Joanne Harris, who is better known for her novel Chocolat dives into the new world of fantasy for children with this tale centerring around Norse (Viking) mythology.

Set loosely in the Middle Ages, the protagonist Maddy finds herself in the middle of controvercy to the appearance of a rune-like mark on her hand. The resulting implications that she might be a witch leave her on the outskirts of her village community. If it were not for her skills as a goblin exterminator, they would have tossed her out a long time ago. Fortunately, she is befriended by One-eye, a traveler who stops in the village on an annual basis.

While they meet when she is just 8 years old, he becomes almost like a kindly uncle over the years as he shares tales of the Old Time before Ragnarók struck down the famed gods and goddess that have now been replaced by the Order, a repressive theocracy.

Things get really interesting when One-Eye asks her to hed down into the Red Horse Hill to get the Whisperer for him because h really needs it. It is this mission that will bring her right into the middle of a battle for the future of all the nine worlds and an uncertainty about who has the best interests of everyone at heart, particularly since the gods and goddesses seem to often think more about themselves than about those around them.

The book is definitely a big one, but it tends to move along at a pretty good pace. There are a few moments, when the story gets bogged down as Harris sets up background information about the characters or Norse mythology itself, but it usually turns out to be very important as the story progresses. There is a nice mixture of humor and action to keep the reader interested, though.

This is an epic tale with the fate of the universe in the balance while also providing Maddy to come to terms with the person she really is and accept her inner strength.

Fans of Katherine Applegate's Everworld series and The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan may want to take a look at this if they are looking for something with a little bit more depth to the application of a mythos to a story.