Review Novel The Sea of Trolls

The Sea of Trolls (Sea of Trolls #1)

by Nancy Farmer

Di tahun 773, sekelompok prajurit terkuat Viking (berserker) menyerang pantai Inggris. Semua desa yang mereka lalui dihancurkan. Jack dan adiknya, Lucy, menjadi tawanan mereka. Ternyata takdir memilih jalan yang berbeda. Ditemani Olaf One Brow dan Thorgil si Prajurit Perawan, Jack melakukan perjalanan ke negeri Troll, Jotunheim. Misi mereka akan menentukan nasib seluruh berserker. Dapatkah Jack mengikuti jejak Odin, dewa terkuat bangsa Viking? 

“Sejarah, Legenda dan mitologi bangsa Viking diramu menjadi satu dalam kisah petualangan yang tidak sekadar mencekam, tapi juga menghadirkan nilai-nilai keutamaan.”

– Majalah Gatra 

“Sebuah cerita yang berdasarkan sejarah, namun membubung tinggi dengan imajinasi yang memesona."

– New York Times 

“Petualangan yangs seru dengan perpaduan memikat antara sejarah dan dongeng. Kisahnya mengajarkan bahwa kekuatan dapat timbul dari keberanian dan kasih sayang.”

– Riyanti Cartwright (VJ Riyanti) 

Buku ini mendapat lebih dari 25 penghargaan: * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * Parents’ Choice Gold Award * Judy Lopez Memorial Award * Kirkus Editor's Choice * Mythopoeic Fantasy Award * Publishers Weekly Best Book * Washington Post Best Book.

Matahati 2007

Saya: mirip Eragon, mirip Harry Potter...inilah tipikal legenda tentang Magic, Naga, dan Bocah Laki-laki...yang mengajarkan bahwa hal2 besar akan terjadi ketika datang pengorbanan tiada kira...ah, si kecl Lucy yang manja...(tq bwt Desni tercinta, atas buku yang berharga ini) 

Nielam: Setelah pencarian panjang, akhirnya dapet juga buku ini dari seorang teman yang bersusah payah mencarikannya di kaskus, senang....for a children book, i think this book was to gory..the killings were to graphic, dan ga cuma itu, si penulis juga seolah2 ngasih peookmbenaran sama kekejaman yang dilakuin sama bangsa viking ini. i dont think u should do that when ur readers are kids, they would get a wrong message.but apart from that, the story was fab, the myth that Farmer put in this book's really enriching.great book, not for children though.

Larashi: suka sama penceritaan detilnya soal kekejaman dan kejorokan orang2 Northmen. Hehehe ini ceritanya tentang petualangan Jack dan Lucy yang diculik bangsa barbar Viking trus dijadikan budak. Sebenarnya Jack ini penyijhir muda jadi dia sambil jadi budak, diem2 sambil belajar mengaktifkan sihirnya juga. Di buku ini bisa ketemu troll yang serem2 dan banyak legenda Viking tentunya. dari Valhalla, Odin, Freya, dll. Menarik banget buat yang suka mitos dan legenda2 jaman dahulu.

Dahlia: Ketemu viking sungguhan! Tidak seperti di buku Hiccup. Viking di sini bener-bener kejaaaaam...menjarah, membunuh dan memperkosa jadi hal yang biasa. Belum lagi kejorokan dan kebodohan mereka pyuuuuh...*lap keringat*. Anehnya, sukar untuk membenci mereka hahahaha...
Thank to penghuni radal

Desni: sebenarnya ga terlalu suka baca buku yang ada magic2x...tp neh buku pinjam dari muridq...hampir setahun ga dibalikin....ketemu dgn anto yang doyan bgt baca buku ky gini...jd tertantang..
udah baca separox...tp pengen baca lagi dr awal biar bisa diskusi dgn anto yg jd lebih dulu selesai baca....

Kim: Really I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. I liked it.

In my daughter's review, she said this book was "gruesome" so I felt compelled to read it to find out what that meant to her. I would not use that same word to describe it. It is a story set in Viking times, and a historical event was used as background to this story - when Lindisfarne, AKA the Holy Isle was destroyed by Vikings in 793 AD. Although this is a story about Vikings, that is only one aspect of it. And for this story to be believable and for the reader to feel the proper amount of fear and dislike for the Vikings as the main character Jack does, the Vikings need to do "Viking" things like pillaging and plundering. These acts are not overdone, in fact, they are equal to or less than other books like Enna Burning.

One other thing about this book to be aware of is the mixing of religions. The main character, Jack, was raised Christian, but it is the fearful form of Christianity where the monks teach that everyone is sinful, etc. Jack's mentor believes in something called the "Life Force", and the Vikings, of course, believe in all the Norse gods and Yggdrasil (which is the same thing as the Life Force only in the form of a tree). Jack finds himself believing in all three. This did not bother me (as a devout Christian), nor did the negative view of Christianity as it is historically accurate. But I thought I would mention it. I think it is a great topic of discussion for children.

Alcina: An engaging, wonderfully woven tale. Blue loved it. I was kind of bored with the adventures by the time of the spider singing (a marvelous concept, but I was not fully present by then, maybe cause I'm a grown up). The use of real history as a jumping point was clever and we will be doing some research on Vikings and the Pict people (the true original Pixies). Blue says the Rangers Apprentice series does the same thing with actual historical nods.

I am once again disheartened by another woman author creating a boy hero though there is a fabulous teen female warrior who shares our hero's journey. So far, only The Hunger Games has given us a contemporary and complete female hero as good as Harry Potter.

Melissa: Things I Liked: What a fun story! I wish I'd read this one sooner. The mythology is absolutely fabulous. I adored learning more about Norse and Scandinavian mythos, particularly the gods and the trolls. The story is interesting and unique and it evoked the great quests so common in high fantasy. But what I really loved was the historical element as well. This is set in the dark ages of England and Scandinavia and that setting is written so thoroughly that you can't help but fall into it! The book is rich with myths and history and entirely relatable characters. In addition, it talks so neatly about the issues of slavery and the animosity between countries that you almost don't notice it. I adored Thorgill and I could write an entire treatise on her complexities, but I'll spare you. I listened to this one on my new horrifically long commute to work and it kept my mind completely off the traffic (hopefully in a good way). The narrator does incredible voices and accents and I truly loved delving into this story through audio. A fantastically underrated fantasy series that I've got to read (or listen to) more of.

Things I Didn't Like: It did seem a bit long, but for fantasy fans the thick book will be nothing extraordinary.
Full review at One Librarian's Book Reviews.