Sea of Trolls

A novel by Nancy Farmer combining historical fiction with Fantasy.

Jack is a Bard's apprentice living in a village on the coast of England in The Low Middle Ages. One day said village is invaded by Vikings, who capture him as a slave. He survives captivity by demonstrating his recently-developed magical bard powers and making himself useful to the Vikings.

In the Norse town where he ends up, events transpire which lead him to accompanying several warriors on a quest into Jotunheim, the land of the Trolls.

Nancy Farmer later wrote two sequels, Land of the Silver Apples and The Islands of the Blessed.

(Wait a minute... were you actually looking for the pages on 4Chan and Something Awful?)

Sea of Trolls and Land of the Silver Apples provide examples of the following tropes:

 * All Trolls Are Different
 * Beauty Equals Goodness: Specifically subverted with Pega and Thorgil, as Jack notes that even though Pega is hideous she has a good heart and beautiful voice, and Thorgil's bad temper negates her natural beauty.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: Thorgil and Jack, by the third book.
 * Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu:
 * Doomed Hometown
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Bard.
 * The Fair Folk: Elves in general, but they are capable of doing a Heel Face Turn and gaining a soul.
 * Heroic Fantasy
 * Here There Were Dragons: In Jotunheim, however, they're still thriving.
 * Historical Domain Character: King Olaf.
 * The Low Middle Ages
 * Made a Slave
 * Mentor Occupational Hazard:
 * Norse Mythology
 * The Obi-Wan: The Bard
 * Our Dragons Are Different: They live in cliffside caves and raise their young like birds. Their blood can even give you the ability to understand bird-language, as per the myth of Sigurd and Fafnir.
 * Speaks Fluent Animal: Halfway through Sea of Trolls, Thorgil swallows dragon blood, giving her the ability to speak bird.
 * The Time of Myths
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: Despite the violence, death, and disturbing imagery throughout the series, it's ostensibly written for young adolescents.
 * The World Tree
 * The World Tree