More book reviews!

So after a weekend of semi-relaxation, I've finished reading a couple of nice stories: The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, and Escape to Malmillard by K. G. McAbee.


The Sea of Trolls

This young adult fantasy/period piece is heavily influenced by Norse Mythology in a time where multiple religions were commonplace in Europe. The story focuses upon Jack, a young farm boy that has dreams of a better life for himself that slowly come true when he comes to become the apprentice of an old man known simply as "The Bard." The Bard shows him the world of nature and magic through song and contemplation as Jack slowly grows in power and confidence. His life gets turned on its ear however, when the village is set upon by berserkers from the north, led by a giant of a man named Olaf One-Brow. Along with his little sister Lucy, and a crow named Bold Heart, Jack faces many grand perils and fantastic monsters in this coming of age story. Nancy does an excellent job portraying the people of that time period, which is set around the 800s AD. The mythology references are used tastefully without being too over the top and there's just enough magic to make things interesting. My only real complaint, though it's not much of one, is that the ending seemed a tad unsatisfying. I don't know, it just seemed that it could have been executed a little better and felt a bit more dramatic, even though it is written for a younger audience. If you like mythology, especially Norse mythology, give it a read, I don't think it will disappoint.


Escape to Malmillard

The first in this series of books, this high fantasy tale tells the story of a young boy named Erek, a mage in training. His parents long dead, Erek is in the care of his aunt Ivera, who only looks upon him as a tool, hoping the boy will learn just enough magic to be useful to her. It's soon discovered by his new tutor, Andru, that he has the potential to become a master adept, which is the highest rank a mage can ascend to. Such knowledge if it got out would surely mean the end of his studies, and soon Erek finds himself whisked away to Malmillard with Commander DiaVandryn and her captains Vlad and Ursyn. As is the way of such novels, they face plenty of twists and turns along the way, so that Erek can realize his true potential, though there are doubts brewing in his mind of whether he really wants such a life. The characters are well-developed and the setting is well-crafted, though sadly, the book was far too short for me to really care about what happened to them. Not that quantity is important for such a book, but I would've liked a bit more to flesh out the story, since it seemed like things progressed a little too fast. All in all, it did leave with me a desire to read more of her works, I can only hope the second book makes things far more interesting.


Now that I've finished up these books, I'll be continuing catching up on The Wheel of Time series with Crossroads of Twilight, the tenth book in the series. I'll be reviewing that next when I am finished. Thank you and good night.