Synopsis: Peer and Hilde are thirsty for adventure, and when a Viking longship arrives in their village looking for crew, they decide to set sail and discover the world. The Water Snake is heading for Vinland, a place far across the sea inhabited by Skraelings – a mysterious race of people with dark skin, long black hair, and brightly painted faces. But are the ship’s captain and his sword-wielding son really honest traders? What other creatures prowl around Vinland’s dark forests? And will Peer and Hilde ever return?

Review: In the final instalment of her Troll trilogy, Katherine Langrish provides another exciting fantasy adventure set in the time of the Vikings. Once again, the story abounds with carefully researched detail of everyday life, interwoven with encounters with spirits and creatures from folklore (this time from the legends of both Scandinavia and Native America). Once again, we are offered a feast of language, from the strikingly evocative imagery, to authentic Native American names and the saga poetry of the Norsemen. Once again, Peer and Hilde find their safety and future threatened by both man and monster. What is new in Troll Blood, however, is the maturity of the characters' interactions. As they grow uncertainly into adulthood, Peer remains deeply in love with Hilde, but despairs of that love ever being reciprocated. Facing rivalry from the brave, handsome Arne, and scorn from the proud, violent Harald, he must fight to protect the woman he loves, and in the process discover his own inner bravery. Langrish paints Peer and Hilde’s self-doubts and miscommunications beautifully, as she does the hopes and fears, loves and hatreds of the other characters, from haunted captain Gunnar and his Viking band, to the native Skraelings. The ‘Troll Blood’ of the title belongs to Astrid, wife of Gunnar, who carries the dark secret of her monstrous lineage, along with an undetermined loyalty and magical powers. But appearances can be deceiving, as both Hilde and Peer come to realise. Appropriately, the real monsters in this novel are found not in the ice-giant Jenu or the terrifying Spreaders, but within the human heart, in man’s inhumanity to man. Langrish’s portrayal of the peace-loving Native Americans provides an ironic narrative counterpoint to the main action, effectively raising questions of prejudice, violence and fear. As the two narratives converge in the final chapters, these issues are brought to a head, and dealt with in a surprising, but satisfying way. Thoughtful, mature, tense and at times shocking and scary, Troll Blood should involve many a  reader from Year 6 upwards.

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2007-02-19