Review: The Warden and the Wolf King (CSFF Tour, Day 2)

At the end of every romance is a wedding, and at the end of every epic fantasy is a war–a war that will remake and reshape worlds and characters we have come to love.

The Warden and the Wolf King is the story, as the cover says, of “The Final Battle for the Shining Isle.” More than that, it’s the final battle for the world of Aerwiar, for if Gnag the Nameless has his way, the entire world will become as misshapen, lost, and miserable as he is.

It’s a thick book, bringing together as it does many threads of a four-book saga: the fates of Artham Wingfeather, Maraly Weaver, and Sara Cobbler; the haunting songs of the sea dragons and the tormented memories of the cloven; Gnag’s terrible plots and the ravages of the Fangs as they prepare to battle Ban Rona. There are new characters, too, and deeply explored backstory.

But most of all, this book is the story of the Jewels of Anniera–Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli Wingfeather–as they carry forward the tragic history of the Shining Isle and fight to give it a chance for rebirth.

Like the other books in the series, The Warden and the Wolf King combines light-hearted humour and a surprisingly goofy edge with a plot that is in many ways very serious and very sad. At the end of all this is hope–hope born of love, born of truth, and born of the importance of being named. In all of these things, this series finale is much like childhood itself.

I strongly recommend the entire Wingfeather Saga to readers of all ages. If I may put it this way, It’s not too simple for children and not too serious for adults.