The Land of the Silver Apples
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| The Land of the Silver Apples | |
 First edition, August 2007 |
|
| Author | Nancy Farmer |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Gene Mollica |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Atheneum Books for Young Readers |
| Publication date | August 21, 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 496 pgs. |
| Preceded by | The Sea of Trolls |
| Followed by | The Islands of the Blessed - will be published sometime in 2009 |
The Land of the Silver Apples is a fantasy novel by Nancy Farmer, released on August 21, 2007. It is a sequel to The Sea of Trolls, and a sequel, The Islands of the Blessed, is to be released in 2009.
[edit] Plot
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In this novel, the protagonist Jack is suspended from home after freeing a slave with money he earned but hid from his father, who called him disloyal. He now lives with the Bard, who also shares his house with Pega, the slave Jack had freed after buying her. Jack begins training as a bard, and starts to have visions about far away lands and Northmen he knew. However, just when his bard skills are growing, his mother calls him back home. Lucy, his sister, had become uncontrollable. Because her father had been saying that she was a lost princess, Lucy is acting like she really is one and treats her parents like peasants. But father suddenly admits that Lucy actually is a lost princess. Right after his real daughter had been born, he had taken her into the woods. And while he was gone, his real daughter, Hazel, had been traded with Lucy by hobgoblins. Everyone is shocked to hear the news. However, the Bard suggests that even if the uncontrollable Lucy isn't Jack's real sister, they should cure her. Brother Aiden, the monk of the village, says to visit Father Swein in the faraway village, for she may have been taken over by a small demon.
But it turns out that when Jack visits a certain well at Father Swein's (St. Fillians) monastery, an odd woman invisible to others appears and knocks Jack out. Later, after he meets Father Swein and a slave called Brutus, Lucy is finally going to be cured. However, Jack is horrified by the process in which the monks perform the curing. They dump people in the holy well, and slaves toss them around. Jack, afraid and angry about the procedure, accidentally causes an earthquake with his bard powers. With this, Father Swein dies and Lucy is kidnapped by the Lady of the Lake and the well becomes dry. Immediately Jack is called by King Yffi of Din Guardi, who is full of rage because his kingdom doesn't have any water anymore. King Yffi orders Jack to go underground and call upon the Lady of the Lake (the woman that made Jack faint) to bring back water. Jack agrees, for he will be able to get back Lucy, Hazel, and save his Father, who is imprisoned by Yffi, as well. This novel follows Jack and his companions Pega and Brutus on their journey underground. In their journey, they meet various creatures such as giant ticks, hobgoblins, elves, and more. But first, the group is split up, leaving Pega and Jack to wonder around the tunnels together without Brutus. As they progress, they stumble upon the territory of the Forest Lord, where nothing is supposed to be harmed. It is here in which they meet the surprising character, Thorgil, the shield maiden from the first book, in the realm of middle earth covered in moss, as a result for hunting in the realm of the Forest Lord. Anyway, they continue. Although they lack the food, invisible creatures provide them honey and bread and other types of food. It is later revealed that it was the hobogoblins' doing. They finally introduce themselves after uncovering themselves with their invisible coats because the King is enchanted at the sight of Pega, even though her physical features are disliked upon humanity. Once lead to their kingdom, Jack is bewildered that there exists a King (the Bugaboo) and a Nemesis. It is later explained that the Nemisis' job is to stop the King from being corrupt. The hobgoblins tell the group that the elves were they long time enemies and that they are full of mischief, often switching babies of hobgoblins with humans. Upon this, Jack remembers the real Lucy, and asks to see her. They find her living as if she was a hobgoblin, under the name Hazel. She has the characteristics of one in addition to considering herself to be one. She is at first unconvinced that she is a human though after the King tells her that she is, she is terrified at the fact of leaving her hobgoblin parents.
Once Jack, Thorgil, and Pega reach Elfland, they are captured by a group of Picts. The Picts accompany the group to the Elf Queen, Elf King, And the Lady of the Lake: Nimue. Jack is delighted and flabbergastered to see Brutus there. They are invited for a feast. Once the feast has finished, the Queen asks for the guests to entertain them. Jack sings as Thorgil recites a poem. As Pega finishes her song, everyone cries because of its sincere meaning of the song. The Queen is furious that there is grief and sorrow in her hall. She orders the guests imprisoned.
After Escaping Elfland Pega, Jack, Father Severus (a Priest they meet in the dungeon), Thorgil and Ethne (the elven princess who is only half elf) go back to Din Guardi when Thorgil finds her shipmates left the Saxon coasts because they thought she was dead. They met up again with the Bugaboo and the Nemesis. They are imprisoned at Din Guardi. Earlier Jack had learned from Brutus that Din Guardi's king Yffi is half-kelpie. Ethne accidentally tells Yffi about the hobgoblins who were waiting outside the castle in a ditch. Yffi orders the Bugaboo and the Nemesis captured and begins preparation to cook them (because Kelpies favorite food is hobgoblin). Jack, Thorgil and Pega escape because Ethne is dancing and distracting the guards. Pega's voice, which is surprisingly sweet, lures yarthkin, a type of old god. Jack asks the yarthkin how he can break the enchantments that keep them out of Din Guardin. They tell Jack to lay his staff (a branch if Yggdrassil) onto the circle of unlife. In the mad joy that follows Pega kisses Jack and Jack kisses Thorgil. Din Guardi is destroyed and Jack frees his father. The finishing sentence of the story is "He stretched out on the grass, watching the stars scattered among the leaves overhead."
