Review: Frostborn by Lou Anders

Frostborn by Lou Anders
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 5th, 2014
Purchase: Amazon

Meet Karn. He is destined to take over the family farm in Norrøngard. His only problem? He’d rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones.

Enter Thianna. Half human, half frost giantess. She’s too tall to blend in with other humans but too short to be taken seriously as a giant.

When family intrigues force Karn and Thianna to flee into the wilderness, they have to keep their sense of humor and their wits about them. But survival can be challenging when you’re being chased by a 1,500-year-old dragon, Helltoppr the undead warrior and his undead minions, an evil uncle, wyverns, and an assortment of trolls and giants.

My thoughts:
This was a very interesting read for me.  On one hand I really enjoyed the innocence of it all because it's been a really long time since I have read a middle grade book, but on the other hand it kinda fell a little short for me.

I'll start with the part I liked, the giants.  I loved this part of the story. It was fun and unique and I really fell into it with abandon.  I thought Thianna was an amazing character and her struggles really touched my heart.  See she is a half giant living in a giant world.  A lot of the giants don't respect her because of her human half.  Thianna feels like she has to prove herself everyday and all she wants is to just be a giant and nothing more.  I felt bad for her and I just wanted her to accept her uniqueness but that's easier said than done and Thianna goes on an adventure that opens her eyes to a lot of things.


The part I didn't like was Karns which is a bummer, but I felt like Karns and Thiannas each held 50% of the story so it didn't ruin it for me.  I should probably clarify because it's not that I didn't like Karn its just that it resembled The Lion King a little too much for me.  I mean honestly if you break it down the story and the characters are basically the same. Even down to the dirt that Scar throws into Simba's face and the demise of Scar was the exact same as well.  I don't like how similar they were.  I don't think the author copied on purpose but my oh my they were the exact same!  It was hard for me to look at Karns story without thinking of Simba and that just depressed me because The Lion King was so sad!  I just really wish the author would have made Karns story as unique as Thiannas.

The two stories collide eventually and we get to see each side take center stage at different times. I liked how the author wove both in together and kept them separate at the same time.  Really if you look at it there were 3 stories all together.  Thiannas, Karns, and the one with them on the adventure together.  They made a great team and I rooted for them from the start.

I have the second book to read and I am thinking I will probably really like it because it is about Thianna and her moms side of the family.  I think it will be really interesting to see where the author takes his characters and with The Lion King side of the story done I am pretty sure Karn will have a fun storyline as well.  So I will definitely give this author another shot!

3 snowflakes

Guest Post: Lou Anders

Today on Winterhaven Books I am so thrilled to have Lou Anders with us!  After finishing Nightborn, I found I was very curious about the elves Mr.Anders had created.  When I was offered the chance to pick a topic for him to answer I jumped at the chance and decided to involve his elves!  Here's what I asked...
Which group of Elves would you belong to, the Shadow Elves or the Oak Elves and why?
His answer is one of my favorites ever!  Take a look!

Would You Rather Be a Hammer or a Nail?

When Winter Haven Books asked me “Which group of elves would you belong to, the Dark Elves or the Wood Elves and why?”, I confess the first thing that came to mind is the Dr. Seuss book Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? Writing as Theo. LeSieg, this is the book in which the good doctor asks the all-important question “Would you rather be a hammer or a nail?” Easily enough answered, but he goes on to ask about dogs and cats, smelly cheese, igloos and tents, and things get murky. And murky is how I feel now, having to choose between dark elves and wood elves. Well, to paraphrase Doctor Seuss, it’s time for us to think about important things like that.

On the vast continent of Katernia, in which the Thrones & Bones novels Frostborn and Nightborn are set, there are actually five major groups of elves. We meet two of them in Nightborn—the Svartálfar, the “dark elves” who live beneath the mountains of the icy land of Norrøngard, and the Wuduælfen, the “wood elves” who live in the forests and cities of the country of Nelenia (and elsewhere).
The dark elves are pale, with skin the color of a mushroom, but have dark hair and dark eyes. They don’t care for sunlight but they can see in pitch black. Right now, their city of Deep Shadow is run by a sort of secret police organization called the Underhand, a Gestapo-like organization that claims to have the people’s best interest at heart, but really, doesn’t have much heart at all. Deep Shadow is a pretty repressive place to live, and if you aren’t in the Underhand you aren’t having fun. But Deep Shadow does have some things going for it. It’s not a patriarchy. Unlike the human Norrønir, the men and women dark elves share equally in positions of power and authority.

One of the dark elves we meet in Nightborn is named Desstra. She’s a young student in training to join the Underhand. She’s very good at fighting with her darts, gas and sticky bombs, spider silk, and other tricks and traps. She’s one of my favorite creations, and I can see how being a dark elf ninja assassin like her would have its appeal. Also, I do have a deep and abiding love of caves, thanks to Adam West. On the one hand, choosing a dark elf could be cool, as long as you were the right dark elf.

On the other hand, the average wood elf generally has a better life. They are (obviously) wood dwellers, in such places as Fairshadow, a major city in the Blackfire Forest . They also live in the human-built cities of Nelenia, with a fairly large population residing in the city of Castlebriar. Unlike the sallow-skinned Svartálfar, the Wuduælfen complexion and hair mirrors the color of trees, ranging from a golden oak to rich mahagony and dark ebony. They drink in taverns, play songs, and live a much freer existence than their distant cousins.

As a child, I grew up spending long hours alone in the ravine behind our house. I would descend into it every day after school and stay until (and sometimes past) sunset, making up imaginary adventures as I explored the creek and the rocks and the trees. I might have started out as a kindred spirit to the Wuduælfen. But if you think this is sounding like a fairly straight forward “dark elf bad, wood elf good” split, you’d be hasty in that judgment. Because things in Katernia are a tad more ambiguous. At least where some wood elves are concerned.

Choosing between wood elves and dark elves isn’t easy, especially since I know what happens to them in Nightborn. Doctor Seuss knows it’s hard to make these kinds of choices. He tells us in Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? that he couldn’t even decide between being a dog or a cat. So maybe I can be forgiven when I say I don’t have to decide. As the author of Thrones & Bones, I actually get to be a little bit of all of the characters! And in reading Thrones & Bones, so do you.

About the Author:

Lou Anders drew on a recent visit to Norway along with his adventures traveling across Europe in his teens and twenties to write Frostborn and Nightborn, combining those experiences with his love of globe-trotting adventure fiction and games (both tabletop and role- playing) However, he has yet to ride a wyvern. With the addition of characters Desstra and Tanthal, Anders hopes that his second book in the Thrones and Bones series will continue to appeal to boys and girls equally. Anders is the recipient of a Hugo Award for editing and a Chesley Award for art direction. He has published over five hundred articles and stories on science fiction and fantasy television and literature. A prolific speaker, Anders regularly attends writing conventions around the country. He and his family reside in Birmingham, Alabama. You can visit Anders online at louanders.com and ThronesandBones.com, on Facebook, on Tumblr, and on Twitter at @ThronesandBones and @LouAnders.

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Review: Nightborn by Lou Anders

Nightborn by Lou Anders
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 14th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

From the author of "Frostborn" comes Book 2 in the acclaimed Thrones and Bones fantasy-adventure trilogy for fans of Lloyd Alexander and Brandon Mull.
Karn Korlundsson is a gamer. "Not" a riddle solver. But in order to rescue his best friend, Thianna Frostborn, he will need to travel to the faraway city of Castlebriar (by wyvern), learn how to play a new board game called Charioteers (not a problem), decipher the Riddle of the Horn, and tangle with mysterious elves.
Meet Desstra. She's in training to join the Underhand--the elite agents of the dark elves. When she crosses paths with Karn, she is not all that she appears to be.
Everyone is chasing after the horn of Osius, an ancient artifact with the power to change the world. The lengths to which Karn will go in the name of friendship will be sorely tested. Who knew that solving a riddle could be so deadly?
The novel includes instructions for playing the board game Charioteers. Visit ThronesandBones.com for additional games, maps, character profiles, and more! 

My thoughts:
This was such a fun book!  While I did like the first one, I absolutely adored Nightborn.  It was unique and just a really fun adventure with humans, elves, dwarfs, giants, and gnomes!

Nightborn takes off pretty much where the first left off.  Karn is settling into his new role and learning how to trade and Thianna is off learning more about where her mom came from. All is okay until Karn is whisked away by a wyvern and finds out Thianna is in trouble.  Karn knows he has to help his friend so he sets out on another adventure to find Thianna.

This story is full of adventure and I loved the introduction of the elves. I have always been a sucker for a good elf story and Lou Anders has created some interesting ones.  I would honestly love another book based on just the Shadow Elves, but for now I will take what I can get.  

I really loved the rich world that Anders has created.  Just when I think he can't possibly throw anything else in he does and it fits like a glove!  He has created a huge world that has so many possibilities and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

What I lacked in the first installment I more than got with this one.  I fell into this story with ease and I loved looking through Karns eyes as well as his companions.  This also has a very nice balance between action and storytelling.  With some fantasy books they will be heavy on one side of those two, but I found this book to be very balanced which worked great for me. I loved all the history that was woven in, it just gave the book an extra spark.

This is a really fun series that I think adults will also enjoy as well as younger readers.  It definitely kept my attention and I can't wait to read the next installment because not everything was wrapped up nice and neat and I need to find out what happens!!  Plus I think we will finally get to see Thica and I have been dying to see it!!

4 snowflakes

Also I have some exciting news to share!  The first book the Thrones & Bones series, Frostborn, has just been released in paperback TODAY!!  You won't want to miss the first adventure of Karn and Thianna so be sure to click on the links below to purchase your copy!
Amazon / B&N

Meet Karn. He is destined to take over the family farm in Norrøngard. His only problem? He’d rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones.

Enter Thianna. Half human, half frost giantess. She’s too tall to blend in with other humans but too short to be taken seriously as a giant.

When family intrigues force Karn and Thianna to flee into the wilderness, they have to keep their sense of humor and their wits about them. But survival can be challenging when you’re being chased by a 1,500-year-old dragon, Helltoppr the undead warrior and his undead minions, an evil uncle, wyverns, and an assortment of trolls and giants.

PRAISE
“Frostborn is the fantasy adventure book I wish I’d had when I was a kid.”
–Charlie Jane Anders, i09

“While I cut my fantasy-reading teeth on the works of Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman’s DragonLance and Darksword, I would have gobbled up this book at that age. Hell, I thoroughly enjoyed it at my current age.”
– Rob H. Bedford, SF Signal

“Future fans of Tolkien and George R.R. Martin can happily cut their serial-fantasy teeth on this first book of an eventual series.”
─ Kirkus Reviews

⋆“The setting is rich, the characters well-defined, and the danger ever-paramount. It’s a strong and thoroughly enjoyable start to the Thrones and Bones series.”
─ Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“. . . adventure fans will enjoy the action, the Norse background, and the occasional flash of humor.”
─ Booklist Reviews

"Anders sculpts a rich world filled with his deep sense of family and fantasy into this powerful journey of discovery and friendship not seen since Alexander first introduced readers to Prydain."
─ Scott Taylor, Art of the Genre

"Lou Anders's FROSTBORN is sure to appeal to young readers looking for a dose of monsters and magic. Not just a classic fantasy romp, Anders's debut novel explores the experience of feeling young and out of place in a world that refuses to see you for who you are—something readers of all ages can identify with."
─James L. Sutter, author of Death's Heretic

ABOUT LOU ANDERS
LOU ANDERS’s research on Norse mythology while writing book one in the Thrones and Bones series, FROSTBORN, turned into a love affair with Viking culture and a first visit to Norway. Anders is the recipient of a Hugo Award for editing and a Chesley Award for art direction. He has published over 500 articles and stories on science fiction and fantasy television and literature. A prolific speaker, Anders regularly attends writing conventions around the country. He and his family reside in Birmingham, Alabama. You can visit Anders online at louanders.com and ThronesandBones.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter at @ThronesandBones.