The Sea of Trolls

Written for a somewhat younger audience than Farmer's Lord of Opium, but engaging with at least one of the same themes: living with evil. The setting in Lord of Opium was SFnal, where the US has collapsed, a border country founded on opium trade has arisen, ruled by a drug lord, whose only successful clone is our young protagonist. In Sea, the setting is fantasy, where the historical world of the Saxons and Vikings is still connected to the world of Beowulf, trolls, Yggdrasil, and so on. Jack is a 12-year, kidnapped along with his younger sister Lucy by berserkers serving under Olaf, their chief. The story and inevitable quest is predictable. One plot twist is frustratingly obvious very early to an adult reader, but probably fine for a show more younger reader. Farmer's world-building is extremely well-done. But, as in Lord, it's Jack's relationship to the berserkers that makes the book stand out. While rape is never mentioned, the bloody violence of the raids is made very clear. Olaf, like the drug lord, alternates between charming and insightful and casually violent and cruel. Jack can't help admiring these people, while being appalled at the same time.

Unlike many fantasy trilogies, the story here is complete. You could read this and stop, but you'll probably want to see more. Recommended. show less

Summary: Jack thought he was just an ordinary farm boy until he became an apprentice to the local bard - who is teaching him music, but also the magic of the Life Force. When his village is attacked by Viking berserkers, and he and his little sister are taken as thralls, he doesn't know the perils in store for him - in order to survive and maybe get home, he'll have to learn to deal with the Northmen, face down dragons, brave the perils of troll country, and learn more about magic than he ever thought possible.

Review: This book's got an excellent blend of fantasy, mythology, epic hero's quest, magic, morality, and coming of age story. I'm not sure exactly what the target age is - Jack's twelve, which would usually indicate mid-grade, show more but there's enough mythology, character development, plot complexity, and generally more mature feeling to the storyline that it reads as more of a young adult. Norse mythology is something I came to only very lately in my reading life, so it's interesting to see it worked into fantasy in a new way, and it would be a very palatable and memorable introduction for someone who doesn't know the myths themselves. Plus, there's some very interesting blending with Saxon magic/mythology, including a different perspective on the story of Beowulf that will probably be taken in stride by younger readers, but made me go "Wait, Beowulf?!?" All around, this is a solid, and solidly entertaining, piece of fantasy adventure, and my only real complaint is that the pseudo-romantic storyline that kept getting hinted at never went anywhere... although the kids *are* only twelve, plus there's a sequel - which I'll definitely be reading. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Original, well-crafted, and enjoyable young adult fantasy. It may not be destined to become a favorite, but it's good fun, and well worth reading. show less

This book was super super fun! The writing managed to make it really believable that we were seeing the world through a child's eyes (well, an 11-year-old) and it was still really an intriguing, wonderful book. It also felt very self-contained, though I am intending to go off and read the other two. It was clear that Nancy Farmer did a lot of research, but not in an info-dump way that makes it clear that's what she was doing. The book was exciting and an easy read--I finished it in about two days, if that says anything, though it does clock in at around 450 pages. Overall, I though this book was super fun and I was glad to have read it!

This was a reread, in preparation for the second, [book: The Land of the Silver Apples]. I remembered that I liked it, but I couldn't remember anything about the plot. Indeed, I felt as though I was reading it for the first time.

There are so many wonderful things about this book. I absolutely love the Nordic mythology that is woven into it and that one reference that is there the whole time, but you don't see until it jumps out and hits you in the face. The characters are wonderful, the adventure is exciting, the whole book is rich with literary references. This is why I love [author: Nancy Farmer].

Jack, an apprentice bard, finds himself on a hero's quest when he and his little sister, Lucy, are captured by raiding Vikings and enslaved. show more His journey takes him through the Viking's country and Jotunheim (the land of Trolls) to the lifeblood of the earth itself.

My only issue is in the character of Lucy. She is repeatedly referred to as a baby, and most of the time, I would say she is believably between two and four years old. However, there is one instance, when she and Jack have first been captured, that she explains her emotional and psychological state in sophisticated terms that would have been more appropriate coming from Heide, the wise woman, than a very young child. The scene is glaring in a story that is so marvelously subtle, and consequently makes me scrutinize each scene with Lucy in order to figure out just how old she is supposed to be.

I hope that in [book: The Land of the Silver Apples], we see more of Heide, the Troll Queen, and, of course, Thorgil. show less

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer is a lively tale of myth and magic set in the long ago days of yore. Jack has been the apprentice to a powerful wizard, called the Bard, for a year when trouble comes to the village. Berserkers from the north lands capture Jack and his sister, Lucy and take them away with them back to their home in the north. But this is only the beginning of the adventure, as Jack eventually must join forces with his captors and embark on quest to save his sister, Lucy from the evil half-troll queen who is planning on sacrificing her.

As Jack and his companions, Olaf One-Brow, the young shield maiden, Thorgil, and a crow called Boldheart, travel deeper and deeper into Jotunheim, the homeland of the Tolls, the magic gets show more stronger and the creatures more strange and powerful. They eventually arrive at Ice Mountain, home to the Troll Queen Glamdis and she agrees to help him even though she is the mother of the evil queen.

This was a wonderful tale based on Scandinavian legends. The author obviously researched Nordic mythology and came up with this story peopled by trolls, dragons, giant spiders and Vikings. Although aimed at children, this is a book for anyone who enjoys good fantasy, complex characters and exciting adventures. At it’s heart, this is an epic fantasy and the author often uses humor to advance the plot, this worked very well and kept the book light, fresh and fun. The Sea of Trolls was a thoroughly enjoyable book, and although it is complete in itself, this is the first of a trilogy that I am excited to continue on with. show less

Farmboy and Bard's apprentice Jack is eleven years old when he and his sister Lucy are kidnapped by berserkers during a Viking raid on their village. When Lucy is given to the half-troll queen Frith as a prize, Jack must use all of his talents and all of his wits to travel through Jotenheim to save her.

The Sea of Trolls is a well-researched adventure story that combines English and Norse mythology with historical details from the 8th century AD. And if that sounds dull, think again. Jack goes up against trolls, dragons, and berserkers with an incomplete knowledge of magic at best. His companions on his quest have a completely different outlook on life than he -and at least one of them delights in needling him. The characters were show more interesting and well-fleshed out, although both Thorgil and Lucy got on my nerves at times. Thorgil I could understand, but I just wanted to smack Lucy on several occasions.

I enjoyed the quest and the interweaving of mythology, even though I'm not usually a Norse mythology fan. I liked that Jack actually needed (and used) the help he got from others. Everyone makes mistakes, has to pay for them, and then has to figure out how to make things right. I liked his growing bond with Thorgil despite their differences.

This one's not going to get a glowing review from me; parts of the book felt more sketched than anything, and I wasn't as invested in the story as I would have liked to be. I had one of the bigger plot twists figured out at the beginning, but it's a good solid adventure story for young adults, and one I would recommend.

Also posted at my blog. show less

Jack and his sister Lucy, a couple of Saxon children in 793 C.E., are kidnapped by a party of raiding Norsemen. Jack, learning the magic of being a bard (and there is magic in this book) struggles between hating Olaf and his band of berserkers and appreciating their finer qualities. I found it extremely difficult to swallow that Jack would have appreciated anything about any of them, ever.) They are taken to the North, where Lucy, the slave of Thorgill, (a young "shield maiden" about Jack's age) gives Lucy to Frith, an evil half Troll half human queen. To save Lucy, Jack, along with Olaf, Thorgill and a handful of chosen men must go to the land of the Trolls and.... Oh it's just too much.
Suffice to say, it's a somewhat Hobbit like tale, show more in that there is a quest, and a variety of relatively unrelated adventures happen along the way. Thorgill is turned from a hateful, spiteful wretch to a somewhat more palatable girl, but unfortunately this happens because of ~magic~ not because she learns anything about life.
Not a bad book, but not a great one either. show less