Bound To Stay Bound

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Bulletin for the Center... - 10/01/2007 This sequel to The Sea of Trolls (BCCB 11/04) finds Jack, who spent much of the previous novel kidnapped by Vikings and weighted with a nearly impossible quest, now safe at home and a couple of years older but still struggling with family and personal issues. He enjoys his challenging work as a bard-in-training, but his relationships with his father and spoiled younger sister, Lucy, are both at all-time lows, and after a terrible row, Jack leaves home. Even relative peace is not Jack’s for long, as he soon must embark on a pilgrimage to save Lucy from a madness that has suddenly come upon her. Thorgil, Jack’s berserker friend, makes a welcome reappearance, eagerly greeting every twist in the quest as they uncover myriad problems that all need remedies (they encounter hobgoblins, evil kings, and elves, all of whom are integral to restoring order and healing Lucy). Rounding out the known protagonists are new characters like Pega, a gorgeously talented singer and mysteriously powerful slave who hails from Jack’s village, and revelatory new information about old characters (Lucy is actually an elf changeling, which explains her complete self-involvement) that keep the action fresh and unpredictable and leave plenty of open-ended plots to be resolved in the third and final volume. Rich and intriguing details add to the already well-developed world in which Jack is slowly coming of age. Although new readers may need to refer to the appendix and list of characters frequently, this lyrical and elegantly written sequel works well as a stand-alone novel. Existing fans, however, will reap additional benefit from knowing the emotional backgrounds of the protagonists. Either way, the remaining volume of the trilogy will be eagerly anticipated. AS - Copyright 2007 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2007 Gr 5-9-Jack, apprentice bard and hero of The Sea of Trolls (S & S, 2004), returns in the middle volume in the trilogy. After a flawed midwinter ritual leads to strange behavior from Jack's sister, Lucy, the siblings travel with a group of old and new friends to the monastery at St. Filian's Well to find treatment. However, the monks prove treacherous and Lucy is kidnapped again, this time by the Lady of the Lake. Jack travels to the Land of the Silver Apples, the home of elves and other magical creatures, in search of her, joined by the freed slave girl Pega; his old friend the shield maiden Thorgil; and Brutus, a slave to the monks at St. Filian's. Jack comes to accept the truth about Lucy and learns more about himself through his adventures in the timeless magical land, and then returns to the human world, where he confronts an evil king with help from his new magical allies. Jack's character continues to deepen and develop, both in his magical skills and as a person. Farmer draws on mythology, including legends and runes of the Picts, to add depth to her story, and her author's note and sources add authenticity to the narrative. She builds on Jack's adventures in The Sea of Trolls and at the same time creates a stand-alone novel, drawing readers into this complex world and leaving them looking forward to more.-Beth L. Meister, Pleasant View Elementary School, Franklin, WI Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 08/01/2007 *Starred Review* Safely returned from his perilous stint among Northmen, 12-year-old Jack reflects, “That’s the nature of adventures. . . . They’re nasty while they’re happening and only fun later.” For readers, though, there’s satisfaction in both the nasty and the fun, and this sequel to The Sea of Trolls (2004) offers full measures of both. After Jack learns that his often-bratty little sis is a changeling (and that his real sister likely dwells with hobgoblins), a misguided exorcism results in Lucy’s disappearance. Then the young bard must descend into the out-of-time Land of the Silver Apples to retrieve both of his lost siblings. In that richly imagined realm, surprises include a reunion with shield-maiden Thorgil as well as creatures whose appearances deceive—shape-shifting knuckers; hideous yet likable hobgoblins; and lovely, soulless elves, whose inability to grow or age tinges their existence with tragedy. Occasionally, one wishes for a greater range of emotional tone to the predicaments, which plunge Jack into deep despair perhaps too consistently, but Farmer beautifully balances pell-mell action and quieter thematic points, especially the drawbacks of immortality and the wild tangle of Christian and pagan traditions in eighth-century Britain. Like the druidic life force Jack taps, this hearty adventure, as personal as it is epic, will cradle readers in the “hollow of its hand.” - Copyright 2007 Booklist.

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