Now in paperback--a new adventure by the three-time Newbery Honor-winning author and National Book Award finalist. Set in A.D. 793 in the land of the Vikings, this novel is the story of two children swept up on a quest on which they encounter a dragon, a giant spider, and trolls.

Reviews

Gr 5-9-In England in the early medieval period, young Jack is chosen by the village's bard to serve as apprentice in award-winning author Nancy Farmer's exciting fantasy (Atheneum, 2004). After the bard is attacked by a Nightmare, Jack develops the ability to feel everything at once, which causes him to be vulnerable to the "Life Force," the power that exists in all things in nature. When they realize that Viking berserkers are coming, Jack and the bard raise fog to hide the village, but Jack and his sister, Lucy, are captured by Ivan One-Brow and his crew and are taken to the court of Ivar the Boneless and his evil half-troll wife, Queen Frith. Jack casts a spell to make the queen's hair fall out. To save his sister from being sacrificed to the Norse goddess Freya, Jack must accept a quest to travel to the icy Troll kingdom to find Mimir's Well, from which he must drink in order to learn the magic spell to replace the Queen's hair. Throughout his journey, Jack must deal with an argumentative Norse Jill, trolls, giant troll bears, a dragon, and giant spiders. As he completes his quest, Jack matures and realizes that all beings have the Life Force within them and must answer to its calling, whether it is Yggdrisil, the giant life tree of the Norse, or the simple need of berserkers to raid and pillage. Farmer weaves the threads of Norse and Celtic mythology into a coming-of-age tale that followers of Tolkien and J.K. Rowling will enjoy. Gerard Doyle does an excellent job of narrating the story, giving each of the large cast of characters a unique voice. Although a lengthy audiobook, listeners will want to complete the journey.-Lisa D. Williams, Chocowinity Middle School, NC Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Readers will want to sail through these nearly 500 pages to find out what happens to young Jack and his sister, Lucy, kidnapped from their homeland by a Viking crew led by Olaf One-Brow. The two then travel across the sea where Ivar the Boneless, king of the Northmen, reigns with his half-troll wife, Queen Frith. The Bard, who fled from Queen Frith and has taken refuge on the boy's small island ("Nowhere in the nine worlds is safe for me as long as she is abroad," the Bard explains) takes in 12-year-old Jack as an apprentice. The old man manages to teach Jack some magic and some of the complex history of the Northmen and their enemies, the Jotuns or trolls, before Olaf and his men invade. The book brims with delectable details. Ivar the Boneless, for instance, "wears a cloak made from the beards of his defeated enemies" and Queen Frith's beauty dissolves when Jack begins to sing a tribute to her ("Her features rippled and twisted like the beasts carved on the walls"). Her rage at reverting back to her troll-like appearance prompts Jack's quest to seek Mimir's Well, in the heart of Jotunheim (troll country) in order to reverse the spell and save his sister, whom Queen Frith threatens to sacrifice if her beauty is not restored. Plotting and incidental players such as dragons and giant spiders in Jotunheim take precedence over character development here. But if the relationships are not as fully fleshed out as in Farmer's previous books, fans of Viking and adventure tales will still be up late nights to discover Jack's fate. Ages 10-13. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

"Readers will want to sail through these nearly 500 pages to find out what happens to young Jack and his sister, Lucy...."

-- "Publishers Weekly," starred review