The Prodigal Troll [Hardcover]

Charles Coleman Finlay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2005

Enter a world of trolls and demons and dagger-toothed lions, where a human child lost in the wilderness has to give up his destiny to find himself. Adopted by a mother troll grieving for her own lost child and christened 'Maggot' by his foster father, the human boy grows up among creatures hostile to his very existence. As a young man, he decides to return to his home to find out what it means to be human.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Finlay's meandering first novel, a heroic quest fantasy, loyal retainers spirit the human infant Claye away from his home, a castle under siege, but they die before they can bring him to safety. Adopted by a troll and renamed Maggot, Claye grows up among the trolls, who regard him as weak and puny but smart. Eventually realizing that he has to find his destiny among his own kind, Maggot first befriends humans in a clan culture, who involve him in their impossible war, fought against a far superior army. Next, he seeks to learn more about the marauders, a decadent city folk. Throughout, he keeps his eye on an elusive prize—Portia, a woman of the marauders, who falls in love with Maggot after a brief meeting. The narrative strives to be both funny and moving, but the humor tends to the slapstick and clashes with the tone of the rest of the book. Despite the emphasis on matriarchal societies, all we see are men doing warlike things (or trolls being spectacularly stupid). Still, Maggot's distance from humans and his role as the ultimate outsider ring true. Since Maggot never really completes his quest, a sequel seems in the offing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Young Claye is the infant son of Lord Gruethrist, smuggled out of the castle before it fell in one of those bloody feudal wars that are the plot springs of so many fantasy novels. Unfortunately, Claye's caretakers are killed, and he survives only through the kindness of a bereaved female troll and despite the loud objections of her husband--and a loud troll is very loud indeed. Growing up under the name Maggot, Claye learns a formidable array of survival skills from his neighbors, some of whom are creatures even weirder than trolls. It develops that he wants to win the hand of Lady Portia without using so many of his nonhuman skills that she will wonder what he really is and spurn him. Finlay's short stories have given him a reputation for originality, to which this novel should add reputations for characterization, for world building, and for satire that never goes over the edge into bad taste. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (June 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591023130
• ISBN-13: 978-1591023135
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,511,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A "set-up" novel, August 26, 2005

By 

E. Tsui - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Prodigal Troll (Hardcover)

Charles Coleman Finlay's writing in his first novel is strong and does a great job showing the complexities of his characters, human and troll alike (well, perhaps only one troll). However, I feel that Finlay looks too far ahead toward describing Maggot's future adventures as a troll-reared man dealing with the various corruptions of civilization, instead of focusing on this one story. Although each scene is carefully crafted, the book taken as a whole doesn't have much continuity or momentum. It left me asking myself "Why do I care?" after I finished, particularly after the rather abrupt and slightly cliched ending.

With that in mind, I still look forward to Finlay's future stories about Maggot because of Finlay's insight and characterizations of places and people. I just rather wish he didn't write this book first.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Journeying with "The Prodigal Troll", June 23, 2005

By 

Gregory Bernard Banks ", author" (Atlanta area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Prodigal Troll (Hardcover)

Charles Coleman Finlay is a master at the art of the short story, producing diverse and creative stories which have made him a regular contributor to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

"The Prodigal Troll," based on a previously published short story, is the tale of a boy who winds up living amongst trolls, growing up knowing only troll ways and trying to overcome the obstacles he faces due to his frailties in comparison to his massive peers. The book combines elements of adventure, fantasy, and politics, all delivered with a wry wit that adds uniqueness to the tale.

There are things about the story I'd like to have been elaborated upon further, like the troll society itself, where the interaction between the boy (dubbed Maggot) does everything he can to truly become one of them, but ultimately fails. In fantasy, I most look for the elements of worldbuilding and characterization to drive the tale, and Finley delivers these very well, although I wish there were even more. I particularly wanted more insight into the three gods who rule over the world, and the magic through which humans can manipulate their powers. The one time when it seemed that the secrets of this were about to be revealed to Maggot, the wizard about to educate him is murdered in mid-sentence. And later on, Maggot manipulates this very magic through charms worn around his neck. By committing a simple act, the charms perform their magic all on their own. Like the book as a whole, it was an interesting and entertaining twist, but still left me wanting to know more.

I think it's safe to say that there will likely be a sequel, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I just hope that the author builds on the foundation he's laid here, and takes us deeper into this mysterious and fun new world.

- Gregory Bernard Banks, author of "Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life"

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Similar to Tarzan, but wonderfully NOT, June 19, 2005

By 

Corwin Graeme "Corwin Graeme" (The Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prodigal Troll (Paperback)

This book has many parallels with Tarzan but the characterization is much more complex. If for no other reason, this book should be read for the trolls -- their actions and reactions are delightfully direct yet they have a complex society. They are vivid; they jump off the page.

Maggot's struggle may be similar to Tarzan's, but his motivations are darker, more selfish (even if he himself is not aware of it), as are the motivations of all the humans. As I was reading, I found myself drawn futher and further along by a desire to find out more about both the trolls and the humans in this story. Their actions were puzzling at times, and it was a thrill to discover why, in later parts of the story, after learning what kinds of forces shaped their societies, they came to the conclusions they did and why they acted as they did. They did what any good character or group of characters do by the end of the book: they kept my sympathy.

All in all, this book is well done and I'm hoping there is more to come from this insightful author.