Product Description

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."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #428790 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-07
• Released on: 2004-09-07
• Format: Deckle Edge
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.56" h x 6.30" w x 9.28" l, 1.69 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 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
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From AudioFile
Jack is an apprentice to the local bard, and his little sister, Lucy, believes she's a princess who will soon be rescued and returned to her castle. But it's the year 793, and fierce warriors come pillaging their village and carry the two away. Jack and Lucy must embark on a perilous journey through lands filled with trolls, dragons, giant spiders, and talking crows to get back home. Gerard Doyle uses his deep English voice to evoke a medieval era of Vikings and magic. He captures the complexity of the characters, with Jack equal parts courage and teenaged angst, and the warriors alternately cruel and humane. Doyle's performance is wonderful. A.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. In Farmer's latest, a battle-ax-size fantasy-adventure, rampaging Northmen (the polite term for Vikings) pass through a Saxon village and enslave two of its residents: an 11-year-old apprentice mage and his 5-year-old sister. When Jack offends the Northmen's touchy queen, she threatens to kill his sister unless he reverses a misfired spell--a task that requires a journey deep into icy troll country. The subsequent bouts with troll-bears, giant spiders, and dragons are thrilling, and boys in particular will delight in Farmer's portrayal of the initially terrifying Northmen as tellers of fart jokes and singers of rowdy songs. Lighthearted moments notwithstanding, Jack's archetypal quest is a dense one, heavily draped in Norse mythology, Old English lore, and ponderings about the differences between Christian and pagan cosmologies. In addition, many readers may find it difficult to accept Jack's deepening affection for his frequently barbaric kidnappers, not to mention the oft-repeated message, "All beautiful things attract destruction"--a worldview that comes to Jack straight from the bloody saga of Beowulf. Readers captivated by slash-'em-up Viking culture will happily plunge into this celebrated author's sixth novel, but many members of Farmer's traditional audience will emerge from the experience feeling alternately dazzled and dazed. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved