return to home
 
 
          Bookmark and Share        Email
 
  This Week's Recommendations    |     Hardcovers Coming Soon    |     Paperbacks Coming Soon    |     Recent Hardcovers    |     Recent Paperbacks
   Genres   |    Settings   |    Time Periods   |    Themes   |    Favorites   |    Award Winners   |    Book Finder   |    Surprise Me!   |    Tag cloud
   Recent Interviews    |     All Interviews    |     Author Bios    |     Author Websites    |     Pronunciation Guide
   Free Newsletters   |    Wordplay   |    Book Giveaway   |    BookBrowse Polls   |    Literary Quotes   |    Personality Quiz   |    Gift Membership
   Recent Membership Magazines    |     Magazine Archives     |     Invite the Author    |     My Reading List    |     First Impressions    |     My Account
   Editor's Blog    |     Best Reader Reviews    |     Book News    |     Meet the Reviewers    |     Stay In Touch
   About Us   |    Tour   |    Member Benefits   |    Join   |    Gift Memberships   |    Library Subscriptions   |    FAQ   |    People Say   |    Contact Us
Search BookBrowse
Suggested Links
This Book's Themes:
Free Twice-Monthly Newsletters
Lowboy
The Sweetness at The Bottom of the Pie

Win This Book!


Healing Hearts: A Memoir of a Female Heart Surgeon jacket

Healing Hearts: A Memoir of a Female Heart Surgeon
by Kathy Magliato M.D.


Enter To Win Now!

Pictures At An Exhibition

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"H S Home"

and be entered to win....
New Author
Interviews
Jasper Fforde
Three separate interviews in which Jasper Fforde discusses the Thursday Next series, his Nursery Crime novels and Shades of Grey, the first in a trilogy set in a future world recognizable as our own - but only just.
Abraham Verghese
An interview with Abraham Verghese about his life and writing and in particular about his extraordinary 2009 novel Cutting for Stone, set in 1960s and '70s Ethiopia and 1980s New York.
Martha A Sandweiss
An interview with Martha Sandweiss in which she discusses her book Passing Strange, a biography of Clarence King who lived a double life—as the celebrated white explorer, geologist, and writer Clarence King and as a black Pullman porter named James Todd, married to Ada with whom he had five children.
Amy Greene
Amy Greene talks about her first novel, Bloodroot, which brings her native Appalachia—and the faith and fury of its people—to rich and vivid life.
   Summary and Book Reviews

The Sea of Trolls: Summary and book reviews of The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, plus links to an excerpt from The Sea of Trolls and a biography of Nancy Farmer.

The Sea of Trolls The Sea of Trolls
by Nancy Farmer
Hardcover: Sep 2004,
480 pages.
Paperback: May 2006,
480 pages.

Publication information
Read an Excerpt
Reading Guide
Reader Reviews

Author Biography
Author Interview
Books by this Author
Critics' Opinion:  
Readers' Rating: 
About BookBrowse Rankings
Buy This Book
Themes Members Only Read-Alikes Members Only Add to Reading List  Members Only BookBrowse Review Members Only
Book Summary

Jack was eleven when the berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. "It seems that things are stirring across the water," the Bard had warned. "Ships are being built, swords are being forged."

"Is that bad?" Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen berserkers.

"Of course. People don't make ships and swords unless they intend to use them."

The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest that follows in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings.

Other threats include a willful mother Dragon, a giant spider, and a troll-boar with a surprising personality -- to say nothing of Ivar the Boneless and his wife, Queen Frith, a shape-shifting half-troll, and several eight foot tall, orange-haired, full-time trolls. But in stories by award-winner Nancy Farmer, appearances do deceive. She has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than "Just say no to pillaging."

Book Reviews


 Roger Sutton - The Horn Book Magazine
Drawing upon history, Norse and Celtic myth, and Farmer's own abundant imagination, the story is long but engrossing, a cruel tale with a merry heart about a Saxon boy named Jack and what befell him upon his and his younger sister's capture by marauding Northmen (and, later, trolls).... The book is effectively sparing in its use of fantasy elements, but when Farmer pulls out all the stops such as Jack's encounter with the three Norns - she does so with aplomb and assurance.

 Publishers Weekly
Starred review. 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.

 Paula Rohrlick - KLIATT
Farmer, author of the National Book Award winner The House of the Scorpion as well as other notable books for YAs, has outdone herself in this rich and satisfying fantasy based on Norse mythology.

 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Starred review....adroit worldbuilding and dead-on characterization combine with faultless plotting and an irresistible mixture of historical truth and mythological invention to create a tale of high adventure and exploration that reads with unexpected sensitivity, warmth, and humor. Maps, a cast of characters, a series of short explanatory appendices, and a list of sources are included.

 Rebecca Hogue Wojahn - VOYA
Lighter in tone and subject than The House of the Scorpion, this novel is nevertheless deceptively complex. There is enough magic, history, and mythology to keep fantasy lovers enthralled, yet the humor, modern speech (Jack is warned to just say no to pillaging), and nonstop adventure will pull in reluctant readers as well--if they are not daunted by the number of pages. All will come to love the distinctive characters--especially the brash, bloodthirsty Northmen--just as Jack does on his quest. Ages 11 to 15.

 Steven Englefried - School Library Journal
Starred Review. Gr 5-9-Farmer draws upon Scandinavian mythology and medieval history to create an engaging tale.....Geographical and mythological elements are revealed through conversations, rather than narrative description. Despite the legendary tone of some of the events, there are plenty of lighthearted moments, and the characters never seem stiff or contrived. This exciting and original fantasy will capture the hearts and imaginations of readers.

 Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Jack is a friendly companion in this exciting story of sacrifices made, lessons learned, and friends lost and found, all told with grace and humor. Allusions to Beowulf, the destruction of the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, and the Norse legend of Jack and Jill offer a rich backdrop for a hugely entertaining story sure to appeal to fans of The Lord of the Rings. (appendix, sources) (Fiction. 10-13)

 Lawrence Downes - The New York Times
The Sea of Trolls conveys, more vividly than any textbook, the Vikings' storied fatalism, their devotion to heroic death and to a savage afterlife in Valhalla. Hearing the Northmen talk rapturously about the glories of being slaughtered in battle, the sensitive Jack can't understand it, but the reader will.

 Ayesha Court - Special for USA Today
Farmer brilliantly marries historic details about life in England, Scotland and Scandinavia in A.D. 793 with the magic of runes, trolls and bards. This story will send readers on a quest to read more about this bloody but fascinating era. Ages 10 and up.

 Amanda Craig - The Times (UK)
Despite the pot of gold supposedly waiting for every new author who writes a fantasy novel, the classics of children's literature remain pretty much the same. Why bother to read new ones when the old are so good? Yet every so often something comes along which should instantly be added to the list of those books which leave an indelible mark on the imagination....Nancy Farmer's The Sea of Trolls is such a book.... I have no hesitation in recommending Sea of Trolls as the best children's novel of 2004.


This Book's Themes:
Read-Alikes:
Other books by this author
Buy This Book:

Become a Member
Editor's Choice
  •  Feb 09 
  •  Feb 07 
  •  Feb 05 
Bloodroot
Amy Greene
Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about the legacies—of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss—that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today.
Once Was Lost
Sara Zarr
Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. But her mother is in rehab, and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. And when a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, her already-worn thread of faith begins to unravel.
The Crossing Places
Elly Griffiths
When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist Ruth Galloway lives happily alone in Norfolk. But when a child's bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help, Ruth finds herself in...
Alice I Have Been
Melanie Benjamin
Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole –and the grown woman whose story is no less...
The Coral Thief
Rebecca Stott
The Coral Thief, as riveting and beautifully rendered as Ghostwalk, Rebecca Stott’s first novel, is a provocative and tantalizing mix of history, philosophy, and suspense. It conjures up vividly both the feats of Napoleon and the accomplishments of those working without fame or...
Healing Hearts
Recent Reader Reviews
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
I rarely read anything before this. Years ago I picked this one up and couldn't put it down. It changed me into a book nut. It was a wonderful ... read more
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
I can't believe I waited so long to read this book. Shame on me. This book was wonderful, lyrical, entertaining - all the makings of a wonderful ... read more
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
The book held so much for the reader but in the end I felt robbed. The evolution of Trudy was disturbing and somewhat insulting. She came across as ... read more
RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Brooklyn Bridge
Karen Hesse
2. The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
3. Three Cups of Tea
David O. Relin, Greg Mortenson
4. The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks
5. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
John Boyne
More...
Book Club Recommendations
The Heretic's Daughter
by Kathleen Kent
Paperback (Oct/09)
Runemarks
by Joanne Harris
Paperback (Oct/09)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford
Paperback (Oct/09)
The Black Tower
by Louis Bayard
Paperback (Oct/09)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
The Wives of Henry Oades
by Johanna Moran
           (Feb/10)
The Bricklayer
by Noah Boyd
           (Jan/10)
The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight
by Gina Ochsner
           (Feb/10)
The Fifth Servant
by Kenneth Wishnia
           (Feb/10)
Savage Lands
by Clare Clark
           (Feb/10)
More...
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Snow Days by Elly Griffiths
The Power of a Good Book
Amazon vs Macmillan
Apple unveils iPad tablet
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
  Latest BookBrowse News
Justice Department still has issues with Google Settlement (Feb 05 2010)
The Department of Justice dealt a serious blow Thursday evening to the chances that the Google Book Search settlement will gain court approval later this... Full Story
Hachette formally adopts 'agency model' (Feb 05 2010)
Hachette Book Group USA became the second major U.S. publisher to officially announce its intention to move to an agency model for the sale of e-books.... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
BookBrowse Poll
Q: When reading nonfiction do you usually:
Read the book cover to cover
Read the parts that interest me but skip some bits
Read just enough to feel that I know what it's about
Sometimes read all, sometimes part - it depends on the book
I don't read nonfiction
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Showcase | Library Subscriptions | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us |   Email this page to a friend
addall.com - external link
Visit AddAll.com to compare and save at 41 bookstores!
Searching for used books? Search 20,000+ dealers!
 
Compare music prices  |  Compare movie prices
One Percent