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Undrastormur
Eirik has a problem--make that A LOT of problems. While he was out gathering mushrooms, his small Norse village was overrun by vicious trolls. Now Eirik, the last surviving descendant of Drengur Darkbeard, a powerful galdrakarl or wizard, must undertake a perilous journey to find the missing half of Drengur's iron staff. Only then can he save his neighbors by calling down the undrastormur, a powerful and dangerous gift from Thor, the Viking god of thunder.
- GenresFantasy
39 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2014
3 people want to read
About the author
Roger Eschbacher
14 books132 followersRoger Eschbacher lives in Los Angeles with his awesome family and a sweet little Russian tortoise.
In addition to writing fantasy and sci-fi adventure novels, he writes TV animation for Warner Bros., Netflix, Cartoon Network, Hasbro Studios and more.
Roger’s YA space opera Ghost Star is a winner of the Kindle Scout competition and received a publishing contract from Amazon’s Kindle Press imprint.
Ghost Star and other books by Roger are listed on his Amazon Author Page.
In addition to writing fantasy and sci-fi adventure novels, he writes TV animation for Warner Bros., Netflix, Cartoon Network, Hasbro Studios and more.
Roger’s YA space opera Ghost Star is a winner of the Kindle Scout competition and received a publishing contract from Amazon’s Kindle Press imprint.
Ghost Star and other books by Roger are listed on his Amazon Author Page.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 2, 2016
Roger Eschbacher did a wonderful job creating a story filled with Norse folklore and fairytales. In just a few pages he managed to introduce me to a variety of gods, spirits and other magical beings that immediately started a little show in my head. But in the meantime the story did not go far from ordinary people dealing with previously named remarkable creatures.
Keeping in mind that the book is for people at least twice younger than myself, a twenty something foreign girl, whose native language is not even close to English, I found the book very well and easy written.
There is not a kid in this world that does not know about the mighty god of thunder Thor and his powerful and loyal hammer Mjolnir. And guess what, both of them are here too. So if Harry Potter is a bit too hard for a bed time story, have no doubt and introduce your beloved child to Eirik. He is the most ordinary boy in his village, not very popular amongst his peers, he is not known for his bravery and he does not even have a lot of luck with girls. At least that is Eirik to whom we are introduced in the beginning of the story. But as the tension keeps filling up and the trolls are getting hungrier (aka angrier), our little hero is forced to accept his faith as the last of galdrakar or simply said – a wizard.
With quite some help from the litlle Fylgja (Eiriks‘ guardian spirit) our hero is on the way to find and fix the ultimate weapon he inherrited from his grandfather Drengur Darkbeard. He must face his fears and travel to an unknown land where the piece of Drengur's iron staff is hidden. Alone in the dark and cold area of Nilfheim, Eirik must make difficult decisions that may cost him his life.
As every beloved story for children this one also has charming friendships and very likable characters; some hideous and well described bad guys; and a plot to keep you on your toes until the very end. Even after which you will be left in awe to get your hands on a sequel to continue exploring mesmerizing world of Fylgjas and trolls.
Undrastormur – a magical and fierce storm that wipes away all evil, given to Eiriks’ bloodline as a gift from the almighty god of thunder, is surely going to draw you and your family in despite the age.
Keeping in mind that the book is for people at least twice younger than myself, a twenty something foreign girl, whose native language is not even close to English, I found the book very well and easy written.
There is not a kid in this world that does not know about the mighty god of thunder Thor and his powerful and loyal hammer Mjolnir. And guess what, both of them are here too. So if Harry Potter is a bit too hard for a bed time story, have no doubt and introduce your beloved child to Eirik. He is the most ordinary boy in his village, not very popular amongst his peers, he is not known for his bravery and he does not even have a lot of luck with girls. At least that is Eirik to whom we are introduced in the beginning of the story. But as the tension keeps filling up and the trolls are getting hungrier (aka angrier), our little hero is forced to accept his faith as the last of galdrakar or simply said – a wizard.
With quite some help from the litlle Fylgja (Eiriks‘ guardian spirit) our hero is on the way to find and fix the ultimate weapon he inherrited from his grandfather Drengur Darkbeard. He must face his fears and travel to an unknown land where the piece of Drengur's iron staff is hidden. Alone in the dark and cold area of Nilfheim, Eirik must make difficult decisions that may cost him his life.
As every beloved story for children this one also has charming friendships and very likable characters; some hideous and well described bad guys; and a plot to keep you on your toes until the very end. Even after which you will be left in awe to get your hands on a sequel to continue exploring mesmerizing world of Fylgjas and trolls.
Undrastormur – a magical and fierce storm that wipes away all evil, given to Eiriks’ bloodline as a gift from the almighty god of thunder, is surely going to draw you and your family in despite the age.
March 22, 2015
With Undrastormur, Roger Eschbacher again ventures into the YA territory from his Dragonfriend series - well, not the same world but certainly aimed at the same demographic: Pre-teens just discovering their grown up fantasy worlds.
With this novella, we are introduced to Eirik, the teenage grandson of Drengur Darkbeard, the long vanished leader of a medieval viking clan. The trouble starts when a group of trolls decides Eirik's village is their new buffet table and it's up to Eirik, with the help of Bruun, a Fylgja (a guardian spirit), to stop them. In order to do this, Eirik ends up traveling to Niflheim, the Norse Underworld to recover a staff of Thor. The staff allows them to call down the Undrastorm of the title but will it be in time...
As you can see, Eschbacher does his research. He immerses his readers immediately in the culture and world and he makes it instantly believable. Eirik and the other characters are well drawn and rather likable.
The story itself is clean. there's nothing objectionable about from a parent's perspective. No language, no sex (even the slight possibility of a romantic entanglement is swept away without even acknowledging it, which feels appropriate for the age of the characters), the bully gets his comeuppance and (almost) everyone ends happily ever after. Even the actual ending, which leaves Eschbacher open to explore this world much further is a nice moment. There is humor where there needs to be humor and seriousness where there needs to be seriousness.
My only complaint is the language itself will sometimes veer from archaic formal to modern informal without warning, which is kind of jarring at times.
With this novella, we are introduced to Eirik, the teenage grandson of Drengur Darkbeard, the long vanished leader of a medieval viking clan. The trouble starts when a group of trolls decides Eirik's village is their new buffet table and it's up to Eirik, with the help of Bruun, a Fylgja (a guardian spirit), to stop them. In order to do this, Eirik ends up traveling to Niflheim, the Norse Underworld to recover a staff of Thor. The staff allows them to call down the Undrastorm of the title but will it be in time...
As you can see, Eschbacher does his research. He immerses his readers immediately in the culture and world and he makes it instantly believable. Eirik and the other characters are well drawn and rather likable.
The story itself is clean. there's nothing objectionable about from a parent's perspective. No language, no sex (even the slight possibility of a romantic entanglement is swept away without even acknowledging it, which feels appropriate for the age of the characters), the bully gets his comeuppance and (almost) everyone ends happily ever after. Even the actual ending, which leaves Eschbacher open to explore this world much further is a nice moment. There is humor where there needs to be humor and seriousness where there needs to be seriousness.
My only complaint is the language itself will sometimes veer from archaic formal to modern informal without warning, which is kind of jarring at times.
February 9, 2015
Drawing on Norse mythology, this short fantasy piece tells the tale of a young man who must recover a magic talisman in order to free his village from man-eating trolls.
Good opening and fast pace move the story forward. Protagonist Erik is a reluctant hero,a young man guided by a guardian spirit and compelled to visit a dreaded underworld to locate the only magical item powerful enough to slay trolls. But is Erik wizard enough to control the mighty Undrastormur or Wonder Storm?
There's enough description to color in the setting without bogging the reader down in a sea of made-up names. The characters seemed real and the dialogue crisp, with humor blended in to balance the action.
A fast satisfying read.
Good opening and fast pace move the story forward. Protagonist Erik is a reluctant hero,a young man guided by a guardian spirit and compelled to visit a dreaded underworld to locate the only magical item powerful enough to slay trolls. But is Erik wizard enough to control the mighty Undrastormur or Wonder Storm?
There's enough description to color in the setting without bogging the reader down in a sea of made-up names. The characters seemed real and the dialogue crisp, with humor blended in to balance the action.
A fast satisfying read.
May 1, 2016
“Undrastormur: A Viking Fantasy Adventure” is one of the several middle-grade fantasy adventures books written by Roger Eschbacher, former writer/actor, who works now as an Emmy-nominated TV animation writer in Los Angeles, California. The first book of this author is called “Dragonfriend: Leonard the Great”, which received excellent reviews and garnered a BRAG Medallion Award. Following good results the “Undrastormur” is evaluated by customers on Amazon 4.8 out of 5 stars and majority of them hopes the author will consider more follow-up stories. The story of “Undrastormur: A Viking Fantasy Adventure” is based on ancient Norse mythology, as in his other fantasy adventures stories, and instantly immerse the reader into this short, only 42 pages, magical tale full of interesting characters and awesome creatures in a snap!
The first impressions of this book is that it will be about some cold, mysterious, wet place, full of thrills and tension as dark clouds and a thunder is illustrated on the cover. The title of the book gives a reference to the northern Europe, because of the word „Viking“, which associates with strong powers and ancient times, which grabs attention instantly of those who loves ancient times and stories. The author tells us that the book is about a Norse village, which got overrun by vicious trolls and a young man called Eirik, who must get back a magic talisman, a powerful and dangerous gift from Thor, the Viking god of thunder, in order to free his village from hungry and angry trolls, who want to gobble-up villagers. The author did a good job illustrating and describing his book because anyone from the first glimpse will get the idea about what the book is about and would not be disappointed because it is the same as the book’s idea.
I do not know much about this genre, but it appealed to me that “Undrastormur” is a story, which contains many things that regular readers of the fantasy genre will both recognize and enjoy. First, the setting is perfectly explicated, the writer makes his best to describe the little details, atmosphere and surroundings of a place, wherever, the characters get in to, that is why it makes the story very believable and easy to imagine, interesting to read from the beginning to the end. For instance, the Niflheim was mentioned to be “as the place of nightmares” and the atmosphere, which the author described, was something that anyone would make to shiver. What is more, it also immerges us to the ancient mythology and introduces us with the ancient mythological Norce creatures like the Thor - Viking god of thunder, a guardian spirit, trolls, which is always a good way to spike up a fantasy story.
In order to make things more realistic author writes in an archaic formal style. Furthermore, he writes in a third person, which makes the story very easy to read not only for adults but also for kids. As a result, it shows authors professional skills to write for his intended audience. Another author’s great accomplishment is characters development, which is perfectly accomplished through descriptions and dialogues. They are very believable and understandable, down to earth. Each character stands out with his own unique behavior and, as a result, makes the story very thrilling. For instance, the guardian spirit, who is always mysterious and thoughtful, is trying to help Eirik, even though sometimes unsuccessful. What is more, the trolls are the best part of the story, as they are quite stupid but very funny.
Reading this story made me to wonder why I have never tried to read fantasy genre, because it made me immerged and thrilled by seconds. I would strongly recommend grabbing this book and reading it, it has everything a fantasy adventure story needs: horror, humor, a plot twist, interesting plot and characters!
The first impressions of this book is that it will be about some cold, mysterious, wet place, full of thrills and tension as dark clouds and a thunder is illustrated on the cover. The title of the book gives a reference to the northern Europe, because of the word „Viking“, which associates with strong powers and ancient times, which grabs attention instantly of those who loves ancient times and stories. The author tells us that the book is about a Norse village, which got overrun by vicious trolls and a young man called Eirik, who must get back a magic talisman, a powerful and dangerous gift from Thor, the Viking god of thunder, in order to free his village from hungry and angry trolls, who want to gobble-up villagers. The author did a good job illustrating and describing his book because anyone from the first glimpse will get the idea about what the book is about and would not be disappointed because it is the same as the book’s idea.
I do not know much about this genre, but it appealed to me that “Undrastormur” is a story, which contains many things that regular readers of the fantasy genre will both recognize and enjoy. First, the setting is perfectly explicated, the writer makes his best to describe the little details, atmosphere and surroundings of a place, wherever, the characters get in to, that is why it makes the story very believable and easy to imagine, interesting to read from the beginning to the end. For instance, the Niflheim was mentioned to be “as the place of nightmares” and the atmosphere, which the author described, was something that anyone would make to shiver. What is more, it also immerges us to the ancient mythology and introduces us with the ancient mythological Norce creatures like the Thor - Viking god of thunder, a guardian spirit, trolls, which is always a good way to spike up a fantasy story.
In order to make things more realistic author writes in an archaic formal style. Furthermore, he writes in a third person, which makes the story very easy to read not only for adults but also for kids. As a result, it shows authors professional skills to write for his intended audience. Another author’s great accomplishment is characters development, which is perfectly accomplished through descriptions and dialogues. They are very believable and understandable, down to earth. Each character stands out with his own unique behavior and, as a result, makes the story very thrilling. For instance, the guardian spirit, who is always mysterious and thoughtful, is trying to help Eirik, even though sometimes unsuccessful. What is more, the trolls are the best part of the story, as they are quite stupid but very funny.
Reading this story made me to wonder why I have never tried to read fantasy genre, because it made me immerged and thrilled by seconds. I would strongly recommend grabbing this book and reading it, it has everything a fantasy adventure story needs: horror, humor, a plot twist, interesting plot and characters!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews