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  • On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

  • The Wingfeather Saga, Book 1
  • Written by: Andrew Peterson
  • Narrated by: Andrew Peterson
  • Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (64 ratings)

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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

Written by: Andrew Peterson
Narrated by: Andrew Peterson
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Publisher's Summary

Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog, Nugget.

Janner Igiby, his brother, Tink, and their disabled sister, Leeli, are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that they love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang, who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice. The Igibys hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera. 

Full of characters rich in heart, smarts, and courage, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a tale children of all ages will cherish and families can listen to together. 

This audiobook includes a PDF of maps, illustrations, and more. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2020 Andrew Peterson (P)2020 Listening Library

What the critics say

“I love all the adventure and the wild inventiveness and, most of all, the heart in Andrew’s books. He is a poet and a master storyteller. I want to read anything he writes.” (Sally Lloyd-Jones, New York Times best-selling author of children’s books) 

“A wildly imaginative, wonderfully irreverent epic that shines with wit and wisdom - and features excellent instructions on how to cope with thwaps, Fangs, and the occasional toothy cow.” (Allan Heinberg, writer and coexecutive producer of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and cocreator of Marvel Comics’ Young Avengers

“An experience your family will never forget. I can’t recommend these books highly enough!” (Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family and founder and host of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast) 

What listeners say about On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

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fantastical

whole family loves listening. the writing is wonderfully unique, creative, funny and moving. the performance is steller with great voices for different characters.

1 person found this helpful

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Great series!

Great book. My 10 year old daughter and I couldn't stop listening. We can't wait to read Book 2!

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  • JT
  • 2022-07-23

Fabulous!

Fun and full of life from beginning to end. Peterson is multi-talented with his story writing, music, and fun array of voices in the audiobook. I'll be sure to share this story with my children and will definitely be watching the show once it's ready for us to watch.
Amazing. Keep it coming.

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Whole Heartedly Captivating.

The story was a most amazing and whimsical tale that cultivated joy and sorrow in my heart.
The author did an absolutely beautiful job at bringing the characters to life throughout their journey.
I definitely look forward to enjoying more of these tales.

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  • kristy
  • 2021-01-08

Fun fact in review. Excellent book. Sweet yet suspenseful.

Fun fact: Andrew Peterson would say makes this first edition of his reading of the book is quite special because of a "misread" - when he is reading about Podo and the bagged thwaps, he refers to the grandchildren as his three children, and his daughter as his grandchild. Anyway...Our family has owned the printed book for a few years now, but it grew to become extra special to our family during the Covid-19 shutdown of the world, and Andrew Peterson did nightly readings of the book, which we watched through Facebook Live and You Tube Live. The story reminds me of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia books, which if you know those stories, you know how your spirit and heart feel as you are drawn into the lives and settings the author has created. So very, very wonderful. To hear the actual author read a book is a treat, especially so for the Wingfeather series, because there are many interesting characters who have different accents and mannerisms that are much fun, or in some cases, quite creepy to hear. My husband and I, along with our children all highly recommend all the books in this series. (Also highly recommended are the author’s Autobiography “Adorning the Dark,” plus all his music, especially “Is He Worthy,” and “All Things Together.”)

23 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2021-02-20

I couldn't stop listening

I'm ten years old and the second I finished this book I bought the next three in the series. The storyline was great, I loved the characters. Starting book two now!

15 people found this helpful

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  • katie hall
  • 2021-02-02

Perfect for these days at home

We are flying through these amazing books. My kids like them more than Harry Potter! They are just what we need while stuck at home during a pandemic. We are on the 3rd book and will be so sad when they are over. The reason we love them is that they are funny, full of adventure, fabulous characters and not too scary. But definitely still intense enough to keep the complete attention of my 12 year old. So happy with the audio and love that they are read by the author.

7 people found this helpful

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  • R. Spencer
  • 2021-01-17

Best books ever

The Wingfeather Saga are the most enjoyable books I have ever read. I am so happy that Andrew Peterson decided to redo the first two books and read them himself. These books appeal to a wide range of ages. I myself am 61 years old and love them and my grandchildren love them as well. I highly recommend these books to anyone.

7 people found this helpful

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  • B
  • 2021-04-08

Excellent!

So cool that the audio book includes a pdf with a map and other fun items. Click the three dots in upper right. At the bottom of the list you'll see the pdf link to download.

6 people found this helpful

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  • justkeepswimming
  • 2022-02-20

Meaningful and entertaining but slowly paced

I listened to this series on my own, and now I am sharing this with my eleven year old son and six year old daughter. I loved the narration. Peterson does a great job giving voice to his characters. He is one of the best narrators I have heard to date.

The story itself is entertaining because it is intelligent as well as funny and written on a level which children and adults alike can understand and enjoy. The books are filled with Christian symbolism to which most people, even those who are not Christians, can relate. Self-sacrifice, love, family loyalty, truthfulness, forgiveness, and repentance are all themes of the series. There is more than one prodigal son in this series, all whose stores have very different shades of meaning and outcomes. Particularly meaningful is the method by which the monsters are made and then remade. There will be a lot for kids and parents to discuss with this series.

Some of the more difficult parts of the books follow. There are monsters, distorted and overpowering, some exceedingly evil and powerful, and others misunderstood, regretful, despairing, or pitiful. The children and their families are in danger repeatedly and often escape death only narrowly. Many children are abused by adults and bullied by other children. War, thievery, murder, lying, betrayal, mental illness, depression, and fighting abound. Several loved characters die. The final death in the story is particularly difficult and a bit shocking. These elements may disturb some readers / listeners, especially younger ones for whom the book is aimed. That said, as the characters work through their problems in the fantasy world, they learn coping skills and wisdom which may help child listeners / readers deal with problems when they are mistreated, feel depression, or experience the death of loved ones. Some problems the characters experience belong solely to the fantasy world, and the manner in which they are solved belong solely to the fantasy world. These elements are where the spiritual symbolism broaden the meaning and beauty of the story.

Perhaps the most memorable part of the books is the cast of characters. Most of Peterson's characters are complex, imperfect, and believable. Most are funny in some way. The pirate grandfather and several other characters, even the some of the scary creatures themselves, are very funny and entertaining.

I think Peterson may have had input from some of his children when he thought up some sillier elements of his fantasy world. Cows are not particularly scary--let's give them rows of teeth and make them eat people. Let's make candles out of snot. Let's make a drawing of a character, each of us taking one body section, head, torso/arms, legs/feet, but not show each other our part until it is all done. Now this monster has the head of a bear, the arms of an octopus, and the tail of a monkey!

The greatest difficulty I had with the story was the pace of the writing itself. Peterson's writing takes a LONG time to set the stage for each scene. Character's feelings are discussed, what they see, what they remember, etc., etc. until the story becomes quite tedious and somewhat repetitive. Sometimes the characters act in ways which seem unrealistic given the situations in which they find themselves which also adds to the tension and length of the story unnecessarily (Would mom REALLY say it was "too dangerous" for them to walk along a ledge when they were already being chased by monsters?). I actually left the room in which I was listening to the story and came back five minutes later with one character still walking down a staircase of a three story house towards danger. Did we really have to hear what everyone else in the person's life was doing right then? If I had been reading the story myself, I would probably had skimmed these parts and moved on with story at a faster pace than listening to the narration allowed. Sometimes I wonder if writers get paid by the word because this is a problem I have seen with other books including the Harry Potter series (especially the final book). My six year old daughter had another perspective, though. When I was complaining aloud that Peterson should move along a little faster, she yelled, "Oh Mom, just enjoy the story for what it is!" Haha, out of the mouth of babes...

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  • Nancy Fulford
  • 2021-05-22

Amazing

I really enjoyed it. It was very interesting. Each night it was very exciting. I couldn't wait to hear more of it. I'm looking forward to listening to the other . I am very excited for the movie to come out and I hope it will be soon. I liked the expressions of the narrator and how he used different voices for each person. I really liked the voice years for Podo. It was very interesting and it sounded like a really pirate. I hope that you can produce more of these books.

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  • AaronD
  • 2021-05-07

A truly beloved book in our family

Everyone in my family loves this book, from my mom and dad to all my siblings (ages 13, 10, and 6).This book is a must read for story loving families.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2021-01-15

Best book in my life.

Best book series I’ve read in my life. It is
definitely not just for kids!

3 people found this helpful

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  • Kristen
  • 2023-01-14

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

This was one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to!! Nothing to complain about. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

2 people found this helpful