North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

Now that the royal Wingfeather family has left the town of Glipwood, they are making their way north to the Ice Prairies, where Gnag and his Fangs of Dang cannot reach them.
But the journey will not be a walk in the park. Accompanied by Peet the Sock Man and Oskar the Book Seller, the royal family must stave off danger at every turn. But what they don't know is that danger lurks in the most unlikely of places.
The best thing Andrew did with this book was eliminate the convenience of the First Well water. The water is only used once, but in a creative way.
The book also contains explanations for how Artham Wingfeather turned into Peet the Sock Man, who the Fangs really are, and where the Black Carriage takes the children it kidnaps.
Though this book is a quest structure, there are many plot twists and surprises to keep the book interesting. There are many interesting creatures and showdowns throughout the book. However, these showdowns keep the book from being five stars.
Some of the characters have developed good personality, believe it or not. Not all, but some of them.
Peterson has abandoned the notion of having so many footnotes. Instead, he has an original plot, complete with sketches of those creatures that were unknown to us in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. This helps take away some of the isolation the reader felt in the first novel.
There are two major surprises at the end that along with a character death vault the book onto the Elite List. The worst thing about this series is the fact that one of the original things at the end can be fixed in the next book.
All in all, Andrew Peterson has proven himself to be a prolific author.

4 stars

Book - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073871
Series site - http://wingfeathersaga.com/?p=464
Author site - http://www.andrew-peterson.com/

Be sure and check out the reviews by our tour members:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Nissa
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Steve and Andrew
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

I'm not sure a title as long as On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is very conducive to an author's professional reputation. But maybe Andrew Peterson isn't going for that. The overstatement in the title coincides with the fact that Andrew Peterson is a professional Silly Song writer. For those of you who don't know what a Silly Song is, it's a seemingly nonsensical ditty that appears on those Veggie Tales videos.
The Igiby family lives in the town of Glipwood in Skree, which is literally on the edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, in which dragons dance on Dragon Day.
Our story starts on one such Dragon Day, the only happy day the Skreeans get to celebrate. Ever since the Fangs of Dang, a lanf across the Dark Sea of Darkness, came and ravaged the land and took it over. The Fangs rule the towns with iron claws. A person can be arrested whenever a Fang feels like it.
Gnag the Nameless rules over Dang and has tried all his life to try to find the Jewels of Anniera, a greater civilization prior to the rule of Dang.
Perhaps the most original aspect of the book is where the jewels are located. This one even caught me by surprise. If you're going to have the heroes find the treasure, than surprise the reader. That's exactly what he did.
The setting is slightly original. I can't think of an alternate world with a government system like the dictatorship of Dang.
The downside of the book is Peterson doesn't do a very good job of masking his goofy nature. Maybe he wasn't trying to. But the reader is thrust into a world with just enough explanation to be acceptable and yet little enough to still feel isolated. There are numerous creatures unexplained throughout the book. The whole premise of the book is basically a children's tale, except that the book is nearly 300 pages long.
There is a major CRT at the end that helps to stop the death of an important character.
The characters aren't very good. They're just average.
Peterson approaches the book like a historical account he found, which accounts for the many footnotes that explain legends and other things not mentioned in this historical account.
At the end of the book, the plot takes an 180 degree turn that changes everything. The series is continued into North or Be Eaten!, which we will review as soon as possible.
All in all, the book is good, but could be better if Peterson cut down the silliness a little.
3 stars