by Harrison and Zoe Watters
Today the Warden and the Wolf King was released broadly. In Wolf King Andrew Peterson weaves a treacherous journey toward a glorious resolution of the Wingfeather Saga. The collection of books is a saga, of course, because it's the fourth in the series and "The Wingfeather Quadlogy" doesn't roll off the tongue so well. It's also a saga in that it fulfills every word of the definition of a saga--a "long story of heroic achievement." For those who may be new to the saga, let's go back to 2008 where Peterson begins On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness:
Just outside the town of Glipwood, perched near the edge of the cliffs above the Dark Sea, sat a little cottage where lived the Igiby family... [A]nd except for all the good, warm things that filled their days there like cider in a mug on a winter night, they were quite miserable. Quite miserable indeed, in that land where walked the Fangs of Dang.
In a world where man-sized lizards rule over all, and where deadly toothy cows rampage Glipwood Forest, Janner, Tink and Leeli (the Igiby children), live their relatively boring lives. The only thing that takes away the monotony is the annual "Dragon Day Festival" held in the nearby Glipwood Township. On the day of the festival, the small town overflows with visitors from haughty Torboro and grimy, thieving Dugtown. Visitors swamp "The Only Inn (Glipwood's only inn)" and fill the Green with tents. It's there at the festival the Igiby children make enemies with Slarb, one of the deadly Fangs of Dang, starting an uncontrollable chain of events which will destroy the life they hold dear and set them on the run to the only safe place left in Skree: the Ice Prairies. Many miles north of Glipwood, the barren Ice Prairies are the only place where the Lizards can't survive. But when a menace arrives from Dang, even the snowbound wasteland isn't safe from the monsters.
Each adventure in the saga shows the Igiby children seeking to evade the monsters and growing in courage and faith in the maker along the way. And now in Warden in the Wolf King we find them along with the valiant warriors of the Green Hollows in an all-out struggle with the monsters of Throg. Janner, the warden is challenged to protect his brother, the wolf king. Tink, also known as Kalmar, must destroy Gnag before the wolf inside destroys him. And Leeli must play her whistle harp to defend the Hollows from the fearsome Bat fangs. Together, they must save what little of the world is left to defend against the minions of Gnag.
I [Harrison] was hooked from the first chapter and raced through the 519 page book in two days. With each cliffhanger I quickly turned the page only to find the story shifting again and drawing me further in. I felt the pain of Kalmer, the courage of Janner, and the endurance of Leeli. I also felt (as I believe any reader could) great indignation for Gnag the Nameless and Treacherous Bonifor Squoon. As happens with the best books, their story became my story as I read. I hope they become your story as well.
I [Zoe] found Warden and the Wolf King to be an adventurous page-turner with a wonderful ending to a dangerous, unexpected journey. As we come to the end of this saga, I hope this book (and the whole series) will entertain and encourage you. Oh, and watch out for the toothy cows.
Our family enjoyed the opportunity to be personally invested in this final book in the saga when Andrew Peterson decided to launch a “Wingfeather Kickstarter Campaign” to finance book publishing. We were glad we came in at the Cave Blat level with our pledge of $35 because it not only provided us with a book and an e-book, but also with incentives for "stretch goals" (additional books, audio books, a map, etc.). Within a day of launching the campaign, Peterson met the first of six stretch goals and within a week he passed four others. By the end of the campaign, supporters helped Peterson reach all six original goals along with two added toward the end. Wingfeather fans covered the $14,000 initial goal and then pushed it beyond $90,000.
Now after over two years of intensive writing and many years of dreaming, Peterson’s Wingfeather saga is complete. The saga that gave us fangs, toothy cows, cheesy chowder and “Get the Boot” has finally come to an end. Right?