Twisted Kingdom

So, the first book that I finished in August is The Troll's Grindstone by Elizabeth H. Boyer. I had seen her books at second hand stores before, but it wasn't until I read all the books that this blogger has read over the last two years that I came across someone that has actually read them. She has read a lot of great stuff, and the amount of books she can read in a month is just mind boggling! Do you know how it is? Something looks interesting but you need that extra push to splurge on it. That was what this was for me. Now, thanks to ebay, I have 8 books by her to read.

From the back of the book:

To escape his enemies, Leifr agreed to impersonate the long-lost Fridmarr. But Fridmarr was one of the Alfar, as Leifr learned when he was taken into the legendary Alfar realm and a give a magic jewel to aid the deception.

Fridmarr, he soon discovered, was hated by everyone. Forty years before, he had betrayed his people by helping the evil, powerful wizard Sorkvir despoil their land and destroy their weapons with a spell. Not content with that, Fridmarr had then betrayed Sorkvir, and Sorkvir had vowed to torture him to death if he ever appeared again in the Alfar realm.

To save himself, Leifr needed only get his hands on a certain magic sword and then find the troll's grindstone to sharpen it. But Sorkvir had hidden the grindstone. And the magic sword was hanging on the wal of Sorkvir's throne room!

This was an enjoyable fantasy novel. I am sad to say, I am not fond of the description of the novel on the back of the book. It covers things, but makes me think it is talking to a little kid. I was worried about the age leveling of the book itself after reading it. Not to worry, though, it was well worth my time. A good way to start a new month, with a good book. Especially a fantasy book, I am a very strong fan of learning of new, good fantasy authors.

So, first we have Leifr. He found himself in trouble in his old world, living in fear for his very life, but then a strange man appeared in the form of a begger and offered him a chance to improve his standings. Suddenly, Leifr finds himself in a whole other world, a world that is thought of in dreams and never really believe to actually exist. In this new world, he thinks that he is gaining a chance to be returned to his old world, to a place where he is not in danger, but then things start to happen. He makes friends and has adventures. At first glance the citizenship hates him, but he begins to make things right and improve his standings. Now he is not running for his life, but for the life of the place that Fridmarr called home.

There are many secrets running throughout this novel. Leifr has vague memories from Fridmarr, but for the most part he has no idea what is going to happen to him as he moves from place to place. He is accompanied by Gotiskolker, the begger that put him in this place in the first place, and a wizard that is just coming into his powers, Thurid. Between the three of them, they are creating a safer place and slowly moving towards the expulsion of Sorkvir from their home. The three characters also interact in such a way that offers humour to the novel, normally at Thuris' expense. They are not your likely heroes, but they are easy to like and relate to.

A great new (old?) series to read if you can track it down and enjoy fantasy!

4/5