Synopsis:
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 certain: 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.
Review:
I picked up Trollgrave as I haven’t read any Norse-inspired fantasy for a long time. Yes, I love John Gwynne’s writing, and was there from the outset with The Bloodsworn Saga, but after that, not-so-much. And with Trollgrave, one of Bradshaw’s Windborn books, you feel immersed in that era, as if there is a deep-felt love for the subject, carefully researched and crafted into a world that feels lived in. Real. I can’t tell you how hard that is to achieve, and after the first few pages, the author has you walking through the roots of a story around which a tale of the darkest magic is forged.
We follow Alvir, a god-speaker, as his world descends into chaos and the foundations of his beliefs upon which he weaves his magic are not only torn apart, but sundered. That journey is filled with mythology that is tightly written and sings to the reader. You believe what Alvir believes, and that the magic wrought both in everyday life and battle as a seamless connection with the people’s daily lives. The initial part of the book draws the reader in, and here the pace is perfectly judged. You are drawn into Bradshaw’s prose and beautifully balanced descriptions that walk the fine line between imagery and the reader’s imagination.
And then … boom!
From the moment Alvir is sent on the hunt for a missing god-speaker, the pace ramps up. Each additional event ratchets up the tension, the action and the desperation. Alvir and the people who look to him for protection enter a frenetic race for survival as discovery upon discovery of what lies deep within the depths of the forest comes to light. It is here when some readers may wish for a pause, a breath to think. There are moments, but these are brief as Alvir’s understanding of his world splits at the seams.
For me, I rode the crest, loving the battles, the emergence of multiple antagonists and the peeled back layers of mythology — each wrapped in Bradshaw’s excellent prose. I will be returning to the Windborn series; you should check it out.
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