The Bark of the Bog Owl Book Review – Part 1

I’m currently reading The Bark of the Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers. This is book 1 of the Wilderking Trilogy.

Why am I reading this book? At first it was because it was part of the October Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour, but after finding out more about the books, I knew that I had stumbled across some real gems.

The question is, since we’ve had them in the house for an entire week, why am I only 1/3 of the way through book 1? Well, with two teenagers in the house, they were scooped up immediately and voraciously read. I’ve just now finally gotten them AND had the time.

So here’s my take on The Bark of the Bog Owl: FANTASTIC! This is a classic young adult fantasy adventure story. Although different in feel, I would place these books alongside C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia for their writing style and appeal to all ages.

Now, mind you, I’m only 1/3 of the way through the first book, but my teenagers have finished the entire trilogy and have almost nothing but good to say. And my kids are very discerning and turn their noses up at a lot of books, so this is high praise.

As a writer, I am learning to become a student of technique, and one of the things that I liked about the book was the way it began. Chapter 1 GRABBED me and had me laughing before I had gotten 1-1/2 pages into the book! Not only that, but I am SURE that the editors who reviewed the book for publication laughed too!

The book begins with a letter by the main character (Aidan Errolson, a 12 year old boy) to the King of Corenwald asking for an adventure to go on. But get this … it is the boy’s fifteenth unanswered letter! How could a publisher send a rejection letter to Jonathan Rogers after an opening like that?

Also, the spirit of optimism that Aidan shows is the kind that we need as authors, because we need to persevere even in the face of rejection.

I’ll review more of the book tomorrow!