I’ll admit that I’m often a bit hesitant when musicians set out to write books. Perhaps that’s a bit unfair, after all, these are people who craft words for a living, right? Nonetheless, a song is a far cry from a book. It helps that Andrew Peterson has always been a storyteller. His critically acclaimed songs are full of rich imagery and subtle detail. Peterson has recorded seven albums, tours every year and yet still finds time for his wife and three children in their Nashville home.

Peterson’s first book On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness weaves a riveting tale for all ages. The first volume in a series, the tale draws equally on fantasy and family values. The publisher’s summary sets the stage well:

In the quiet land of Skree , the Igiby children—Janner, his younger brother Tink, and their crippled sister Leeli—stumble upon the lost jewels of Anniera and determine to return them. Unfortunately, the scary-bad Gnag the Nameless seeks the jewels for his own evil ends… and so our band of friends, accompanied by their trust dog Nugget, must escape with the help of their mom and grandfather (who happens to be an ex-pirate).

Their journey takes them through an inventively fantastical world of wonders, complete with memorable characters (like Gnag’s evil minions the Fangs and Peet the Sock Man), fanciful creatures (like sea dragons, snickbuzzards, toothy cows, flabbits, and bomnubbles), and captivating places (like the Books & Crannies bookstore, Shaggy Tavern, the Dark Sea of Darkness that divides the land of Skree from Anniera, the Glipwood Forest, Ice Prairies, and the Stony Mountains).

One of the first things that struck me is the silliness (the sock man, toothy cows, snot candles, the “nameless evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless,” etc.). Yet the silliness is never the point and underneath it, behind it, and all around it is a well-crafted story for both young and old. Originally conceived as part of his children’s bedtime stories, the tale of the Igiby family is both entertaining and enthralling. Wrapped in short chapters deep in detail, the story flows well and will hold the attention and imagination of all ages, no small feat to say the least. The characters are not only believable but endearing. The attention to detail quickly draws you in to this fantasy world and while the footnotes can occasionally be a bit distracting, the attention to detail, as silly as it might sometimes be adds to the suspension of disbelief, drawing the reader in to the once quiet land of Skree.

It seems that one of the reasons songwriters sometimes have trouble crossing over into novels is that songs are highly encapsulated, whereas novels are often drawn out. Peterson makes the transition superbly, patiently allowing the action to build, planting just enough details into the soil of the imagination to allow a fully formed novel bloom.

A Christian writing about a fantasy world will obviously draw comparisons to Tolkein and Lewis. Fair or not, this is the path down which Peterson has taken the first step. If the fist book of the series is any indicator of what’s to come, I look forward to traveling this path with him, bringing my sons along for the read. Highly recommended.

• Purchase your copy of On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness at Amazon
• Visit Andrew Peterson’s official website