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This is a guest review for Trollgrave by Alex S. Bradshaw as written by L.L. MacRae.
Something stirs in the Forest of Broken Trolls…
Despite all his skill in healing and runecraft, God-Speaker Alvir Einarson could not save everyone.
In the wake of failure, he seeks aid from an old mentor and witnesses a wave of darkness sweep over the land that, for a single moment, extinguishes all magic.
In the capital, he discovers a fellow god-speaker is missing and the streets swarming with Windborn – resurrected warriors gifted with supernatural powers by the gods’ enemies.
Answers await in the Forest of Broken Trolls, but within its sinister depths even the gods’ protection may not be enough, and no more so than now, when the gods’ strength may be fading and dark powers are on the rise.
One thing is Alvir Einarson would rather die than let the gods fall.
Trollgrave is a standalone Norse fantasy filled with fanatical outlaws, strange magic, and vicious monsters.
A beautifully written dark, Nordic-inspired fantasy!
We follow God-Speaker Alvir, and it was so refreshing to have a character who is already deep into his role and highly competent at what he does. He travels from village to village, homestead to homestead, healing the sick and injured using his rune weaving magic and his connection to the gods. The pacing, especially in the first half of the book, is deliberately slow, offering an almost slice-of-life insight into Alvir’s life and work, and allowing us to really get to know him and the world he inhabits.
However, there is a deeply ominous cloud hanging over everything, which only grows and darkens, especially when he discovers a shattered God-Stone – something that shouldn’t be possible.
When a request to check on another God-Speaker comes through, he agrees to look into her disappearance in the hope it’ll shine a light on the worrying omens he’s been seeing. Together with his long-lost sister, Sigrun, and a rag-tag group of other characters, including the persecuted magical Windborn, Alvir enters the aptly named Forest of Broken Trolls.
Unfortunately for Alvir, things do not go to plan. Secrets are unearthed and twists throw him from his expected paths, and he undergoes a surprising and fundamental change that throws everything he knows and believes into question – he becomes Windborn.
There are many prejudices in this world, especially against the Windborn and the gods, and each character provides additional insight into this internal conflict – which quickly becomes external – in the second half of the tale.
There are many detailed battle scenes, especially in the last third, featuring outlaws, troll born, and all manner of ghosts and other creatures. In many places, it was actually quite a bit darker and creepier than I was expecting. This isn’t a light-hearted tale of adventure and fantasy. This is dark magic, rituals, sacrifices, violence and death, all in the name of the gods. There are hardships and betrayals, but also a strong sense of faith, hope, and justice, held together by a strong cast and a central mystery.
A highly creative and enjoyable read!
About the Guest Reviewer
I’m a British fantasy author of character-driven stories and epic adventure.
My books contain dragons, bucket-loads of magic, less conventional characters, and are typically fun and hopeful.
I live in a tiny village in the English countryside, have a degree in Psychology, and was a professional copywriter before going full-time as an author—swapping corporate copy for magic and dragons.
Physical copies of my books are available exclusively through my website (or The Broken Binding) and never on Amazon. All paperbacks can be signed/lined/dated and ship internationally: https://llmacrae.com/shop
Book one in my Dragon Spirits Trilogy, The Iron Crown, was a finalist in SPFBO7, and my debut novel, Moroda, was a semi-finalist in SPFBO4. Two of my short stories have also appeared in anthologies.
If you’d like to support me directly, Patreon is the best option! You’ll receive weekly updates, behind-the-scenes posts, author essays, and free eBooks/audiobooks as I publish them: https://www.patreon.com/llmacrae
If you send a friend request and we don’t have any similar interests or books in common, I’ll probably decline. Feel free to follow me, though!
Please don’t send me book recommendations or invitations to join groups.
Best wishes and happy reading,
Lauren
- Website: www.llmacrae.com
- Twitter: @_LLMacRae
- Instagram: @_llmacrae
- Patreon: llmacrae
