When I was little, my grandma would tell me stories about kings, queens, men out on missions who encounter mystical beings, and as terrifying as those were, these stories had a thrill about them. That is why I could listen to them over and over. The Gatewatch by Joshua Gillingham took me down memory lane and reminded me how much I miss those kind of stories, where I can be starry-eyed girl, listening to an epic adventure and a tale of friendship. Check out the synopsis of the book below and then I’ll share my thoughts on this Fantasy book that I read as part of Wyrd and Wonder.
Torin Ten-Trees and his closest companions, Bryn and Grimsa, set out to join The Gatewatch and become trollhunters. When a troupe of meddling dwarves throws them off course they are captured by trolls and taken as prisoners to a secret gathering deep underground. There they learn that an ancient giant has crowned himself king of the trolls and plans to utterly destroy The Gatewatch. Their perilous journey back to the land of sun and stars will stretch their strength to the limit, strain their wits, and demand an unspeakable sacrifice. But will it be enough to defeat the Troll King?
The Gatewatch is an epic troll-hunting adventure inspired by the Norse Myths and the Icelandic Sagas.
Content Notes: Social drinking, violence, death.
Thoughts on The Gatewatch
The Gatewatch is an enjoyable tale with magic, friendship, a fantastical world that is old and rooted in Norse mythology. I have been fascinated by Norse mythology for a while and I truly enjoyed that aspect of the story.
On Friendship
The Gatewatch is an epic tale of friendship, meeting beings who are different from us, and living with them. Torin, Bryn and Grimsa are three friends journey to the city of Gatewatch to become trollhunters. Every two years, a competition decides who the new trollhunters will be, and the three friends are determined to kill a troll. The competition between them is healthy and their friendly banter is one of my favorite parts of this story. Over time, other friendships develop as well with fellow recruits who are going to be troll hunters too.
There is wit and cunning in this story and, if you like mind teasers, riddles are abundant.
No one is perfect and that added to new the dimensions of the story. Wyla is the daughter of the Captain of Gatewatch, leader of the troll hunters. She wants to prove herself to her father and that sometimes makes her reckless.
An adventure would be incomplete without characters with such sense of purpose and, without Wyla and her influence on Torin and the rest, the story would not have turned out as it did.
On World building
The world that Josh creates in The Gatewatch is rich in history, culture and magic. There are numerous beings – dwarves, goblins, trolls, giants, and humans. There is magic. There are wars about to be waged. There are creatures of the dark, ready to wake up and fight.There are two aspects of the world that especially want to highlight.
Firstly, deep family roots of Torin and his companions were quite evident. People in Gatewatch knew the boys and their heritage before they arrived. They were welcomed. Since these are times without technology and electricity, I loved the representation of community dining, getting to know the travelers and sharing stories over drinks and food.
Secondly, I want to touch on the beings and their relationships. We all have our perceptions about people from other countries and places. People in The Gatewatch are no different. Whether it is the cunning yet creative abilities of the dwarves, the hunger of the trolls or the greed of the goblins, Torin is open to understanding the ‘why’ behind the actions of the people he meets and helping everyone he can. This builds relationships and fosters trust between peoples.
Josh also refers to each of the beings with their original names of madur (humans), nidavel (dwarf), skimsli (goblin), jotur (giant). This added authenticity to the ancient feeling of this world. You’ll learn more about this in the interview tomorrow!
Overall, I enjoyed this book as it seemed like the perfect bedtime story. The cover is beautiful and detailed, and some more illustrations like that would make this a perfect story to tell kids while looking at the pictures.
** The Gatewatch is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! **
Amazon Print
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I truly enjoyed it and look forward to the next adventure.
Cover image: Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash
Image of trolls on Pixabay
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