The Wilderking Trilogy Series by Jonathan Rogers, Kristi Smith

Twelve-year-old Aidan Errolson comes from a long line of adventurers. His grandparents were among the first settlers of Corenwald’s Eastern Frontier. His father had been one of the kingdom’s greatest warriors. Aidan, on the other hand, lives the quiet, comfortable life of a nobleman’s son. He never has any real adventures, and that, he believes, is the one great injustice of his otherwise happy life. All that will change the day he first hears the bark of the bog owl and meets Dobro Turtlebane... moreTwelve-year-old Aidan Errolson comes from a long line of adventurers. His grandparents were among the first settlers of Corenwald’s Eastern Frontier. His father had been one of the kingdom’s greatest warriors. Aidan, on the other hand, lives the quiet, comfortable life of a nobleman’s son. He never has any real adventures, and that, he believes, is the one great injustice of his otherwise happy life. All that will change the day he first hears the bark of the bog owl and meets Dobro Turtlebane. Dobro is one of the feechiefolk—a tribe of half-civilized swamp dwellers who fight too much, laugh too loud, cry too easily, and smell just terrible. But another meeting on that remarkable day may change Aidan’s life even more profoundly. Bayard the Truthspeaker arrives with a startling pronouncement: Aidan Errolson will grow to be the Wilderking—the long-prophesied wild man who will come out of Corenwald’s forests and swamps to lead the kingdom back to its former glory. There’s just one question: Is Bayard the Truthspeaker a prophet or a madman? This initial installment in The Wilderking Trilogy is sure to capture the hearts of young and old, boys and girls alike. Written in the same fashion as The Lord of the Rings or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Bark of the Bog Owl, as the author says, will help “direct a God-fearing boy’s sense of adventure and warrior spirit – his God-given wildness.” less

As book two opens, Aidan is living in the court of King Darrow. He has become best friends with Darrow's son Steren, and he enjoys great favor among the courtiers. But King Darrow's suspicion is growing and his insecurity causes him to hate the young man who saved his kingdom. Concerned about his king's spiral into ever-darker moods, Aidan asks what he can do to help. Darrow sends him on an imposible adventure to the recesses of Feechiefen Swamp, thinking he is sending Aidan to his death... moreAs book two opens, Aidan is living in the court of King Darrow. He has become best friends with Darrow's son Steren, and he enjoys great favor among the courtiers. But King Darrow's suspicion is growing and his insecurity causes him to hate the young man who saved his kingdom. Concerned about his king's spiral into ever-darker moods, Aidan asks what he can do to help. Darrow sends him on an imposible adventure to the recesses of Feechiefen Swamp, thinking he is sending Aidan to his death. Afterall, no Corenwalder has ever returned from Feechiefen alive. But Aidan's fate is not sealed yet for Aidan has allies among the feechiefolk who know him as the hero Pantherbane. less

n book three of the acclaimed Wilderking Trilogy, civilizer Aidan returns home from three years in Feechiefen Swamp to discover that a party known as the Aidanites has arisen among his fellow Corenwalders. They believe the “Wilderking Chant” makes reference to Aidan, and that he is destined to overthrow Corenwald's tyrant King Darrow. Aidan has no intention of leading any such rebellion... moren book three of the acclaimed Wilderking Trilogy, civilizer Aidan returns home from three years in Feechiefen Swamp to discover that a party known as the Aidanites has arisen among his fellow Corenwalders. They believe the “Wilderking Chant” makes reference to Aidan, and that he is destined to overthrow Corenwald's tyrant King Darrow. Aidan has no intention of leading any such rebellion. But when the Corenwald kingdom continues to weaken, and the enemy Pyrthens threaten to invade, it's clear the Aidanites are the only army his people have left. What soon transpires among civilizers, feechiefolk, Corenwalders, and Pyrthens alike, no reader could predict. When all is said and done, who will be the Wilderking? less