I first read this book in 2004. Since then I have constantly revisited it every few years. The tale of young Peer whose shipbuilder father dies leaving him to the care of two wicked uncles resonates with both young and old readers alike as it acts as the catalyst for reshaping and strengthening our protagonist. His innocent love with Hilde, his faithful dog Loki and the clever spirit Nis all strike at the reader's heartstrings. The serpentine Granny Green-Teeth, the hellish trolls and Hilde's father's final return set a captivating pace which avoids all the makings of a Harry Potter knock-off while delivering the same punch. ( )

I picked this up by chance at the library-never even heard of it before-and it turned out to be great! This is about a boy (Peer) whose father dies in the first pages, and his terrible uncle takes him as his property to work at his mill. Peer is treated as a slave to his uncles (turns out the first one has a twin), and his only comfort is in the few friends he has-his dog, Loki, the Nis who lives in the barn rafters, and the girl who lives on the next farm over. The characters were very real, and the story was interesting- I love how different the trolls are to what we usually think of them as! ( )

The book opens at a funeral. Peer's father has just died after completing a new longboat. Before the funeral is even over, Peer's uncle shows up to claim Peer and any money or valuables left to take off with him to Troll Fell. Peer has no choice but to move in with his two cruel uncles, who treat him as a servant, sometimes remember to feed him, and hit him whenever they feel like it. Peer's only friend on the place, and it's a unpredictable friend too, is a sort of house spirit called a Nis. In time he meets the family who live in the farm below theirs and becomes friends with Hilde. Her father sails off for adventure in the longboat Peer's father build, leaving them to fend for themselves against the rotten Grimssons and the trolls.

The trolls - they live in the hill nearby, when they aren't coming out and trying to steal things, and they have a huge treasure trove buried under the hill. Peer's uncles are much too friendly with them for his taste, and he soon learns about a deal that will put him and Hilde in a lot of danger.

I liked this book, but I felt it took too long to get to the action. Everyone seemed to accept living that close to the trolls and then when trouble erupted, they were still too slow to act. I don't think the actions of most of the characters are very believable. I understand this is the first in a trilogy. I don't think I'll make a special effort to look for the next books, but I wouldn't mind reading them if I found them. 3 stars. ( )

My thoughts: After stumbling through Icarceron, I was really in the mood for something less ambiguous. I was looking for a fun, exciting but comprehendible read, and boy did I find one! Troll Fell, the first book in the Troll Trilogy by Katherine Langrish, has all the ingredients for being an awesome fantasy series. There’s a simple plot filled with exciting action, memorable characters (including two near-perfect MCs, Peer and Hilde) a good dose of mythology and folklore, and a great ending. I devoured this book easily and eagerly look forward to the two remaining books in the series, Troll Mill and Troll Blood. This book was very engaging from beginning to end. There were twists and turns, yes, but you know how some authors just love to keep readers on the edge of their seat to the point that their books start to get “plot-whiplash”? That doesn’t happen here. The story is exciting but easy to follow at the same time. So no whiplash! Both of the MCs, Peer and Hilde, are 12 years old. From what I understand, in the fashion of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Septimus Heap (to name a few), they age over the progression of the series. Adults, don’t feel silly reading about 12-year-olds – they’re gonna grow up! Heck, don’t feel silly reading about 12-year-olds at all! Kids are AWESOME! The villains of the book, Peer’s wicked, money-hungry uncles, are a little on the Stereotypical Villain side, but I think you kind of expect that in a YA/MG story. I don’t really care if villains are one-sided or anything, as long as they’re entertaining and (if it’s marketed to kids/teens) not too disturbing. I will say, though, that I was kind of expecting more troll action, so I was a bit surprised that I didn’t really see the trolls until close to the climax of the story – even though the books *is* called Troll Fell. I think that actually worked in this setup, because by not showing the trolls until later, the story builds up on the suspense, and you get to the point where you’re just expecting them to JUMP out at any moment! Oh, and here’s something you RARELY see in YA/MG: useful grownups! Yeah, what a concept! Parents who are 1) not dead, and 2) useful! I don’t want to get too specific, but there’s a point close to the end where the parent characters make themselves quite useful! So that was incredibly refreshing Amelialand Rating:V: Nothing really out of the ordinary. Peer gets smacked around by his uncles, but everything remains around PG-levelS: none whatsoever – G L: I don’t recall anything off the top of my head. That’s always nice! Hey authors, just don’t have your characters cuss, okay?! It’s not necessary! Final rating: 4.5/5. An awesome read for kids and grownups alike! Highly recommended! Next time you’re at your library, or surfing Amazon, or wherever else you turn to for your next reading material, I hope you’ll remember this fun series! :) ( )

I couldn't get past the trolls. I don't know what it is about me and trolls, but I have an almost knee-jerk reaction against reading anything with trolls in it. That being said, I think I perhaps COULD have overcome that had I been more taken with the main character, but in the opening chapters he came across to me as Generic Helpless Victim and not particularly interesting, so I couldn't bring myself to continue.

I enjoyed reading this book, can't wait for part 2 of trilogy. I liked the way that the book introduced us to the various creatures that lived on Troll Fell - lubbers etc. and how they all relate to Peer, Hilde and Ralf, the humans that they share the fell with. Lots of mini adventures happening within the one book. Good to read about things being logical through fiction e.g. although Peer put his heart and soul into resurrecting the mill so that he could one day be the proud miller that his father was he had to burn the mill down because the trolls were constantly over running the mill to grind bones. This created good discussion with class as to fairness.

Troll Blood, part 3 is fantastic. ( )

Troll Fell strikes me as a sort of Cinderella story for boys...the difference in Troll Fell is that while there are magical/mythological elements, the main focus of the story isn't magical as has been the case in many books I've read of late. Troll Fell does have is that classical element of a orphaned child in a miserable situation. In Troll Fell, we meet Peer Ulfsson whose father has just passed away, in face as we join the story, the funeral pyre is still burning when Peers uncle shows up to claim the boy and doesn't even let him stay out the remainder of the funeral before dragging him back to the village, selling off his fathers things (and keeping all the money for himself). In short order Peer finds himself tied to his Uncle Baldur's cart, traveling away from the only home and people he's ever known with his bully uncle. He Arrives in Troll Fell only to find out that he's got TWO uncles, twins (Uncle Balder, the miller and Uncle Grim, the Farmer) who are miserly, living in the run down and seldom used mill with their resentful house sprite (the Nis) and like Cinderella, Peer is made to do all the work, gets little if any food and has to sleep out in the barn with the animals. From there, the similarities to Cinderella fall off and we get a more Scandinavian treatment complete with trolls, lubbers, and a lovely gem of a "monster," old Granny Greenteeth who inhabits the pond by the mill and resents the millers for daring to dam up and control her waters.

It's not soon after he arrives that he meets Hilde, a young girl his age from a neighboring farm...unfortunately for Peer, it's she is the daughter of Ralf Eiriksson, a man that his uncles have been feuding with for years over a parcel of land...the land where the Trolls and their gold (which the greedy brothers prize and covet above all else) can be found. He also overhears his uncle's plans to give him to the Troll King (along with a girl of the same age) as a wedding present/slave for his daughter and her new groom on their wedding night. From there it is up to Peer and Hilde to find a way to stop Peer's uncles, all of which is complicated by the departure of Hilde's farther on a Viking ship for a season. Will Peer and Hilde be able to thwart his uncles? Troll Fell is well worth a read to find out!!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed Troll Fell, it was dark, full of monsters, the protagonists were clever, resourceful, and interesting in their own rights and the Uncles while some what single-sided (which is to be expected in this type of story), they were still interesting and bad...really, really bad! I particularly liked that the events didn't "magically" fix themselves, this was an active participation story...Peer and Hilde had to work to "fix" what was wrong, not just sit back and wait to be rescued. I think this is a great read for both boys and girls (ages 8-12). Younger readers would certainly enjoy this as a read aloud...unfortunately there are NO illustrations or color plates in this book (which I feel it is ideally suited for). I am of the opinion that books like this are excellent read aloud material for the 5-8 range, but a lot of the time the effort is hindered by NO illustrations, as I find that younger listeners in particular WANT pictures to look at every so often. If this were done in a slightly larger format and had some color plates about every 20 or so pages, I would be ecstatic. Older readers might not be quite so enchanted by the story (though, clearly *I* was) as it is somewhat predictable and there isn't anything overly innovative, yet the story manages to be both engaging and highly entertaining! The ending does have an interesting (though again, somewhat predictable) twist and culminates in a kind of a fuzzy/feel good way...but not so as to be nauseating or unbelievable. I read it in one night. I must stay it is VERY nice to see more Scandinavian influence in children's literature these days...much of the story is an excellent glimpse into the day to day life of a farm in the given time period (showing the cycle of planting for the farm in as much detail as the author gave details on daily diet and how children, Peer not included here, were treated, what was expected of them and how families in general lived), just a wealth of detail that is a joy to read. As it is a Cinderella fantasy involving trolls, goblins and various other northern boogie creatures is did quite well in this area, with the creation of the Troll Hill and the world underneath it! I give Troll Fell five stars, it's a fine read for kids (especially those who love fantasy), I think it's one of the best books I've read in the last 6 months (others include The Snow Spider and The Whitby Witches). ( )

A book with vikings and trolls, sort of. The story is rooted in Norse mythology, which is both a little different and fun. The This book is very original with compelling young characters that will please younger readers, as well as, older ones. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story that is written strongly and clearly. ( )