North! Or Be Eaten - The Ain't It Creative Angle

One of the components of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness that immediately drew me to it was, simply put, its uniqueness. Sure, it shares character traits with traditional fantasy, but there are aspects I'd never seen before. Which of course brings us to...

The Ain’t It Creative Angle

All of the quirks readers quickly came to love (or love to hate) in Book One are back. The toothy cows of Skree are still toothy and vicious. Totaters are still a vegetable of choice. Horned hounds still haunt the forest. Now added to the mix are Bomnubbles and snickbuzzards and quill diggles and a gargan rockroach.

Footnotes are still used, although less than in Book One. This time the footnotes offer complimentary information to events, characters, or places in the story. There aren't as many invented sources and Skreean publishing houses, but if it's included in the footnotes, it must be important to know that the "unknown areas beyond the edges of the maps were referred to as 'the places beyond the edges of the maps.'" And any reading would be incomplete if the reader wasn't told that Alma Rainwater was considered a revolutionary poet because her style "rhymed and followed a strict form called ba-dum-ba-dum pentameter."

And rest assured that Janner, Tink, and Leeli still study their T.H.A.G.S., the "Three Honored and Great Subjects: Word, Form, and Song. Some silly people think that there's a fourth Honored and Great Subject, but those scientists are woefully mistaken."

At least the mathematicians have some company.

North! Or Be Eaten - The Darkness Angle

I loved how On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness made me smile. The smiles don't disappear completely with North! Or Be Eaten, but the crease between my eyebrows grew more predominant. I can't stay this way throughout the series. It can't. That doesn't mean it can't get worse before it gets better, but in order to have a satisfying victory at the end - which I'm hoping there is - readers must have a true understanding of how bad the situation for the characters has become. It's now much clearer, which brings us to...

The Darkness Angle

It was easy to think and hope, as Tink does, that it would be much easier to quietly go back to the cottage and live peacefully and quietly without drawing any undue attention from Fangs, Gnag the Nameless, or even a stray garden thwap. But as details of Gnag’s rule are revealed, it becomes clearer how repressive his rule truly is. There is no chance of quiet peacefulness anymore.

The Stranders living on the banks of the River Blapp live self-sufficiently, relying on grit, determination, and a good amount of wickedness. Children taken on the Black Carriage are simply “tools” working in the cruel Fork! Factory! making Fang weapons. Children and families, when given a seemingly obvious choice of freedom or joining Gnag, repeatedly choose the latter. The homeless and desperate adults of Dugtown are willing to do all manner of evil to reclaim their stolen children.

And Podo. Oh, Podo.

North! Or Be Eaten - The Bigger Picture Angle

My post title calls this "The Bigger Picture Angle," but the working title for me has been...

The “I’m Being Set Up For Something Bigger” Angle

Remember the moment you discovered that the name Sirius Black first appeared in Sorcerer’s Stone? That I-cannot-believe-it’s-been-there-all-along moment when you began to understand, just a bit, how the entire tapestry was being woven, yarn by unbelievable yarn, right from the start and you began reading more carefully, determined not to let another clue slip by?

Is it possible for an author to have that same feeling while writing? I’m guessing it is. I’m guessing Andrew Peterson is enjoying his yarn spinning so much that when he pulls a character, mentioned once, from page 8 of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, it’s impossible for him not to tell you – which he does in the footnotes on page 191.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is full of foreshadow and unanswered questions and facts planted, not as throwaway details, but as foundational blocks upon which the entire story is being built. Many are revealed in North! Or Be Eaten – Podo skipping the Dragon Day Festival, Leeli’s music, the mysterious sea dragons, Oskar’s weapons cache, Peet’s talons – and, I’m guessing, plenty more are right there in plain sight, waiting to be discovered.

North! Or Be Eaten - The Character Angle

It’s taken me a while to complete my review of North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson, mostly because I couldn’t decide which angle to take. I'm still not sure I chose the correct one. So over the next couple days I’m presenting all of them here. My official review can be found over at Help Readers Love Reading!

Ultimately I went with...

The Character Angle:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness introduced us to the Igibys, but North! Or Be Eaten delves much deeper in the characters. Janner begins to understand the responsibility that comes with the title of Throne Warden and the difficulty of achieving the standard expected of him. While he deals with each lapse in responsibility, he sinks a bit closer to what Peet has become because of his own perceived failures, even while Peet soars, newly refreshed, into his new responsibility of protecting the Jewels of Anniera.

Tink’s act-first, think-later personality hasn’t changed, but the stakes have grown. As dangerous as it was for him to leave Janner to run into the forest alone in Book One, now that Gnag the Nameless is aware of the Jewels’ presence, Tink’s actions have him facing something more deadly than a toothy cow of Skree.

Leeli displays maturity and calm when others are on the verge of panic. Her musical ability becomes more than music, but contains within it the power to encourage and uplift her siblings.

Podo’s pirate history is a far cry from innocent seafarer. He was a pirate, in the true sense of the word.

Oskar N. Reteep is … well, he’s still roly-poly but his experiential knowledge is quickly catching up to his book knowledge.

Nia, as circumstances demand, becomes more queen-like with each passing chapter. She leads forcefully when necessary and lovingly when needed but always remains a mother who loves her children, who wants to protect them, all the while allowing them to grow and become the leaders their kingdom needs.

So that's the angle I went with for my review. Check back over the next few days as I offer a few more thoughts about North! Or Be Eaten.