Havent you heard, the book of Acts has not ended because we are still living in it? Or Be Eaten is the winner of the 2009 Christy Award for Young Adult fiction. Every month I review Faithlifes Free Book of the Month. I cried when they found each other, and then Artham realized they were flying and spinning in the air. We all have it in us by virtue of the choices that we make, whether we choose to partake of the fruit of the tree of life, or the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I remember just letting my imagination run wild, and thinking up Gnag the Nameless as a funny kind of name for a villain but you cant stop there; you have to figure out why hes named Gnag the Nameless, and so, I have these documents that I was writing before I started book one, where it was kind of like an archeological dig, trying to figure out why somebody would be named Gnag the Nameless, and why would he want to destroy the world. But the point is I read any story that felt like it would take me out of where I was, and allowed me to explore some other place. If this world was real, if I wanted the reader to feel like there were real consequences to characters decisions, then what do you do with a bunch of Fangs after their leader is gone? By way of explanation, let me read from Petersons introduction to the land of Skree: In the nine years after Skrees king and all his lordsin fact, everyone with a claim to the thronehad been executed, the people of Skree had learned to survive under the occupation of the Fangs of Dang. End Footnote. BEEP. And so I was like, Oh my goodness, all these kids are so hungry for this kind of story. So thats what I would say. HERES THE LINK TO THE GOOGLE DOC All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God. And now Im not sure how to ask the question since youve already touched on some of these things. At first I tried to keep up, tried to preview every book they read. And you get both of those things with Podo and with Nia, especially in the fourth book, I think. Are you a concerned Christian who asks whether fantasy books is right for Christians? Or Be Eaten, The Monster in the Hollows, and The Warden and the Wolf King.The series chronicles the adventures and transformations of a family . Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 222 total), https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ACmjZb4GsKDWRadYKYIMxvaJyxN_lE2GJTKSvfZjuoQ/edit?usp=sharing, How To Sneak Past Those Watchful Dragons: What C. S. Lewis Knew That We Should Know, The Doctors Daughter -March 2023 Short Story Picture Prompt Contest Winner, This topic has 221 replies, 26 voices, and was last updated. Andrew Peterson: They make these small decisions, and then for the next five episodes you see the outflow of the sin that created this situation. Click the button. I think in a pre-social media age, a pre-television age, peoples attention spans were longer than ours are now, so their reading of scripture was probably a lot richer, even if they didnt believe it. He could have chosen a non de plume, a pen name, but instead he prefers to answer the same question, every where he goes, Are you Andrew Peterson, the songwriter and musician extraordinaire?. Without Christ, can anything be Christian? Andrew Peterson: Christopher Nolan movie. Andrew Peterson: So I care about The Shire more, or in a different way than I do about Narnia. He sighed, then limped back to his corner. But you cant just bury them forever; you still have to confront it. The first to join her was Borley, a boy from the Linnard Woodlands. Reinke lists seven benefits of reading non-Christian books. And so, whether that means me interpreting some look or the way a friend said a thing, and then, and at midnight Im lying in bed and Ive constructed this whole false narrative about how they hate me, and how Ive ruined everything, and Why did they say that thing like that? [] An Interview with Andrew Peterson about The Wingfeather Saga by Jake Meador October 12, 2020 [], [] I didnt have anything close to a classical education, but the Bible was always there, Peterson told Mere Orthodoxy. The beasts closed the distance with every stride while the Fangs followed at their heels. It is hard to make a case that Wingfeather, or any work of fiction, is Christian but Wingfeather has a Christian theological core unlike J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter or Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials. The Warden and the Wolf King: (Wingfeather Series 4) by Andrew - eBay It's set in the world of Aerwiar where Gnag the Nameless and his evil Fangs have taken over. So, for example, I went and saw Tenet last night. Andrew Peterson: Yeah. The children set up an orphanage at an abandoned factory called Thimble Thumb's Threads. The maker told kal hed know. He doesnt have a degree, but he knows George MacDonald about as well as anybody I know, and is just this really wise, wise man, and I remember at the time I was going through a lot of things, struggling with a lot of shame and self-loathing, and Id have a breakdown, and I remember one night in particular for some reason calling him, at midnight, and kind of weeping into the phone, and he just soothed me with the gospel, reminded me what was true, and he talked a lot about names in that conversation in a way I hadnt heard before. But then the other side of it is that Tolkien and Lewis were students of the classics. Where is it!!!!!! I love these books as much as I love LOTR. The theological core is Christian. With gods on the screen, havent you wondered how many pastors get the question, Can a Christian watch Marvel movies? honestly, im kind of sad that rudrick diednia needed to be happy!!! Nope. Water from the Small Creek. BEEP. The bedrock of what those guys were writing from was Norse mythology, and the classics; that was kind of the stuff that underlies what they were writing. They live in a world called Aerwiar, which is exactly like our worldexcept they dont have electricity or gunpowder, and there are all sorts of creepy animals, like sea dragonsand toothy cows. My goal was for a kid to finish the last page of The Wingfeather Saga, and to know in a way that they didnt know before that there is something stronger than the darkness. Im a Christian, husband of one, father of two, university lecturer, Baptist lay-preacher and Christian Education director. After helping free Janner, she was put in the coffin again. Great interview questions and discussion. There is no Aslan. So that was part of what I was going for. The hope that Janner had revived Sara, and sparked a revolution as she was determined to lead a rebellion that would escape the factory. Or Be Eaten, then The Monster in the Hollows and the last book is The Warden and the Wolf King. "Come on!" Janner said, pulling Tink to his feet. But these days, when my oldest zips through a Hardy Boys book in one afternoon? So the first thing I was curious to ask you about, and I think I probably know some of the answers, because I think weve read a lot of the same things, but theres this quote Ive always liked from Tolkien, who said that his stories grew out of the leaf mould of his mind; his idea being its almost like a compost bin that youre just constantly throwing things into, and the stories grow out of it. I just realized your tag!!!!! But he cant. And today, its a special Dragon Day Festival because for once, he is allowed to go to town to see the festival without adult supervision. But they don't really have any real motivations, desires, regrets, failures, stuff that makes them tick, real struggles, interesting relationships, negative emotions, and layers. Or my Logos Book of the Month reviews like A Walk with God by R.C. If I cant appeal to either the creative or the theological reasoning part of your brain, then my last resort, the big guns is the anti-book. During the Wingfeather War, Janner was taken to the Fork Factory, and he likely would have not escaped without the help of Sara. Andrew Peterson: Which is in my mind kind of like The Scouring of the Shire, when Frodo and Sam come back home. Andrew Peterson: I had temptations that I struggled with from a very young age, lust and anger among other things. The scariest sound in the Wingfeather series is Moo. I didnt care about their spaceships when they blew up. As I hope I did today. I bear the Makers image, and one of the ways that plays out is that I delight in making. Sorry if Im being exclusive, but I really do not want to spoil this for people. Andrew Peterson: But also there was just a greater familiarity with scripture. It's also kind of a Heartwarming Moment, because after reflecting on how selfish he's been throughout his adventures, he finally sacrifices himself to save his brother and many others. It can teach us wisdom and valuable moral lessons. There you go. But then I realized, This is not the end of the story. It couldnt be the end of the story; there were too many practical considerations. She and the other children helped the Kimeran rebels retake Dugtown from the fangs. He sat down, and leaned against the wall while Sara grabbed the bandages. Readers become non-readers, non-readers turn to readers. That was the leaf mould. All of this ridiculousness. When Im watching Marvel movies, and the cities are getting blown up, Im always like, Who cleans this up? Im always just kind of like, My goodness, all the work that they put into that building, and its just rubble now. If there are real consequences to our decisions, then it begins to smack of the real world in a way that is more moving than otherwise. Click to contribute one-off or be a member. At one point Janner strikes a match, and a friend of mine was like, Matches require gunpowder, basically. Andrew Peterson: The Lord of the Rings to me is a combination of the two. Having failed to look after his siblings, he ran away from home. Just rest. Jake Meador: Ive not read that one, but Ive read some of his other books. Janner wondered. An Interview with Andrew Peterson About "The Wingfeather Saga" To hear more of Andrew Petersons thoughts on making, read his autobiography, Adorning the Dark: Thoughts of Community, Calling and the Mystery of Making. Andrew Peterson: When it started, I began with the world-building part. I hope youll get your hands on a copy of the books and join the adventure. Because its hard to write a story where the main character can always be let off the hook by some grownup presence; by a parent who can always kind of swoop in and save them. And in order for that to work, there had to be a paper trail, so to speak, of how they became who they became, because we all have it in us. Below is a lightly edited transcription of our conversation. My only consolation is that Artham and Alma Rainwater ended up together again. Yay YouTube! Coincidentally, 8000+ angel investors raised five million dollars to turn the story into a multi-season animation series. Wonder Woman is the daughter of the Gods of Olympus. The truth is hard to hear but so beautiful. Yeah. I had no need for it, so I thought, because the world I was in pulsed with loveliness. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But the Maker seems to be an absent God. Footnote. Andrew Peterson: Hes basically a George MacDonald scholar. The Maker is good and the people trust in Him. Andrew Peterson: If I compare that to that scene in Return of the Jedi when the Emperor and Luke are having their final showdown, and Luke is looking out the window and he sees the battle happening a long way away, and you know that Han Solo and Lando and theyre all fighting, and you love these characters. Its funny to me, but I get emails and comments from people that are like, Hey, so Im just curious, you have a barber in the town named J. Bird, is that a Jayber Crow reference? But I would say Harry Potter was another thing that kind of kick-started it, because those books were coming out as I was working on the Wingfeather books, and at the time, if you were a Harry Potter fan, you had this deep suspicion (that was really a deep hope) that she was going where it felt like she was going with the story, which was really a Christian story, whether or not shes a Christian herself. Jake Meador: Oh, of course. Andrew Peterson: Yeah. I was also reading some Stephen King stuff, against my parents wishes, and I would literally crawl under my bed to read Stephen King novels, in order to get away with it. It was this little world that I didnt know how to talk about. Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson - Reading and Readers I was growing up in a town that I didnt fit into. But today that influence is just lost on us because people dont have that level of rootedness in shared texts. Limner. Far ahead, the others neared the bridge that led to the fifth and final tower. Once you get to know him, I reckon you will let him enter your home. Even Podo." How were you wanting to present it? The first book was first published in 2008 and in 2020 all the books were re-released in a special edition hardcover. Its one of those classic Christian songwriter conversations, I expect, which is about the legacy of Rich Mullins. Forum - Fantasy Writers - Story Embers If you know someone who hates fantasy novels, recommend this review. And eucatastrophe, which means good catastrophe, is a way of awakening us to hope and longing. He lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife Joie, their daughter Davy Joy, and sons Wendell, Austin, and Ambrose. And thats what makes that show feel so real, you feel the weight of it. Hi, Im Terence and Im your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Well what does that actually mean? I like the other characters, but that Podo is horrible! Thanks! It was just two weeks after they had returned to Anniera. Before I get to that reason, I need to address the dragon in the room. His song Dont You Want to Thank Someone is a thing of beauty. Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture. The Wingfeather Saga is a series of four fantasy novels, plus a "Creaturepedia" and a collection of side-stories titled The Wingfeather Tales, written by singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson, consisting of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, North! And even if that means changing our lives, thats what were called to do. Andrew Peterson: Man, can I just thank you for caring about the stories and reading them? Davy Joy wasnt a fan, but I thought it was right. I couldnt cry. The Wingfeather Saga - Plugged In What Reinke has done is to produce a Theology of Books and Reading, and, as a reader, I am ever so grateful for this. If theyre present at all, then make them mentally distant; they dont listen to the kids. The Wingfeather Saga Books The Wingfeather Saga i love those books so much. Oh, and @anne-of-lothlorien, if you hadnt already found it, the former fang girls name is Galya. When the children are not fighting, running or hiding, they are doing their homework. I have seriously thought about emailing Andrew Peterson and asking him whether or not Janner gets healed in his mind, like what he thinks happened. Help. I Just Don't Get the Appeal of the Wingfeather Saga I tried not to have any. Janner tells himself he is just looking out for Tink but he enjoys every bit of the adventure. Their mother insists they do their THAGS. Im sobbing because I realize how much it means. But for me, I would say that I wasnt reading the classics, I didnt have anything close to a classical education, but the Bible was always there. So you see the destructive nature of our sinful personal choices. S. Poythress and God, Technology and the Christian Life by Tony Reinke. Smith. Which I think a lot of moralistic Christian literature does sometimes. Andrew Peterson: Im a four on the Enneagram, if that helps. What was the building Maraly Weaver jumped from when she tried to help Gammon Felda in Dug town, when he was being chased by the fangs? It should be considered Christian literature. And he failed. They are in your cinemas and streaming services. "I love you." He whispered to her. The Wingfeather Saga LOTR con - Freeform When the great villains of each world come back, and unite in power to have dominion over all of the worlds, the heroes must unite as well. If you think about what prophetic speech is doing well, it is trying to kind of catch people, get their attention, help them to see this thing thats happening that is wrong, and we need to repent of it. To me, its like asking whether Abraham was a Christian. The most important take away from Reinkes book is we need a Christian worldview to know what to read and not to read, and to flourish from our reading. Janners brother, Tink, discovers a map that shows the location of the Jewels of Anniera. Andrew Peterson: Thank you. How did you create them? Hes just had to kind of compartmentalize that, almost. How I wish I could tell you more but there isnt enough space and Im only a footnote. But there were some good things about it, but the bad guy, Kenneth Branaghs character, at no point did I ever believe their reasons for why he was so bad, and at no point did I ever understand why he wanted to destroy the world. But other than the cruel Fangs and the constant threat of death and torture, there wasnt much to fear in Skree. So, anyway, I think that back then, the idea of receiving a new name from Christ was part of what was at the root of that idea that Tink was the metaphor that was playing out was that Tink was afraid of being a king, he didnt want to be, so the name became a very tangible way to convey that idea. He can't go out to see the world so he enjoys the next best thing, being there when the world comes to him. The Maker of this beautiful, broken world ambushed me. The Dragon Day Festival. I like the alternate ending @zoe-wingfeather. Its good literature, and its great fantasy. Give this humble songwriter, musician, writer and stone wall builder a chance. Sometimes Harry and Ron or Hermione are mad at each other, and youre like, Come on. BEEP. The wedding that was almost prevented Chapter 26: Reasons, a By the time I started working on The Wingfeather Saga, fantasy was only one section of my library. Artham Wingfeather had dreaded this day. Please no one hit me. At the hint of the jewels presence, the evil powers strike for sleepy town Glipwood. He might give Wingfeather a try. My kids arent growing up in a house where their parents just dont care about whats going on in their internal world. North! or Be Eaten Quotes by Andrew Peterson - Goodreads And if that last sentence made you smile, prepare to laugh . D: i think the main theme is actually selflessness. So, thats the first answer to the question: it was just pulp fantasy, followed by a slowly-increasing discernment for what good literature was. And I didnt do it perfectly. Its hard to find that. But they should save it for the wedding. A lot of it is rooted in the Tolkien idea of eucatastrophe, which you probably know. Many Christians are suspicious of fantasy literature despite the progenitors of modern fantasy genre, J.R.R. The Harry Potter books do this sometimes. I dont want to expose them to words or situations I wouldnt want my own children exposed to. I named all three of our kids. She also befriended Janner. Janner, like the other Igibys, drifted off to sleep, thanking the Maker they were safe and dry in Peet's castle. Besides, all things are of God; and, therefore, why should it not be lawful to dedicate to his glory everything that can properly be employed for such a purpose? He had one job. Hes Peet in the first two books, and hes Artham in the last two. They dont know that they are reading a story about family, taking care of siblings, respecting elders and most important of all, doing your homework. I usually tell kids You may be mad at me now, but when you read it to your kids, I think youll understand.. Andrew Peterson: But at the same time, I didnt want the bad guys to come from nowhere, for there to be no explanation for how they went bad. Thats great!) Its a pretty potent imagination, and has been as long as I can remember, which can be good if youre a songwriter, or a novel writer, whatever. Really fantastic interview. Andrew Peterson: I just knew from a very young age, I think I was seven when I began to recognize that it wasnt just the world out there that was dark; it was the world inside of me that was dark too. Aside from the inconceivably clean humour and family-friendly message that oozes from every page, there is a bigger reason, the biggest reason really, for you to get the Wingfeather Saga for your children and for yourself. Janner is alone and lost in the hills; Leeli is fighting the Fangs from the rooftops of the city; and Kalmar, who carries a terrible secret, is on a course for the Deeps of Throg. Hebrews 13:2 says, Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. We show hospitality to angels without knowing it. Andrew Peterson:Yeah. I have never felt anything so badly at all, even in real life!!!!! Jolkien. That idea of inheriting this new name from Jesus is pretty powerful. The remaining orphans traveled to Anniera, which had just been restored. : Notes on Ideology and Enemies, Meritocracy, the Wingfeather Saga, and Civility - Front Porch Republic, New animated series 'The Wingfeather Saga' teaches Christian values in an epic fantasy world - FISM TV, New animated series The Wingfeather Saga teaches Christian values in an epic fantasy world ReviewLocate : Books , Book Reviews And More, Navigating the Scylla and Charybdis: Paul Ramsey and Contemporary Political Theology. Listen to my review of Faithlifes Free Book of the Month featuring titles like Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit by Chris Wright and Alive: A Cold-Case Approach to the Resurrection by J. Warner Wallace. A recovering fantasy nerd, like a recovering alcoholic, struggles with wanting what he is not supposed to want. Hes an even better poet. Hes got to figure this thing out. None of the above <p>Song Maiden</p> alternatives . Theyre horrifying. Im excited! [] the Wingfeather Saga. Janner comes back, right? The anti-book is a dangerous mind-bending weapon because it can backfire. Because when I got to the death of Gnag Were giving all kinds of spoilers here, but. Song Maiden. I mean, he has to. Rabbit Room Exclusive - Preorder through the Rabbit Room Store and receive a 11x17 Map of Aerwiar. Jesus died in my place so I could have a new name. BEEP. Summary. Theres a lot of interior depth to the children. The Infinity Gems. I was so devastated when Janner died. He died in our place when we should have died. And so it kind of makes the parents look like knuckleheads. Talk about having an agenda. Jake Meador: But that brings up another interesting thing about that last bookwhat do you do with all these fangs that have totally lost their identities after Gnag is gone? Andrew Peterson has awakened my inner eight-year-old, and that is a very . Or is it okay if I just dont watch the ones with Thor?. Jake Meador: Over real darkness, not the kind of stuff thats minimized or undersold. Janner ran away from home and the home ran away with him. I help you decide whether to get the book for free or to buy it if you missed the offer. Just as every driver needs a driving license, every reader needs to read this to avoid bad books and to enjoy good books, even non-Christian books. Janner's death is so moving but so, so, SO devastating. One of the few highlights of 2020 for me has been getting to read the Wingfeather Saga to my kids. There is no Christ in Wingfeather and no allusion to a transcendent all-powerful, all-good being. Andrew Peterson: Yeah,I think thats a big one. Andrew Peterson: The misunderstanding feels so it doesnt ring true with my experience of what its like to be a friend to somebody. And yet, youre able to convey aspects of what drives them and what motivates them through their actions, and we do get these glimmers into what theyre afraid of, what they care about. This happens most obviously with the Fangs, when they get a new name after theyre Fanged. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. The Wingfeather Saga is coming to life as a breathtaking, multi-season TV show, thanks to the 8,000+ Angel Investors helping us raise five million dollars. The Wingfeathers crossed the Dark Sea of Darkness and arrived in Skree, where they lived for nine years under the surname Igiby, their maternal grandmother's -Wendolyn Igiby Helmer- last name. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals. Some stories tend toand theres a place for thisthey tend to write about heroes, and theres this nobility, these aspirational characters, and I dont think thats a terrible thing to make characters that kids who read them want to be like. Jake Meador: Yeah. And since Mr. Andrew Peterson *Throws a very, very, annoyed look in his direction* is not going to tell us if Janner Igiby Wingfeather lives or not (I believe he does. There are no angels. No theophanies. Its like a cheap version of conflict. If hes got matches, does that mean there are cannons in this world? And so I had to figure out what kind of world it was, so that it felt to the kids like they were dealing with a real place, with real human beings, who they could know and love. For the launch of the Reading and Readers Podcast, I review the first four free books of 2021: (Jan) Deep Church by Richard Mouw and Jim Belcher, (Feb) Count It All Joy by David Jeremiah, (Mar) Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ by Russell Moore and (Apr) XXX by XXX. Also, may I just say that Andrew Petersons music is better than Wingfeather, go ahead, disagree, but its just my thought. Andrew Peterson: So I think that the deepest layer of dirt beneath the leaf-mold was the fact that Id grown up taking the Bible stories for granted. YAY! Andrew Peterson: I was waking up to writers like Wendell Berry, and Walt Wangerin Jr., and. So we have this idea presented right away in the text that people are made in Gods image in a way that the rest of the creation is not. The Wingfeather Saga is coming to life as a breathtaking, multi-season TV show, thanks to the 8,000+ Angel Investors helping us raise five million dollars. The footnotes intrude, in a good way, into the narrative and tell of a bigger world out there. Some of my favorite parts of the whole story are like, Okay, what happens next?. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. . There is a Creation story. I wont get into it. By the end of it he feels he would give anything to have his life back the way it was (or almost: without the fangs of Dang would be nice). Should We? If you have not read the whole series, you may want to save this until you have finished it. Thats a big part of The Warden and the Wolf King. Part I of his book is titled, A Theology of Books and Reading. That ending scene stands as the first time I cried while reading. I hear it to this day. Andrew Peterson: I would say that that was probably the biggest influence on anything that I would writethe constant presence of the Bible, because I grew up in this conservative church that had me memorizing Bible verses from the time I was little. How did you approach that challenge of kind of writing adult characters, for kids, while still giving them that kind of depth, even when you cant show it, in the way you could with Janner? Yep. Janner | Shining Isle Wiki | Fandom Andrew Peterson: At the expense of what couldve been a good story! The Wingfeather Saga / YMMV - TV Tropes What will Janner do when Leeli stands between her dog and a Fang of Dang? Its as if the writer intentionally planned for his readers to relate to the characters.