The Sea of Trolls
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The Sea of Trolls (ISBN 0-689-86744-1) is a 2004 fantasy novel by Newbery Honor winning author Nancy Farmer.
The book takes place in 793 A.D., during the time of the Vikings. It begins when Jack, the protagonist, is accepted as the new apprentice to the village Bard. Jack loves learning from the Bard, since the Bard teaches him to better see, hear and sense. His life is ideal until berserkers invade his village.
With the help of the Bard, the villagers are saved, but Jack and his little sister Lucy are taken as captives and the Bard is left insane. Thus begin Jack's adventures, as he is dragged against his will into the courts of the Vikings and through the jungles of the land of the trolls. He even learns a bit of magic on the way.
As Jack and Lucy are held prisoner on the Viking ship, they meet a few future friends: Thorgil, Rune and Bold-Heart. Olaf One-Brow, the Captain of the Berserkers, proves to be a worthy friend. Jack and Lucy are originally destined to be sold as slaves, but Lucy's beauty and Jack's ability with magic and song save them both. Olaf decides to make Jack his personal Bard, and make Lucy into a present to King Ivar the Boneless and his half-troll wife, Queen Frith.
When they arrive at the court, nothing goes as planned. The Queen ends up throwing a massive temper tantrum when Jack inadvertently ruins her beauty. She threatens to kill his sister unless the Queen's beauty can be restored. Jack is sent on a quest to seek the mythical Mimir's well, a well with magical water that gives the drinker the knowledge he needs.
On this quest, Jack learns that even people who initially seem horrible and cruel can have a deep sense of honor and love. Olaf gives his life to help Jack in his quest, and Jack gives him a burial worthy of a king. He also develops a deep friendship with Thorgil, restores Rune's voice, and saves his sister in time.
Jack and Lucy are eventually escorted home by the Northmen, and Jack is reunited with his family.
[edit] Mythological references
This book makes several references to many parts of Norse mythology, including the Jotuns, the pantheon of Norse gods, the Druids, the Norns, and the Norse legend of Jack and Jill. Also the legend of Beowulf.
