Sea dragons, a desperate quest, and a final battle carry Warden and the Wolf King to the end of the Wingfeather Saga

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?

Help for the Risks We're Called to Take

by Harrison Watters

It's easy for me to admire people like Ernest Shackleton, John F. Kennedy, and Harriet Beecher Stowe for the way they overcame the odds and survived a near-death trip to the south pole (Shackleton), swam two miles towing a wounded soldier away from a sinking ship (Kennedy), and challenged the status-quo on salvery by writing the book that President Lincoln purportedly said started the Civil War (Stowe). Even more so, as a Christian, I am inspired by men and women of Christ like Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, and William Booth, who by the power of the Spirit, took the gospel to Ecuador, India, and England (respectively).

What about you? Who are your heroes? I suspect we admire them in part because we would love to be like them in courage and endurance. But if we are honest with ourselves, we know that we wouldn't be able to do those things. You watch movies like, "End of the Spear," and think, "Wow! How did he do that? I'm glad I'll never be in his shoes!" In quiet, middle-class America, it's hard to think of risking all, of letting go of our lives for anything. Just keep plugging away at the job, have a nice home, wife, a couple of kids, two cars, and regular vacations and life will be great. Live the simple life.

These aren't bad things--some of us have been blessed by God with these things. We won't necessarily be called to missions, but we still need to be faithful to the work we are called to do.

As Christians, we are called to something greater than we could ever think of on our own--"something awesome." Which is exactly what Owen Strachan, professor of church history at Boyce College in Louisville, KY, shows us in his book, Risky Gospel. Strachan makes it clear that risk is precisely what we must do, but that we can't do it on our own. We need someone to help us do the works God has prepared for us. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

We are called by the Master to do His work. It won't be easy or comfortable, but we must do it. Strachan says, "We will have 'tribulation,' which means pain, hardship, suffering. I don't know what you were promised when you became a believer, but this is Jesus' promise to us." But it's not without comfort. "God doesn't leave us alone. He calls to a great mission, offers us tremendous adventure, but then surprises us by telling is that he will be right beside us."

Strachan shows how believers can make a difference in the broad categories of faith, identity, spirituality, family, vocation, church life, evangelism, public witness, and finally, failure.

In the late 1800s a seemingly unknown man by the name of Henry Crowell founded the highly succesfull Quaker Oats company in Ravenna Ohio. Over the years, that company has grown to be one of the leading cereal producers in America. But unlike most wealthy entrepreneurs, Crowell wasn't intrested in creating a monopoly or racking up ten-digit numbers in his bank accounts. He was more concerned about furthering the Kingdom of Christ on earth. (That may be the reason he is so unknown by today's generation. Those who do the work of Christ are bound to be shunned by the world.) This is just one person Strachan brings to our attention in the pages of his book.

We are surrounded by heros of the faith who faithfully do the work God has given them to do, whether that be ministering in poor communities or serving in a health clinic, teaching children in a classroom or around their kitchen table, waiting tables or stocking shelves. We are called especially to be faithful to Christ in our vocations and workplaces, in our families and friendships and in our churches. To be a faithful witness to a coworker, to a brother or sister, to a fellow churchmember, is a beautiful thing in the eyes of God.

The stakes are high: risk all and gain everything, risk nothing and lose everything. Jesus said, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39).

Read this book, then ask yourself, what are you willing to risk for the cause of Christ?

Harrison Watters is the eldest son of Steve and Candice Watters and an avid reader. This is his first contribution to the blog.