Karn and Thianna are each on the run from enemies chasing after them across a Norse-inspired fantasy world when they decide to team up. Karn is good at tactics and strategy, while Thianna has the knowledge and practical skills to survive in a land of ice and snow. ( )

Thrones & Bones: Frostborn is a Norse-influenced fantasy about a 12-year-old farmer's son named Karn and a 13-year-old girl named Thianna whose father is a frost giant and her late mother was a human. The book opens with a dire chase scene.

"Thrones and Bones" is the board game Karn is obsessed with rather than farming. His father is the elder of twins, and Karn's uncle is quite bitter about being the second son. If Karn were actually paying attention to what his uncle tells him, he might not have followed his uncle down to a barrow and then followed "dear" uncle's instructions. This leads to the uncle getting his wish, and Karn having to run for his life with three draugr (undead rotting corpses) after him.

Thianna is skillful, but faces prejudice from some of her father's people because she's shorter than a normal frost giant (and looks like her mother). She is most reluctant to accompany her father to trade with humans, but that's how she meets Karn.

Thianna also has to go on the run from the same villainesses (who naturally think of themselves as righteous warriors) who were responsible for her parents meeting. They want the little horn Thianna inherited from her mother.

As will probably satisfy video/computer game enthusiasts, Karn's obsession helps to save the day more than once as soon as he begins to think of his surroundings as a game board and his attackers as playing pieces. Thianna's strength, magic, and practical knowledge also save the day several times. They make a good team.

I think my favorite adventure was when they had to flee into a ruined city and meet Orm the enormous dragon. Orm just loves playing cat-and-mouse. These 'mice' give him a bigger workout than he anticipated. Thianna puts her mother's horn to good use. The name of the ruined city sounds like 'Sardeth,' which amused me because Orm is the doom that came to Sardeth and one of famed horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's short stories is 'The Doom That Came to Sarnath'. If it's a homage, I like it!

Karn and Thianna do get captured. How they turn the tables on their respective captors was a lot of fun.

I enjoyed Fabio Tassone's narration. If there is a downside to listening to an audio book, though, it's not learning how to spell the names of characters who aren't listed on the box.

Book one is enjoyable enough that book two should be worth encountering. ( )

I must admit that this book took a while to get into. I'm glad I stuck it out, because it did improve once I got past the character introductions which took longer than it needed to. The book takes place in a Nordic fantasy world reminiscent of the Scandinavian countries. Thankfully there is a map because it helps the reader get the lay of the land. There are two main characters, Karn and Thianna. Karn is the son of a farmer who would love to spend all his days playing a board game called Thrones and Bones. Thianna is a half-breed frost giant who detests her human side. She has an inferiority complex because, at 8 ft. tall, she is short for a giant.

Karn lives in the low farmlands of Norrongard. Thianna lives in the mountains of Ymiria. Their lives intersect when they arrive at a market fair to barter goods. Given that Karn is human and Thianna is a frost giant, they don’t expect to get along so well. They enjoy the festivities together then part ways. Their lives cross again when Karn finds himself on the run from the Afterwalkers, aka the undead. Thianna saves him numerous times and then realizes she can use some help also as she flees a huntress who wants Thianna’s magical horn.

There is much more to this book. It’s loaded with mythical creatures like wyverns (dragons) and trolls. From the moment Karn meets Thianna, the action never slows down. I appreciate the author not jamming all the action into the very end like so many authors do. He keeps it steady all the way. I also like the ancient feel of the story and the unique Nordic setting. This is true fantasy to the core. ( )

Hard to follow at times. Waaaay too many bad guys - characters in general really. Plot wasnt bad, could have been better. Ending was decent, but idk if im rushing to grab the next one. ( )

This one has a cool setting inspired by ancient Norse culture and a nice mix of male and female characters to hopefully appeal to both readers. However adults who enjoy middle grade probably won't be terribly impressed with the rather cliche plot and struggling banter. I'm still tempted to buy a copy since it's so pretty though and includes chapter heading illustrations!

Full review to come at:

( )