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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Troll Blood

Langrish, Katherine.  Troll Blood.

I thought I had the first two in the series, but actually had the first and third.  At any rate, you may recall that I said Troll Fell was for children and would make a nice read aloud book for elementary students..  The books, however, seem to grow with the characters, and Troll Blood appealed to me in a way that was completely different.  While still entirely suitable for grades 5-8, the characters are so much better developed.  Nice, isn't it, when characters grow?

Peer and Hilde are older and more complicated.  Their adventure has a great deal of historical truth as well as the mixture of myth and legend.  Great fantasy, but also a nice mixture of character development, suspense, and adventure with historical information easily available.

Most young people, from 7-17, love Viking tales, and Peer, Hilde, and the Nis play their part in a very exciting adventure.  There are good people and bad people, and the ever-present mix of people who contain both good and bad.  Each individual character became just that--an individual.

My favorite character?  The Nis!  By the time Peer has calmed the frightened, confused kidnapped Nis by telling him that as the first Nis to go to sea, he deserves the name of "Nithing the Seafarer"--the Nis becomes the most endearing of all the characters for me.  His personality blooms! 

Peer's concern for the Nis's feelings and self-image is also charming and demonstrates Peer's gentle, humorous humanity.

This is a series that can grow with a young person.  I'd enjoy reading Troll Fell aloud to a child at the younger end of the spectrum, but  Troll Blood is a pleasure for any age to read.

Katherine Langrish has also included a glossary, sources (both primary and secondary) for Viking life and customs, for Scandinavian  folklore, for Native American life and customs, folklore and legends. 

Another one for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Fiction.  Fantasy/Myth.  2007. 332 pages.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much. I loved writing this book, so I'm really happy to know you enjoyed reading it!

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  2. I loved reading it, Katherine! I just read over my review, however, and can't believe I published it without some editing. Ah, well, it gets the point across...Loved the Book!

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  3. I just bought Troll Fell! I bought it because I read the author's blog, and so wanted to read her work.

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  4. Nan, I enjoyed Troll Fell, but was especially impressed with Troll Blood. Now, I have to find the second in the trilogy, Troll Mill.

    I love the way the characters and the plot developed over the course of the series, from a children's book to young adult (and, obviously, Old Adult)!

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