The Sea of Trolls

By Nancy Farmer

Jack is an apprentice bard and just beginning to learn the secrets of his mysterious master, when he and his little sister are captured by Viking chief, Olaf One-Brow, and taken to the court of Ivar the Boneless. Ivar is married to a half-troll named Frith, an evil and unpredictable queen with a strange power over her husband's court. Jack is sent on to the kingdom of the trolls, where he has to find the magical well and undo the charm he has cast on Frith. He is accompanied by Thorgill, a shield maiden, aged 12, who wants to be a berserker when she grows up. Together, they are set for a magical and exciting adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Dec 9, 2008
• ISBN: 9781847397317

Nancy Farmer

Nancy Farmer has written three Newbery Honor books: The Ear, the Eye and the Arm; A Girl Named Disaster; and The House of the Scorpion, which also won the National Book Award and the Printz Honor. Other books include The Lord of Opium, The Sea of Trolls, The Land of the Silver Apples, The Islands of the Blessed, Do You Know Me, The Warm Place, and three picture books for young children. She grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border and now lives with her family in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.

Reviews for The Sea of Trolls

[anderlawlor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An ordinary Saxon farm boy with a kind of abusive dad is picked by the local bard/Druid to be his apprentice and promptly has an adventure involving some Norse pillagers, trolls, and a petulant "shield-maiden" warrior who passes as a boy. Good times!

[satyridae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters are finely drawn and sympathetic, with the possible exception of the whiny/dreamy/mad little sister. The wanna-be-Berserker shield-maiden won my heart from the beginning.

I liked the way Farmer wove in Norse myths and legends as well as historical detail. None of that ever overpowered the sheer storytelling, either.

Highly recommended.

[natalieleclerc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

the sea of trolls was perfect for me because i love anchient civilisations!!!!

[laurenbdavis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh, a rollicking good tale! Such fun. An adventure in high order -- and with trolls. What more could you ask for? Okay, in a few places the dialogue sounds jarringly modern, and it's all pretty predictable, but who cares. Every once in a while I just have to cleanse my palate from all the heady literary books in which I'm usually nose deep and a book like this is just the ticket. YA books, when they're well written as this one is, marry humor and subtle morality with breath-taking plotting. I enjoy it utterly, and do so utterly guilt-free!

[kclaire_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An adventure involving boats, water, animals, mythical creatures, a bird, and finding your way back home. This story is wrapped in Norse mythology. Jack, a bard’s apprentice, and his spoiled, younger sister Lucy are captured by berserkers, a band of barbaric Viking warriors, and taken away on their boat. The story evolves into a magical quest to Jotunheim, home to trolls, before Jack can win their way back to their Saxon village home. Jack gradually discovers his strength and power though at first “He couldn’t think of a thing to do, other than stay alive for Lucy’s sake. She had no idea of their extreme danger. To her, this was merely an uncomfortable adventure.”(page 97) The book would not be as good were the violence in the book not relieved by the counterpoint of kindness, “Don’t be angry, the Bard said. “Most people live inside a cage of their own expectations. It makes them feel safe. The world’s a frightening place full of glory and wonder and, as we’ve both discovered danger…No kindness is ever wasted, nor can we ever tell how much good may come of it.””(page 449) This is the truth of fairy tales and a beautiful thread that runs through this story.Bring in a model or picture of a Viking ship. Draw a picture of Yggdrassil, the tree of life, showing the various realms in Norse mythology. Repeat the nursery rhyme of Jack and Jill went up the hill, and tell about how most nursery rhymes very often describe an historical event. In Yggdrassil there is a well, and in “The Sea of Trolls” Jack must fetch water from this well before he can save his sister Lucy and get back to his home.

[prpl_reader_services · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story begins with a young boy named Jack who leaves home to study magic with the local bard (a type of wizard). Soon after, the bard’s magic warns him of an impending attack by Vikings. While warning his family of the attack, Jack and his younger sister are kidnapped by the berserk invaders. Forced into slavery upon the Viking ship, the two siblings must survive their captures brutality, attacks by dragons, encounters with trolls, and the most evil Queen in the land to make it back home. At nearly 500 pages, this book would appear to be quite the undertaking for its target audience, 10 to 13 year olds. But with an eclectic cast of intriguing characters and a wonderful mix of legend, historical fiction, and adventure the novel never slows down and the book is difficult to set down. It is no wonder that the author, Nancy Farmer, has received multiple Newbery honors. Her attention to detail and her historical accuracy create a story that is captivating and exciting throughout. Recommended Reads: I think this would appeal to young adults who like mythical series such as Eragon by Paolini, Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, The Lightning Thief by Riordan, and The Ranger’s Apprentice by Flanagan.

[richiespicks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Richie's Picks: THE SEA OF TROLLS by Nancy Farmer"He dragged Jack to the campfire and selected a knife for him to carry. 'This is for your protection. You're not to join in the fight,' Olaf said. " 'Don't worry,' said Jack. " 'I know how exciting pillaging is,' the giant said fondly, ruffling Jack's hair. It felt like a blow. 'No matter how much you're tempted, just say no.' " 'Just say no to pillaging. You got it.' " Despite reading some of her consistently award-winning tales, many of you may not be aware of how funny Nancy Farmer can be. But for those who have gotten to spend any time around her it's no surprise to encounter all sorts of terrific humor in her fabulous, fantastical new adventure, THE SEA OF TROLLS. And for anyone who has read Gordon Korman's SON OF THE MOB, with all of Vince's so-called "uncles" bearing wacky names, you'll understand why that book comes to mind as Nancy Farmer introduces us to the likes of Ivar the Boneless, Einar the Ear-Hoarder, Pig Face, Dirty Pants, Eric Pretty-Face, Eric the Rash, and Magnus the Mauler. Eleven-year-old Jack, who had been happily apprenticing with The Bard, and Jack's five-year-old sister, Lucy, are captured and enslaved by the Northmen and head off in their custody to destinations unknown. The Holy Isle that Jack sees through the haze is Lindisfarne. The Holy Isle's destruction in A.D. 793, which marked the onset of two hundred years of Viking raids on Great Britain, provides readers with a historic reference point for this year's great epic adventure story. Farmer packs THE SEA OF TROLLS' 450 pages full of humor, history, mythology, and adventure. This is a deceptively complex story, beyond the mere fact that readers encounter Vikings, trolls, dragons, Beowulf, big-mouth fathers, and all sorts of other good stuff in the same book. What readers (and Jack) are left to sort out at the end of the odyssey are their feelings about the berserkers--those Northmen invaders with whom Lucy and Jack spend all of that time. On one hand, the siblings and the berserkers have all become so close to each other as they share stories, meals, and life and death struggles of immense proportion. Through those experiences, and despite their beliefs and customs being so different from his own, Jack has repeatedly seen and felt their humanity. As readers, we come to know and love the violent and smelly Olaf and Thorgil, and their wild and wacky comrades. On the other hand, even as Jack has to steel himself for having to say good-bye to them, he has to recognize (as we also have to) that the berserkers' intent--indeed their need, if their civilization is to survive--is to return to Jack's Britain again and again, robbing and pillaging and enslaving and murdering and partaking in those other activities that my eighth grade science teacher would repeatedly tell us about. "That's why you're genetically all a little bit of everything!" insisted old Mr. Max Krenis in his white lab coat and spectacles. So how do we as readers feel about the berserkers' need to invade in order to survive? How would we feel if we were Jack? How does "Love thine enemies" relate to the story? How does the Stockholm Syndrome fit in? How will readers relate all this to our being at war right now, and to the widespread suspicion of all people from that part of the world? But there's still more to THE SEA OF TROLLS. In fact, there is a whole 'nother story before Olaf One-Brow and his homies even show up in Britain the first time. The tale begins with Jack and Lucy, their family, and the Bard. Jack's a bright kid with an overbearing father who dotes on little Lucy. The Bard is a mysterious old guy who showed up a couple of years earlier, moved into the ancient Roman house overlooking the sea, and is provided for by the community. One day when Jack is delivering provisions to the Bard, he invites Jack back for lunch. The relationship that develops between Jack and the Bard is so heartwarming that I'd be happy to just keep going back and reading the first portion of the book again and again. The old man takes the beaten-down boy and, as he teaches him song, story, nature, and wisdom, he works to make Jack understand what a special kid he really is. And, oh what stories the Bard does tell him. Then, that time as an apprentice ends for Jack with the arrival of the long ships. And the real journey begins. THE SEA OF TROLLS nearly defies categorization, there are so many sides to it. And I couldn't begin to recount what Shari tried to explain to me about all of Nancy Farmer's allusions to traditional mythologies. But the humor, the excitement and danger, the history, and the characters who are real enough to cause you to really mourn the end of the book make THE SEA OF TROLLS the latest success in the career of one of the great storytellers of our time.

[mdomsky_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an amazing historical fantasy about a boy named Jack who is captured and enslaved by viking berserkers. I'm no expert on this time period or culture, but as far as I can tell, Farmer slips a lot of historical and mythical details naturally into the story, as well as some magic and of course, trolls!

[okmliteracy8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An action packed book filled with surprises. An imaginable fantasy land. A thrilling book with twists and turns of magic and betrayal.Shows you that a normal person can become someone that matters to everyone.This book was amazing. filled with magic and power. An imaginative novel. Powerful. It puts you into an amzing fantasy world filled with creatures and trolls, allies and enemies.Keevin L.

[viviandoughty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nancy Farmer has taken actual historical incidents circa the years 635 to 700 and woven them into a fantasy that might have been imagined by the early Vikings. It is quite an interesting book idea, however, lacks a "golden thread" that pulls me into devoted reading. This is definitely not one of those, "I couldn't stop reading it" books. The story takes a long time to develop. I'm not even quite sure I could find a plot in the beginning, however, many small plots develop throughout the story managing to carry my interest to the end of the book. Many details are re-visited and answer lingering questions at the end. As a plus, Farmer has quite a way of developing scenery and characters (and, oh, there are sooo many of both). Farmer also has a way of using language familiar to today's teens to draw them in. I would recommend this to my average middle-schooler book clubs where discussion/question/answers abound. I would reserve it for more advanced middle-school readers looking for "something new".

[df_1anicholasv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is riviting with details of epic adventure and folklore.You feel as though you are in a adventure from the start!

[bookladymn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nancy Farmer is a wonderful story teller. Every book she writes is supremely researched and this is no exception. Set in the mid-700s AD, the story follows the thrilling adventures of Jack from his humble beginnings as a "common farm brat" through his apprenticeship to a Bard, then his abduction by beserker Norsemen, and his quest to the hall's of the Ice Queen for passage to Memeer's well so that he can save his sister, Lucy's life.Highly recommended!

[bibliophile26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fantasy set in the time of Beowulf, in which Jack, a Saxon boy who is training to be a bard (a magician), is carried off by the invading Northmen. Jack must go on a quest to the land of the trolls, where he encounters dragons, giant spiders and more, in order to save his sister Lucy. No wonder Farmer is an award winner. Her books are well-researched, engaging and original (although she does relate the Beowulf story and other elements of fantasy writing). I think she is my favorite children's author. I loved The House of the Scorpion as well. I can't recommend her books highly enough.

[eduscapes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nancy Farmer's books are widely varied and always exciting. I got so engaged in this book that it's lead me to an entire exploration of my Norse heritage. We're even going on an exploration of the Viking sites in North America. The book tells the story of Jack and his little sister who are captured by Viking Berserkers and taken by ship to their home. The boy must undertake a quest through the land of trolls to save his sister.