Frostborn

Thrones & Bones: Frostborn is a Norse-influenced fantasy about a 12-year-old farmer's son named Karn and a 13-year-old girl named Thianna whose father is a frost giant and her late mother was a human. The book opens with a dire chase scene.

"Thrones and Bones" is the board game Karn is obsessed with rather than farming. His father is the elder of twins, and Karn's uncle is quite bitter about being the second son. If Karn were actually paying attention to what his uncle tells him, he might not have followed his uncle down to a barrow and then followed "dear" uncle's instructions. This leads to the uncle getting his wish, and Karn having to run for his life with three draugr (undead rotting corpses) after him.

Thianna is skillful, but faces show more prejudice from some of her father's people because she's shorter than a normal frost giant (and looks like her mother). She is most reluctant to accompany her father to trade with humans, but that's how she meets Karn.

Thianna also has to go on the run from the same villainesses (who naturally think of themselves as righteous warriors) who were responsible for her parents meeting. They want the little horn Thianna inherited from her mother.

As will probably satisfy video/computer game enthusiasts, Karn's obsession helps to save the day more than once as soon as he begins to think of his surroundings as a game board and his attackers as playing pieces. Thianna's strength, magic, and practical knowledge also save the day several times. They make a good team.

I think my favorite adventure was when they had to flee into a ruined city and meet Orm the enormous dragon. Orm just loves playing cat-and-mouse. These 'mice' give him a bigger workout than he anticipated. Thianna puts her mother's horn to good use. The name of the ruined city sounds like 'Sardeth,' which amused me because Orm is the doom that came to Sardeth and one of famed horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's short stories is 'The Doom That Came to Sarnath'. If it's a homage, I like it!

Karn and Thianna do get captured. How they turn the tables on their respective captors was a lot of fun.

I enjoyed Fabio Tassone's narration. If there is a downside to listening to an audio book, though, it's not learning how to spell the names of characters who aren't listed on the box.

Book one is enjoyable enough that book two should be worth encountering. show less

Frostborn is advantageously placed in a trend of interest in Norse mythology and things involving ice, what with Thor, the Loki craze (Marvel version and otherwise), and Frozen. It’s similar enough to those things to make a good recommendation — it’s similar enough to The Hobbit to make a good recommendation! — but as with all the best books for kids, it’s full of substance, and it has a flavor all its own. It’s well-written and well-plotted. It’s clear what’s happening and accessible for those who are just getting into longer books, but it’s complex enough to get your teeth into. It’s light and fun, but it has serious themes about acceptance, family, and loyalty (both when you should have it and when you show more shouldn’t). None of those themes are driven in with a sledgehammer, they’re just there if you wanna talk about them.

My favorite thing is how the book is explicitly for both boys and girls, not just a “boy book” that girls will also like. Karn and Thianna always get equal billing, and they’re always equally important.

Full review (with more details about Karn and Thianna) here: http://hannahgivens.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/review-frostborn-by-lou-anders/ show less

I must admit that this book took a while to get into. I'm glad I stuck it out, because it did improve once I got past the character introductions which took longer than it needed to. The book takes place in a Nordic fantasy world reminiscent of the Scandinavian countries. Thankfully there is a map because it helps the reader get the lay of the land. There are two main characters, Karn and Thianna. Karn is the son of a farmer who would love to spend all his days playing a board game called Thrones and Bones. Thianna is a half-breed frost giant who detests her human side. She has an inferiority complex because, at 8 ft. tall, she is short for a giant.

Karn lives in the low farmlands of Norrongard. Thianna lives in the mountains of Ymiria. show more Their lives intersect when they arrive at a market fair to barter goods. Given that Karn is human and Thianna is a frost giant, they don’t expect to get along so well. They enjoy the festivities together then part ways. Their lives cross again when Karn finds himself on the run from the Afterwalkers, aka the undead. Thianna saves him numerous times and then realizes she can use some help also as she flees a huntress who wants Thianna’s magical horn.

There is much more to this book. It’s loaded with mythical creatures like wyverns (dragons) and trolls. From the moment Karn meets Thianna, the action never slows down. I appreciate the author not jamming all the action into the very end like so many authors do. He keeps it steady all the way. I also like the ancient feel of the story and the unique Nordic setting. This is true fantasy to the core. show less

I've always been a fan of boardgames ranging from very thematic and involved games to the more abstract strategy games like Chess. I've also always enjoyed the Norse mythology and viking adventures. So naturally I was intrigued by Thrones & Bones: Frostborn. The quick summary tells of a young boy named Karn who would "rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones" and of a half frost giantess named Thianna. While the story is set in its own fantasy world, it's based on concepts, ideas and creatures from the Norse mythos. The author invented the board game "Thrones and Bones" for the book but based it on the old Viking game Hnefatafl. The only risk I saw in reading this book was that it was rumored to be the start of a series and I show more sometimes have a hard time keeping up with a series.

This is a middle grader novel so the prose is simple and the plot is fast paced. This doesn't prevent the author from weaving a rather complex history and creating an elaborate world. The characters, races, mythology and environments are rich and vibrant. The writing is enjoyable and engaging and sure to appeal to young readers while also maintaining enough depth to hold the interest of adult readers.

The book begins with a prologue adventure. The prologue takes place numerous years before the primary plot of the book but the author leaves the reader in the dark as to how the prologue ties in for the first many chapters. I was able to guess at some of the connections but most of the intrigue and mystery is unraveled with just the right balance of clues and revelations to keep the plot surprising and yet teetering on the edge of allowing the reader to guess at the secrets.

The two primary characters Karn and Thianna come from very different backgrounds and seem unlikely to have anything in common or any reason to be paired up for the plot of the story. Each of them are caught in the middle of struggles with the traditions and beliefs of their people. Karn is the heir to a multi-generation farm with the tradition of being passed from father to eldest son. Karn has no desire to take over the farm and is at odds with his father as a result. Thianna is a half breed living among frost giants and sharing in much of their strength and other physical traits but with the body size closer to a human and as a result is constantly teased and persecuted by other frost giants.

The two characters come together are each of their fathers drag them on an outing to an annual trading event between giants and humans. As the two children at the event, Karn and Thianna are thrown together to play and explore. They get to know each other and become casual friends but still don't establish any bond that will set them off on an adventure.

Until they each find their lives thrown into chaos by completely different causes. One is undermined by conspiracy and greed that results in running to escape undesirable consequences. The other is overtaken by a secret from the past that seeks revenge. Both Thianna and Karn run off into the wilderness for fear of their life. Neither is certain of the path to follow. Fate or coincidence allows their paths to cross and they decide to travel together and figure out what to do. Through their travels, they grow closer and come up with plans to overcome the past and deal with the people and creatures hunting them.

The adventure is quite fun even if there were a few elements that felt somewhat borrowed. (There were a few particular scenes that reminded me very directly of one of my favorite Disney films...in fact, from a certain point on I read a particular character using the voice of the Disney animated character). In spite of some predictability or heavy handed coincidences I really enjoyed the story and felt very satisfied with the way things played out. My only real problem was that both characters felt significantly older than their years. I will grant that Karn's affinity to his board game may have uncovered a more mature strategic aptitude but that mature aptitude seemed to expand to his whole being in a way that felt a little stretched for a pre-teen boy. Thianna similarly felt a little more like a young adult than an early adolescent. Usually I didn't even think of this until I glanced at the cover art showing a very young pair of children.

My apprehension at this being the first in a series was unfounded. Even though it's clear from the final page that the author intends to write more stories in this world and with these characters, he very cleanly brought this particular story to a conclusion. I don't mind cliffhangers in a series, I just have a hard time keeping up with multi-book sagas and sadly don't always finish them. Fortunately this book works great as a standalone and while it does leave me intrigued for the future of the characters, it ties up the loose ends and wraps the conclusion up nicely.

Overall this was a great read. It's definitely aimed to younger readers and will be very accessible to them. The plot and the content are very appropriate for younger readers while still having enough depth and intrigue to keep an older reader interested. It has some fun fantasy elements alongside a light smattering of history, cultural and political intrigue. Generally it's just an exciting adventure story but it also has a few short asides to allow the reader to think more deeply about some situations and concepts. I really enjoyed this book and hope to pass it over to my kids with the expectation that they'll like it as well.

****
4 out of 5 stars show less

I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program for review. It looked like a fun fantasy middle grade read, and it was. This is the first book in the Thrones and Bones series.

Karn is a preteen boy who is supposed to be learning how to take over a very successful Norrøngard family farm. Unfortunately he has no interest in farming and would rather play his favorite game Thrones and Bone. Karn ends up having to flee his hometown and runs into the young half-giantess, Thianna. Thianna has also had to flee her home for sensitive reasons. Thianna and Karn have meet briefly before at a trade gathering and they end up making their way through the wilderness and trying to survive together. The giantess is being chased but she isn’t show more sure why, all she knows is that it has something to do with the horn she carries.

This was a well done middle grade adventure fantasy. I enjoyed the different races of creatures; humans, trolls, giants, wyverns. It was a fun read with a lot of adventure, action, and some magic.

It is nice that it features both a boy and a girl as main characters, so it should appeal to fantasy lovers of all genders. The writing style and plot were fairly straightforward and simple to read. As such, I think it will appeal to younger readers (middle read) even more than it did to me as an adult.

There is a lot about people working towards their strengths and how friendship can carry you through difficult times. Thianna and Karn both have very different strengths and weaknesses and they find that by working together they can survive many tough situations. They were both engaging and likable characters; they make some mistakes but do learn from the mistakes they make.

Anders has created a very detailed world here with maps a glossary of terms, and even a section in the back that shows how to play the game Thrones and Bones.

The book is tied up very nicely at the end and there are no big cliffhangers. As I said the plot and writing level are fairly easy, so I think younger middle grade readers will enjoy this book more than adults will.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a nice, simple adventure story with some intrigue and some interesting races of characters. The world is incredibly well thought out and very detailed. I would recommend to those who like middle grade fantasy and I am curious to see where this series goes in the future. show less

ARC provided by NetGalley

This is one of those books that took me a while to read, because everytime I started to I didn’t have time to finish it. And I had to finish it! I couldn’t just start it and not, it was such a page turner from the beginning. Action packed, good plot, and great, great characters. Ones that both boys and girls will identify with, which is something that can be hard to find in an action adventure story like this one. Both characters defy the stereotypes, they do so with humor (at times) and just go for it. Its a great book and I’m glad that I finally had a chance to read it. I hope that this is just the first book and we get to see more of this world and these two fantastic characters. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

This one has a cool setting inspired by ancient Norse culture and a nice mix of male and female characters to hopefully appeal to both readers. However adults who enjoy middle grade probably won't be terribly impressed with the rather cliche plot and struggling banter. I'm still tempted to buy a copy since it's so pretty though and includes chapter heading illustrations!

Full review to come at: