How do you deepen your love for and understanding of Scripture? There are lots of ways. But one of the often-overlooked paths is by reading the biblical narratives through the lens of fiction. Fiction, of course, does not have the qualities or characteristics of Scripture as the inerrant and infallible word of God. But fiction can tell stories that image Scripture and give us a heightened awareness of what we’ve grown too comfortable to see. Jonathan Rogers’s The Wilderking Trilogy is a great example.
The series has stood the test of time, the twentieth anniversary edition having just been released by Rabbit Room Press. The story is essentially a creative retelling of what happened between King Saul and David, the shepherd boy destined to rule over Israel. As Christians, many of us know this story like the wrinkles in our palms. The narrative lines have been etched into us since youth: the anointing of David as the coming king, the slaying of Goliath, Saul’s love and hate for David, the faithful friendship between him and Jonathan, David’s wild mighty men, constantly on the run from a jealous king. We know all this.
But do we? Are we so familiar with the stories of the Bible that we don’t see into them anymore, let alone letting them see into us? This is where fiction can give us fresh vision.
Synopsis (without Spoilers)
In The Wilderking Trilogy, Aiden Errolson is an unknown “civilizer” shepherd boy in the kingdom of Corenwald. He dreams of adventure but finds mostly the quiet, servile life of a youngest son. But all of that changes when he crosses paths with Dobro, a “feechie” wilderness boy whose life has none of the constraints that Aiden’s does. And when Aiden is sought out and blessed as the prophesied “Wilderking,” his life begins taking on the adventure he had dreamed of. But it turns out that adventure is far more perilous and complex than he thought. Guided by his noble father Errol, the truthspeaker Bayard, and a strand of unlikely friends, Aiden begins to follow the truthspeaker’s simple but mysterious advice: “Live the life that unfolds before you.”
While perceptive readers will be able to trace the biblical origins of Aiden’s adventures, that won’t keep them from smiling (and laughing) at the creative expressions and twists Rogers weaves into the story. Over the course of several years, Aiden will learn what it means to “love goodness more than you fear evil.” He’ll also learn to throw away assumptions about who people are based on appearances—whether wild or refined. He picks up several other skills on the way: wrestling alligators, catching catfish, roasting snake meat. But perhaps the greatest lesson for Aiden, and for readers, is how costly it can be to love goodness in a world where people mostly love themselves.
Why You Should Read It
My son and I loved Rogers’s creativity, even as he held to the basic narrative structure of the biblical account. But, more specifically, why do I think it’s a series worth reading? The short answer (and perhaps this is true of all good fiction) is this: it will change the way you see. As I read to my son, I noticed a new and deepened awareness of the challenges not just that Aiden faced, but that David faced. We considered not just how the king of Corenwald suffered but how King Saul suffered. We discovered a love of good friendship through Aiden and Steren (the king’s son), but that led to a love of the friendship between David and Jonathan. The Wilderking Trilogy quickly became a lens through which we could come to a more sympathetic engagement with the real people in Scripture. And I have no doubt that my son will carry these creative depictions with him as he gets older and becomes more familiar with Scripture. Fiction will help him go deeper in trying to understand the flesh-and-blood people of the Bible. And that’s a special gift for a writer to give his readers. If you have kids between the ages of 8 and 12, I highly recommend the series as a tale that will draw you into the world of Scripture in ways you probably never imagined.
Isaac's (11 years old) Review
As I do with all my reviews, I sat down with my son and asked him for his candid review. Here’s what he had to say.
Isaac’s review: “The Wilderking Trilogy was a good series that followed the story of David and Saul, but with some funny twists. I loved the feechies because they’re very funny and talk differently. They live in the wild, so they don’t have the same manners that we do. I like Bayard, too, because he is a kind old man. If I had to describe the series in one word, I would say I’m torn between ‘hilarious’ and ‘amazing.’”
