Troll Blood

by Katherine Langrish

Book Overview

Peer and Hilde are thirsty for adventure. When a Viking longship arrives in their village, they set sail, eager to explore the world. The Water Snake is heading for Vinland, a place far across the sea inhabited by a civilization of people and new mysterious creatures, some good and some perilous.

But dangers untold lie closer than Peer and Hilde could have imagined. The ship's captain and his sword-wielding son are not what they seem, and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061116742
• ISBN13: 9780061116742
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A shadow filled adventure!

Reviewed by Dylan James (age 12) for Reader Views (10/08) Peer takes a ship for a fantastic journey of wits and peril, all to be with the one he loves. With `niths,' little shadows that trick people and can only be befriended by certain people, and half trolls who put their spirits into other things, Peer must dodge danger at every turn. He is trying to have enough courage to ask the girl he loves if she likes him back. It shouldn't be hard, right? Wrong! She thinks of him as a brother, and if she had any romantic feelings for him, they were dashed when a strange girl hangs around him jokingly. Will Peer survive the perils and ask his beloved to marry him? Or will danger overtake him and the seas swamp him overboard? Find out by reading "Troll Blood!" This book was interesting. It starts with the classic story of the hero who can't fight and doesn't think that he's brave. He gradually finds himself and prevails over the dangers. This was one of the few books that both genders can relate to equally, but also stay within the same storyline. A girl could relate to someone falling head over heels for her, and a boy could relate to not having the courage to ask someone out or vice versa. It is definitely meant for teens, although there is nothing inappropriate for anyone eleven or under. I liked this book for its quick moments and shocking surprises; they really kept me reading without pause. It could be better by detailing the tense moments a little more. Like if it's a stand off between a man who is a murderer and an expert swordsman, and a boat builder who hasn't killed anyone in his entire life, the author might have something like: the murderer charged forward, double striking the left shoulder and reversing to backhandedly strike his leg. Also, maybe have the ship voyage a little more lengthened because that was a key part in this book. Even so, there wasn't much that could be changed for the better in "Troll Blood," and if Katherine Langrish created another book, I would advise her to keep diverse characters that opposite genders can relate to. That's obviously something that the author is good at. This was a great action-adventure.

Unique Fantasy

I'm still wondering what the description for this book said when I requested it for review. Neither the words "Troll" or "Blood," or a cover with a looming Viking ship, are the sorts of things that make me go, "Oooh! I wanna read that one!" Of course, if it had a really good description, that's because it deserved a really good description. Being really good, and all! Troll Blood is actually part of a series, and I have not read the previous two novels. Yet, a major mark in the book's favor is that that didn't really seem to cripple me. Sure, I may have missed some depth, or some allusions, but this was its own self-contained story. The story is mainly told from the point of view of a teen-aged Norse boy named Peer, who is very much in love with a girl named Hilde. A girl he's known all his life, whose family has recently taken the orphaned Peer in, and who introduces him to people as her "foster brother." Uh-oh. When the wife of a Viking captain asks Hilde to journey to Vinland to keep her company, Peer also comes along, mostly to prevent Hilde fromgetting too close to a member of the crew that is rather fond of her. However, there are deep mysteries surrounding the trip. Why is the captain so afraid of ghosts? What's the thing that it seems everyone but the new crew members know? Why is the captain's son Harald so violent? Is it true that he goes berserker? And is it true that the captain's wife is part troll? Other parts of the story follow a little Norse boy whose family was massacred in Vinland, and who has taken shelter with a local Native tribe. The tribe is very worried about the site where all the white men were murdered, and fear strange undercurrents and even stranger creatures are on the loose. What will happen if those who killed the little boy's family return again? There aren't a lot of surprises here (in fact, I'm afraid as vague as I've tried to be in my description, some things are still just obvious), but it is well-written and well researched. Although there are many fantasy elements here -- local legends and creatures are treated as if they actually exist -- there's some interesting history here too. Not that, as the author warns, this is historical fiction. But she's done her legwork, and it shows. This is very much a boy's book, although the mushy romance stuff is a little pervasive, and should appeal to ages 10-13.

Love this book!

This is the third and in my opinion the best book in the Troll series. Full of adventure and dark magic, and the budding romance between Peer and Hilde is finally resolved! Great stuff.

Great Book

This was the best of the Troll trilogy. Good plot twists, better adventure, good characters, a longer tale.