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The Sea Of Trolls (Sea of Trolls #1)

by Nancy Farmer

395 · rating details · 4154 ratings · 512 reviews

Three time Newbery honor author Nancy Farmer's epic fantasy, The Sea of Trolls, is gigantic in every way. There are big Vikings and bigger trolls. There are big themes--hope, despair, life and death. At a substantial 450+ pages, the sheer size of this hefty tome is impressive. But, like all of Farmer's fine work, the large scale has room for enormous quantities of heart an...more

Published (first published 2004)

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Mar 12, 2009

Kim rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 11-and-up, fantasy

Really I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. I liked it.

In my daughter's review, she said this book was "gruesome" so I felt compelled to read it to find out what that meant to her. I would not use that same word to describe it. It is a story set in Viking times, and a historical event was used as background to this story - when Lindisfarne, AKA the Holy Isle was destroyed by Vikings in 793 AD. Although this is a story about Vikings, that is only one aspect of it. And fo...more

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Nov 01, 2011

Hazel Lee rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Hazel by: Chase.curriculum

Shelves: fiction-fantasy, chase, fiction-juvenile

I loved reading this book - epic adventure, full of all the traditional elements of a good fantasy: trolls, dragons, warriors, bards, and magic. But the adventure is made better by the complexity of the characters. There are no clear-cut lines between good and evil in this book - only characters that are very human in their imperfection. I think this book does a good job of pushing young readers to think about cultural relativism - or at least introduce them to the concept.

I was ann...more

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Aug 25, 2011

Alcina rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: children-youth

An engaging, wonderfully woven tale. Blue loved it. I was kind of bored with the adventures by the time of the spider singing (a marvelous concept, but I was not fully present by then, maybe cause I'm a grown up). The use of real history as a jumping point was clever and we will be doing some research on Vikings and the Pict people (the true original Pixies). Blue says the Rangers Apprentice series does the same thing with actual historical nods.

I am once again disheartened by anothe...more

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Aug 04, 2011

Jacob Aitken added it · review of another edition

This book had a good interplay of different stories and languages. It is your typical "Saxon kids get kidnapped by Vikings book." You could have anticipated most chapters. However, here is what I noticed that was unique about the book:

The Norse religion was shown to have some superior elements to the medieval catholicism of the children. BUt this Norse religion failed at the climactic moment.

The characters, while WEstern CHristians, noticed flaws in their own religion that they nev...more

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Nov 20, 2008

Matthew H. rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fantasy lovers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 15, 2011

Rburenstein rated it

· review of another edition

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer is an intense, interesting, suspenseful fantasy book based around an 11-year-old boy named Jack, and his little sister Lucy. The book takes place in 793 A.D. of a fantasy world. This world is separated into 3 regions, each containing different occupants. One is an icy region containing the Ice trolls called Jotunheim, one containing the berserkers, and one containing humans. Jack and Lucy are kids in a family of four, living on a seaside town. Jack spends a lot ...moreThe Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer is an intense, interesting, suspenseful fantasy book based around an 11-year-old boy named Jack, and his little sister Lucy. The book takes place in 793 A.D. of a fantasy world. This world is separated into 3 regions, each containing different occupants. One is an icy region containing the Ice trolls called Jotunheim, one containing the berserkers, and one containing humans. Jack and Lucy are kids in a family of four, living on a seaside town. Jack spends a lot of his time with the Bard, who is the only one on the island who knows how to read, and tells wonderful stories. The villagers of the island are all somewhat scared of the Bard because they think that he is magical because he can read, and is a very strange man.
The Beginning of the book centers on Jack and the Bard building a relationship, and eventually the Bard becoming Jacks mentor. The Bard tells Jack myths and stories, like Beowulf, Mimir’s Well, and the Bard’s argument with Frothi a troll queen. The Bard eventually reveals to Jack that he is indeed magic, and can bend some of the laws of the world. After one day the Bard warns jack that berserkers are coming to raid the village, and to warn the other villagers. The next day Jack visits the Bard, but the Bard is crazy and cannot seem to communicate, he just squawks whenever he opens his mouth. Later that day the berserkers raid the village, and kidnap Jack and Lucy.
Jack wakes up on a boat with a berserker crew, the captain is named Olaf. On the boat a tom girl girl berserker named Thorgil bullies Jack, but find entices the crew with his poems and singing. While spending one of his days on the boat a crow flies down and sits next to Jack, this crow spends the rest of the journey with Jack. Olaf and his crew attempt to sell Jack and Lucy at a slave market, but no one purchases Jack and Lucy at a slave market, but no one purchases either of them, so Olaf takes them back to his house. Jack and Lucy stay at Olaf’s house until there is a large feast with the Troll royalty. During the feast Jack tries to sing a song about Friths (a troll princess) hair, because it is immaculate. During the song Jack accidentally uses magic, and Friths hair falls out completely. As a result of this, Frith decides to take Lucy, and go back to Jotunheim until Jack can make her hair grow back.
Jack asks Olaf to take him to Jotunheim in order to save Lucy, and Olaf agrees but demands that he and Thorgil are travelling with him. The three (and the crow) arrive in Jotenheim. During their first night in Jotenheim Olaf fights a gigantic boar, and gets mortally wounded, but in a gallant finishing breath he kills the boar. Jack and Thorgil bury Olaf, and then continue on their adventure after mourning Olafs death. On their adventure Jack and Thorgil defeat a dragon, the dragons blood gets on Thorgil and gives her the power to converse with animals. Jack and Thorgil arrive at the Ice troll palace, and talk to the troll queen, they get along very well and she invites them to watch her play a chess game with The Fates. Before watching the queen and The Fates play chess Jack tries to use his to restore Friths hair, but he cannot perform the magic necessary to give her hair back. Jack and Thorgil then go to the chess game, and during the game The Fates teleport them to Mimir’s Well. Mimir’s well has the ability to grant any wish, as long as something is given up in return. Jack gives up a special necklace that the Bard gave him, and Thorgil gives up her tom girl attitude, by doing this she is able to get rid of the effect of the dragon’s blood, and Jack is able to perform the magic that is necessary. On returning Jack restores Frith’s hair, and is returned to the berserkers, who then bring Jack and Lucy back to their hometown. Upon coming home their parents are overjoyed, and bring them to see the crazy Bard. The bard continues to speak gibberish, and has to be taken care of by the citizens. After being home for a day the Bard is back to normal, and reveals that he was the crow travelling with Jack all along, and that he told Thorgil but she decided to not tell Jack that the crow was the Bard all along.
This was a truly amazing book, and I don’t think that a book report is able to do it justice. The suspense of what is going to happen is very dramatic throughout the story, and a lot of things can happen in this fantasy world. When reading this I had no idea that the crow was the Bard all along, and it was a very big surprise to me at the end of the book. There are a lot more amazing, smaller part of the plot that I am not able to talk about in this book report because it will be too long, but they were all very interesting and nicely wrapped up at the end of the book.
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Oct 13, 2011

melissa1lbr rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, favorites, collection, audio, young-adult

Things I Liked:
What a fun story! I wish I'd read this one sooner. The mythology is absolutely fabulous. I adored learning more about Norse and Scandinavian mythos, particularly the gods and the trolls. The story is interesting and unique and it evoked the great quests so common in high fantasy. But what I really loved was the historical element as well. This is set in the dark ages of England and Scandinavia and that setting is written so thoroughly that you can't help but fall into...more

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Aug 15, 2011

Dori rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: older children/ YA

Recommended to Dori by: Middle school Librarian

I read the Sea of Trolls for the first time in grade six, soo probably 2005/2006. I came across it by way of my school librarian to whom I had been complaining that I had been having trouble finding YA novels that appealed to me after falling in love with adult writers (my teachers very much disapproved of my choice of novels for silent reading, what they had against people like Brenda joyce and Dean Kootnz is beyond me, I guess they never read good horror or historical romance.) My librarian ga...moreI read the Sea of Trolls for the first time in grade six, soo probably 2005/2006. I came across it by way of my school librarian to whom I had been complaining that I had been having trouble finding YA novels that appealed to me after falling in love with adult writers (my teachers very much disapproved of my choice of novels for silent reading, what they had against people like Brenda joyce and Dean Kootnz is beyond me, I guess they never read good horror or historical romance.) My librarian gave this to me because he knew that I was interested in history but hadn't really read anything at the time about the Viking era.
I loved this book because I learned a lot reading it, which I always think is the best way to learn, by way of a good story. I haven't read it in a few years but I will always remember that it got me interested in different religions. At the time my family was slowly changing from Christian to Wicca. I loved the fact that Wicca was very earthy and ancient and I really developed an interest in religion, at the time mostly other sort of forgotten/not very popular nowadays religions such as roman/greek/egyptian, but had never really known much about Viking beliefs.
Anyways religion isn't the main focus of the book, though it does play a good sized role. I thought that Nancy Farmer did an excellent job making the story come to life, I felt like the characters were captivating and I definitely recall staying up all night because I couldn't find a place to stop for want to finish out the story. I thought that this book was a good length, it was long enough to finish what needed to be finished but still leave you looking forward to another book in the series. It was chunky enough in size for me( I had a thing for big books back then, like reading small books was a bad thing) and ever since reading it I have referred it to friends.
However I have to point out that I LOVED this book as a 12 yr old. I wouldn't say that I love it quite so much now, though it still sits on my favourites bookshelf at home mostly for sentimentality, but also because I genuinely think it's a very good book. If ever I have children I think this will be something that I will be happy to pluck off the shelf and let them read/read with them when they are around the age I first read it, depending on what sorts of things they enjoy reading. (I was reading V.C Andrews with my mother around that time, not to mention I was obsessed with horror, so I can't say that I thought it was especially violent, I thought it was true to the time set of the story but for someone not used to reading about violence it could be a bit frightening.)
All in all I would give it a read, the whole series in fact though I don't remember reading the other books, I am sure that they are good just like this one. (less)

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Aug 12, 2011

Tony rated it

· review of another edition

Nancy Farmer- The Sea of Trolls (Atheneum Books 2004) 4.5 Stars

When berserkers strike Jack’s village, he suddenly finds himself protecting his sister as they are taken across the sea. Olaf One-Brow is now their master and will take them on adventures around the world. Bold Heart, a mysterious crow has tagged along for the ride, as Jack’s friend. Together this crew will embrace adventure and fight the many dangers hidden in the far corners of the globe.

A slower start to th...more

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Jun 09, 2011

Nic rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, didn-t-finish, on-a-boooat

Got through one full CD of this audiobook, but I wasn't enthusiastic. A lot of worldbuilding going on, and most of the character development is just establishing forcefully that Jack is your typical unappreciated farm-boy-turned-mage's-apprentice. It didn't help that the reader gave Jack a voice that really kind of annoyed me. Strangely, that didn't come up all that often - most of the first CD is narration, not dialogue.

Anyway, I might have listened to more, but a friend pointed ...more

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Mar 23, 2011

Emily Michelle rated it

· review of another edition

I thought I would adore this series. I love historical fiction; I love middle grade/YA books; I love Norse mythology; I love books about the British Isles and about folklore, so I doubly love books about British folklore. And this series had it all. I thought that this one would be one of those series that I would check out from the library and love so much that I'd run to the bookstore and buy my own copies. And then I read the trilogy and it was . . . nice. It was fun. But it wasn't great.
...moreI thought I would adore this series. I love historical fiction; I love middle grade/YA books; I love Norse mythology; I love books about the British Isles and about folklore, so I doubly love books about British folklore. And this series had it all. I thought that this one would be one of those series that I would check out from the library and love so much that I'd run to the bookstore and buy my own copies. And then I read the trilogy and it was . . . nice. It was fun. But it wasn't great.

Each book in the series has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. In this first book, the plot was a bit rambling; the actual conflict, the part that you would focus on if you were explaining to someone what the book was about, isn't even mentioned until halfway through the book. Rambling epic journeys work, but only when we always know the end goal. The writing style was a bit uneven; generally it was what you'd expect for an 8th century epic journey, but occasionally a very modern-sounding line or word would pop up and sound thoroughly anachronistic--for example, the characters all use what are supposed to sound like period curses ("By Thor's hammer!") but at one point a character's curse is edited out with a string of #!@& like in an old cartoon. It's an attempt at a joke but it feels out of place. The use of the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill," though Farmer does have a historical basis for its conclusion, is thoroughly jarring.

The characterization in Sea of Trolls is hit-and-miss as well. Jack is fairly likable; he feels realistic and you believe in his motivations, even if he spends a great deal of time waiting for things to happen to him. The Bard would be the coolest teacher ever. Many of the less-important Vikings are entertaining, and the Viking named Rune is quite sympathetic and interesting. But secondary protagonist Thorgil is so ill-tempered for so long, with absolutely no signs of humanity, that when the author wants you to start feeling bad for her, it's hard to actually dredge up any sympathy. And her turn to friendliness is quite sudden and unfounded. I found certain other characters, such as Jack's father and sister, almost unbearably irritating.

And the Vikings in general posed a problem for the author. Jack spends most of the book in their company, and he has exciting adventures and becomes a better bard for it, so you become attached to those characters and their world. The fact remains, though, that they're murderers and thieves and slave traders, and the reader, like Jack, can't really decide whether or not we're supposed to like them. And maybe that was Farmer's point--that the lines between good and evil are blurred in real life, and that in a world as harsh as the Northmen's, where pillaging is the only way to survive, someone can be kind and funny and a devoted family man but also a cold-blooded killer--but it never feels like that's what she's trying to get at. It just feels muddled, like Farmer could never make up her mind about Vikings either.

For all that, though, there are a great number of excellent aspects of this book. Most of these have to do with the huge amount of research Farmer must have done. The best historical fiction books, in my opinion, pack in period detail but do it so deftly that by the time you're done, you're well informed on the time period but you don't feel like you sat through a history lesson. Sea of Trolls excels at this. Saxon England and Viking Norway are both recreated with astonishing detail that manages to avoid bogging down the story. History classes teach you the dates and the events, but the book takes you into people's homes, into the everyday lives of farmers and sailors and Vikings and kings. No less detailed is the description of the culture and the mythology. The book falters slightly where Farmer tries to reconcile all different religions and create a world where all belief systems are equally true, because it just doesn't work that well in her narrative, but other than that the mythology is fascinating. The beliefs of early Christians and Irish bards and Vikings are all described in detail, with bits of myths and legends woven in (Beowulf, especially, plays a huge part in the story). The focus, at least in this first book, is on Norse beliefs, and it's an excellent primer on Norse gods and the deeply Viking belief in fate and in the importance of achieving fame and dying heroically. That amount of historic and folkloric detail pushes this book up to four stars for me.(less)

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Jan 03, 2011

Laina rated it

· review of another edition

May I just say that I ♥ Nancy Farmer? She is possibly my very favorite author. I love the pictures she paints with such simple, exquisite strokes. I love her characters who seem so innocent and unsure, yet they are immensely brave. I love the friends she creates, and the feeling of reality that soaks through her stories, even if they are about trolls and vikings and giant owls. This book especially was just a joy. I absolutely loved Jack, the young bard apprentice who has to find himself o...more

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Nov 30, 2010

Readingtween rated it

· review of another edition

An amazing book, Nancy Farmer writes very well. This book is a clean read and will completely just suck you in. It is the first of three books about a boy named Jack. Jack starts out as a regular old farmer's brat but the Bard, an old man living in an old Roman house up the road from the village, starts training Jack to be a Bard too. So Jack learns all sorts of magic and fun things that his father thinks are all very unholy. See, Jack's father, Giles Crookleg, wanted badly to be a monk and do a...more

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Nov 20, 2010

Pam rated it

· review of another edition

Hmmm. This is one of those books where you should ignore the star ratings and find a reviewer with similar tastes to try and determine if you should give it a try. Which is to say that while I only gave "Sea of Trolls" 3-Stars that I can see why other people, especially younger readers, would love it. The story is interesting and there's lots of adventure. Plus the writing is decent... so what's not love, right?

Well, I found a couple of things that detracted from the read...more

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Jan 12, 2010

Becky rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Okay, so this is a huge book with tons to say about it. First, the basics: its roots are Nordic lore and incredibly well researched history. You can pinpoint when and where most of it takes place. In the appendix at the end, Farmer explains that it was an interesting time when Norse, Celtic, and Christian traditions coexisted, so all are represented in the book. The history and fantasy blend perfectly; the language is rich; and despite its length (a hearty 450 pages) it’s a quick, easy read.
...more

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Jun 20, 2009

Elizabeth McDonald rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: fantasy lovers

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Zach

Shelves: audiobook, childrens, fantasy, historical-fiction

I picked this up on audiobook after reading Zach's review, and I must say that I enjoyed it as much as I think I would have if I had found it when I was ten - which is to say, very much. It's on my imaginary list of "books that would be good to read aloud to my hypothetical offspring".

I am enchanted by Nancy Farmer's settings. Having previously tackled Zimbabwe in 2194, she now tries her hand at Saxon England and Scandinavia ca. 793. She mixes genuine history, authentic his...more

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Jan 03, 2010

Alana rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mythology, young-adult, adventure

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. ...more

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Dec 30, 2011

Giedra rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile-fiction

A good series for upper middle grades. The main characters include Saxons and Northmen (Vikings)...as well as trolls and other fantastical creatures. The author incorporates a lot of historical information into the books along with the fantasy stuff, and includes a section at the end of each book describing which aspects of the stories were based on real buildings or musical instruments or types of characters or legends. Some characters are Christian, some practice the Norse religion (worshipp...more

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Feb 07, 2012

Bunga Mawar rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: translated-into-indonesian, it-s-mine, fiction

Saya sempat bosan membaca cerita ini di bagian awal. Kalau baca sinopsisnya sih, buku ini bakal "bersimbah darah di ujung pedang para berserker Viking". Tapi kehidupan keluarga Jack dan Lucy begitu2 saja, kurang istimewa, termasuk saat Jack sudah jadi murid sang Bard. Narasi pengarang menceritakan betapa jumawanya Jack tiap menerima ilmu/sihir baru dari gurunya. Tapi gambaran saya tentang kerennya ilmu itu kok ga ada ya? Mungkin karena kelihatanya ilmu2 tersebut tidaklah terlampau ber...more

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Mar 30, 2009

Farragut High Library added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction

Three time Newbery honor author Nancy Farmer's epic fantasy, The Sea of Trolls, is gigantic in every way. There are big Vikings and bigger trolls. There are big themes--hope, despair, life and death. At a substantial 450+ pages, the sheer size of this hefty tome is impressive. But, like all of Farmer's fine work, the large scale has room for enormous quantities of heart and humor. At the center of this massive adventure is a small Saxon boy named Jack, who's never been much good at anything unti...more

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Feb 06, 2012

Kristina rated it

· review of another edition

Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
Engl 420
Status Read in Feb 2012

Nancy Farmer Category

The Sea of Trolls is a compelling novel that tells of Jack's quest through Middle Earth. Jack is just an ordinary boy, until one day he is called to be the bard's apprentice. Shortly thereafter, the village is overrun with Beserkers who pillage and plunder the town. Jack and his sister Lucy are taken captive and carried away to the land of Ivar the Boneless and his evil wife who j...more

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Oct 29, 2009

Mark Adderley rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a fast-moving and intelligent novel for children. Jack and his sister Lucy get kidnapped by Vikings during the historic raid on Lindisfarne in 793. Arriving in Norway, Jack finds that he has to undertake a quest to find Mimir's Well in order to save his sister from the half-troll queen, Frith.

One negative aspect of this novel is the rather spare style, which doesn't enable you to really get into the story well. Things happen blindingly fast. It isn't difficult to follow--...moreThis is a fast-moving and intelligent novel for children. Jack and his sister Lucy get kidnapped by Vikings during the historic raid on Lindisfarne in 793. Arriving in Norway, Jack finds that he has to undertake a quest to find Mimir's Well in order to save his sister from the half-troll queen, Frith.

One negative aspect of this novel is the rather spare style, which doesn't enable you to really get into the story well. Things happen blindingly fast. It isn't difficult to follow--I just like to absorb myself a little more thoroughly, that's all. And Farmer keeps dropping modernisms into her prose: "Just say no to pillaging," for example. This one's very witty, of course, but they mount up, and are a bit distracting.

But there are many more positive aspects. There's a lot of very accurate Scandinavian mythology in the book--the tales of Odin, Loki, Mimir's Well, etc., are all accurately portrayed. And that's hardly surprising, since the bibliography Farmer provides at the end is enough for a graduate course!

Also, the characters are very appealing. Jack is a likable hero. (I'm not sure that Jack is a historically-accurate name, but that's nitpicking.) Thorgil, the boy who turns out to be a girl berserker, is also strangely appealing. But towering over them both is Olaf One-Brow, the Viking leader who remains a powerful presence and extremely likable, even while he's uncompromisingly violent in nature.

And that's yet another strength of the book. There's no simple answer to the problems Farmer sets up. The characters at the end don't just agree to stop fighting one another. The Jotuns (trolls) become very appealing in the middle section of the book, but they don't agree to stop eating people when Jack leaves their kingdoms. And it's very clear at the end of the book that the Vikings are going to continue raiding England, as they did historically for another two hundred years. Olaf One-Brow retains his violent tendencies, even in his most attractive moments.

A rich and complex book, very entertaining, and well worth spending the time on.(less)

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Dec 10, 2009

Stephanie rated it

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I read this in 2 days, so it must have been somewhat compelling (but I think the real reason is that it is written at what is probably a third grade level). I take issue w/ the fact that the back cover describes it as a "an adventure-quest in the spirit of The Lord of The Rings." The only things that this book has in common with The Lord of The Rings is that there are fantasy creatures, some humanoid (for lack of a better word) characters go somewhere dangerous with a mission, and th...more

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Dec 03, 2009

Jimmy rated it

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This gripping book by Nancy Farmer is about a boy who is a little farmer brat that is given the chance of a lifetime and takes advantage of it. Jack is taught to be a bard by Dragon Tongue and is and taken on life threatening adventures.

The bard of their town named Dragon Tongue is an all powerful wizard who takes Jack under his wing and teaches him the ways of a bard. When the Northman King finds out about Dragon Tongues’ existence he sends a nightmare to take the bards’ wits. Th...more

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Feb 22, 2011

Cheryl in CC NV rated it

· review of another edition

I just found out this is first of a trilogy. Well I sure hope it doesn't end in a cliffhanger. I like getting introduced to worlds and characters, not going on adventure after adventure with them.

Finished. Gosh this is not my type of book at all, but it was just so good I'm glad I read it. Kudos to Farmer. Ironically, my 14 yo son, who has enjoyed two other books by Farmer and who loves adventure (for example Percy Jackson) did not even finish this. The characters here I though...more

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Jan 22, 2010

Trickey rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: non-adult-fiction

Nancy Farmer comes through again! A winner of a number of awards including multiple Newbery Medals, her stories have captivated me ever since I read The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm in middle school, which I'd picked from a list of Newbery winners.

The Sea of Trolls is in a completely different style than the other two books I've read by Farmer, and this is something I really like about her. When you pick of a book of hers, you know its not going to be same story, different characters o...more

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Jan 13, 2009

Julie P rated it

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I wish I could give this book 4 1/2 stars, because it deserves it. The Sea of Trolls is about a young boy whose village is attacked by beserkers, and he and his young sister are captured. Fortunately he has been training with a bard/skald for the past year, so he is able to earn a place with the Northmen and not be killed. While there, he is sent on a quest which if he returns from successfully, he will save his sister's life. This book began so simply, and the story stayed simple, but it hooked...more

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Dec 09, 2010

Jessica rated it

· review of another edition

420 Nancy Farmer
Topics: Mythology, slavery, quests, family love

Set in a medieval England full of magic, the Life Force, Jack has gained the power to use it. So when Vikings attack his town, he is able to hide it in fag. But he and his sister, Lucy, are captured. In his youthful foolishness, Jack makes the queens hair fall out. Unfortunately, the queen is angry enough to kill Lucy over it unless Jack will accompany his captors across the Sea of Trolls and use his magic to help. ...more

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May 03, 2010

Ariel Foster rated it

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In this riviting first book of a trilogy, Jack, a young saxon boy living on a farm with his very religous father, loving mother, and spoiled sister, is the apprentice of a bard who is staying in thier village. The plot of the story develops as the village is attacked by Vikings and Jack and his sister are kidnapped and nearly sold into slavery. Through a series of events, which lead Jack to mystical and dangerous places and teach him and his new 'friend' Thorgil to make sacrifices for the better...more

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Jan 10, 2012

Samantha rated it

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Shelves: 11th-grade-advisory

The time period is back in the olden times, when the Vikings still ruled the seas. Jack, a farmer’s boy living in a small Saxon village, becomes the Bard’s apprentice. He learns magic from the Bard and grows to become a more mature person. Then, trouble comes to the village: berserkers, beings who are known for pillaging villages and going berserk, are approaching the village. Jack tries to help, but with the Bard in some kind of trance, he’s unable to do anything. And so, both he and his little...more

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About Nancy Farmer

Nancy was born in 1941 in Phoenix and grew up in a hotel on the Arizona-Mexico border where she worked the switchboard at the age of nine. She also found time to hang out in the old state prison and the hobo jungle along the banks of the Colorado River. She attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, earning her BA in 1963. Instead of taking a regular job, she joined the Peace Corps and was sent ...more

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The Land of the Silver Apples (Sea of Trolls, #2)

The Islands of the Blessed (Sea of Trolls, #3)

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last activity Dec 22, 2011 08:50pm

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Endicott Mythic Fiction

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title link	preview: The Sea Of Trolls
avg rating	preview: The Sea Of Trolls Goodreads rating: 3.95 (4154 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2744248-the-sea-of-trolls?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327916749m/2744248.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2744248-the-sea-of-trolls?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Sea Of Trolls by Nancy Farmer[/url]

The Sea Of Trolls (Sea of Trolls #1)

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