Customer Reviews

Troll Mill

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4 star:		(3)
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Katherine Langrish returns to the world of trolls and Nordic legends in "Troll Mill," the sequel to her excellent debut. And if anything, Langrish does an even better job -- plenty of action laced with humour, solid writing, and some romantic tension between the leads.

Peer is shocked when a fisherman's wife (who's rumored to be a seal-woman) dumps her newborn in his arms and leaps into the sea. Not sure what to do, he brings the baby to Hilde's family, but even as the fishermen hunt for the missing woman, Peer and Hilde realize that nasty creatures are after baby Ran -- including the lubbers and evil Granny Green Teeth.

While this is going on, Peer decides to clean out and repair the old mill, in the hopes that he can impress Hilde with it. But they soon discover that Peer's evil uncle Baldur (now a troll) has been using the mill to grind bones for bread. And even worse, two babies have been stolen from Hilde's house -- Hilde's baby brother, and seal-baby Ran.

Usually sequels are less interesting than the book before them. But Langrish actually makes "Troll Mill" better than "Troll Fell" -- it's more polished, better paced, and her writing has matured with the characters. In short, this book is everything a good fantasy story should be.

The plot unfolds very gradually, and Langrish's writing is solid and descriptive. There's even a bit of horror -- the lubbers and ghastly Granny -- romantic sparring, and some tragedy. There's even a bit of moral indecision when Peer tries to understand how an otherwise good man could kidnap the seal woman.

But Langrish doesn't forget the humor, such as a precocious troll baby tormenting the twins with gross songs and stories, or Gudrun giving the troll princess some parenting tips. Those little moments keep an otherwise grim plot from getting too heavy and/or dull.

We also get to know Hilde's family a little better, especially her mother. But Peer is still the hero, and he's struggling to overcome his abusive childhood, even as he tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Hilde is a bit more stubborn, since she obviously doesn't realize how much Peer means to her.

"Troll Mill" takes all the good things about Katherine Langrish's debut, and makes them even better. A charming, chilling sequel.

Fifteen-year-old Peer Ulfsson still feels like an outsider perhaps because of his past when his evil uncles tried to sell children to the trolls (see TROLL FELL). Peer lives with the family of his only friend Hilde, but though they nurture him, he feels that he does not belong. Besides which he finds it increasingly difficult to hide his deeper regard for Hilde. He begins to wonder if he is in love.

Bjorn's wife Kersten dumps her infant into Peer's arms before jumping into the nearby stormy sea. The locals insist that Kersten simply returned to her natural habitat as she was obviously a seal-woman, but Peer has doubts that this is true. At the same time, the millpond witch Granny Green-teeth demands possession of the so-called "seal baby" though Peer fears what she would do to the female infant. He also wonders who is running the abandoned mill that his uncles operated before they became trolls and whether that malevolent species is planning a new assault. Peer believes he must keep the child safe, uncover the secret to the mill, learn if the trolls are on the march and persuade Hilde to be his girl. Three of the four seem relatively easy to the teen.

This terrific character driven fantasy sequel stars a troubled teen struggling with his heritage in light of the nefarious activities of his former guardians, his uncles whom Peer had to stop. He also has an apparent unrequited crush on Hilde to add to his internal confusion. The story line is action-packed as the hero hardily investigates the secrets of the old mill and the goings-on of the trolls. Along the way, middle school readers accompany Peer as he meets up with the witch, selkies and trolls, all who seem authentic.

Harriet Klausner

This book kept you guessing. I got a little spooked by the trolls and various events that took place, but I liked it lots.

The is Langrish's second book in her "Troll" series...the third being the forthcoming Troll Blood. In Troll Mill we join Peer and the Eiriksson family several years after the events of the first book. Here Peer and Hilde are now 15 years old, there is a new baby in the house and a lot of romantic tension between Peer (who finds himself in love with Hilde) and Hilde (who has feelings for Bjorn's Brother)...and of course...trolls! This story gives equal time to two different storylines, the first is that of Peer who is happy to live with the Eiriksons but longs for a way to prove himself more of a man (and thus more attractive to Hilde) and which touches on his past with the mill and his uncles through a chrisis of identity. This time around we find Peer trying to establish himself in the world, returning to the mill and trying to make a go of it again on his own only to discover that it has been running at night...on its own. This initial storyline is engaging and exciting on its own and becomes even more intriguing when pared with the second storyline which focuses Bjorn and Kersten (the neighbors who helped so much in Troll Fell while Hilde's father was away). Kersten has just had a baby and one night while coming in from fishing with Bjorn, Peer finds himself being handed the young infant as Kersten runs off and jumps into the ocean. As the story progresses, we find that it has long been suspected that Kersten was a Selkie (sea-maiden)...as the fisherman and Hilde's father search the seas day after day for Kersten (and Bjorn becomes more and more distant, eventually not even coming to see the baby anymore), Peer and Hilde find themselves in the middle of two mysteries, both of which are threatening to tear these families and friends apart.

It is rare these days for a second book in series to be as good as or better than the first...but in the case of Troll Mill, Langrish has managed to pull it off spectacularly! I particularly liked that Granny Greenteeth, the Lubbers and the Nis got much bigger parts in Troll Mill, so we got to see more of them and learn more about what they are and how they live....and of course there are the trolls...it is Troll Mill after all, so they are also worked into the story this time around! I think Langrish does a fine job of aging and developing the characters from book to book and it's done in a way that is filled with suspense, interesting plot twists, and all manner of creatures, each out to get what they want while Peer and Hilde (and the rest of the family) try to figure out the mysteries before it's too late!

Overall, I give Troll Mill five stars. It is, in my opinion, as good as (if not better than) the first book. Langrish uses the same Scandanivian folklore/mythology as the first book in the series and build on it further...so you get trolls and get to experience the world of the selkie and the realm between humans and selkie all the while still being treated to a detailed look at the in's and out's of day to day life in the given time period. Troll Mill manages to do all of this and not drag or become mired in the detail...it manages to say fast paced and intense while providing a wealth of information. I'd recommend it for young readers interested in fantasy. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with Troll Blood, the third book in the series (Troll Blood).

Katherine Langrish's Troll Mill is a stunner. A book is like a recipe. It should have all the correct ingredients like a well-developed plot, suspense, conflict, and a hero who saves the day. These ingredients must be put together just right, to come out with an enjoyable end product. This book certainly did the job. I especially liked it because the book was so intense I didn't feel like stopping. It was a page turner with a lot of action. The action is incredible. Although the plot was well-developed, there were a lot of things going on at once which could confuse the reader. However, the way Katherine Langrish weaves toghether the story makes you understand what the characters feel, and in a way, be there. The story is about a boy named Peer Ulfsson, an orphan who lives with his friend's family and is astonished when one night, Kersten (who is rumored to be a seal woman) dumps him with her baby and then disappears into the ocean. Then there is the forgotten mill that Peer plans to take charge of starts working at night...by itself. With so much going on in his life, Peer is caught in a web of problems. Can he work it out? Read this fast-paced thriller and find out!