The
Troll King
By
John Vornholt
Rollo
is a troll who lives under a bridge in a swamp. He gets on fine
with his family and friends, even if he is a little strange and
likes un-trollike things such as flowers and going out at midday.
But trolls are at the bottom of the pecking order in Bonespittle,
and their ruler Stygius Rex has a new plan for them. They are to
build a bridge to link their land with the one across the Great
Chasm. Nobody has ever been to the Bonny Woods, but everybody knows
fearsome fairies and elves inhabit them. It is up to Rollo to stand
up to the bullying ogres and ghouls and score one for all trolls
Ostensibly for readers of ten and up, this
ought to appeal to anybody who enjoyed "Shrek", and who
has ever wondered what goes on amongst the darker elements in fantasy
stories. There are lots of disgusting bits in here that will make
younger readers (and older ones too) smile and which give Bonespittle
some local color. Anybody who has ever been in a situation where
they get put into groups and told to do some pointless task will
laugh out loud, and the brave, thoughtful and intelligent Rollo
makes a fine protagonist. Once in the Bonny Woods things get a bit
predictable with the captured fairy and talking bird, and some of
the villainous characters seem to be too easily won over by the
persuasions of Rollo and Clipper, but at this stage it is wise to
remember that this is aimed at juveniles. This aside, this book
is both comical and a good page-turner. If it wants to remain so,
Vornholt should wisely avoid getting too bogged down with fairies
and pile on the humor and descriptions of life on the Dark Side.
|
The
Book |
Atom
(Time Warner UK) |
January
2005 |
Paperback |
1904233570 |
Teenage
Fantasy |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt
|
NOTE:
|
The
Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed
2005 |
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