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The Everspring

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Torin Ten-Tree's debt of service as a trollhunter in Gatewatch has been paid. Now he must decide whether to return home to take up his father's seat in Ten-Tree Hall or to become a Greycloak of Gatewatch along with Grimsa and Wyla. Torin grapples with an unexpected revelation, the long-hidden identity of his mother, just as a delegation brings urgent news of King Araldof Greyraven's grave and sudden illness. Heirless, the Greyraven's death would plunge the land into chaos as the Jarls of Noros entered a struggle of succession. The last desperate hope to keep the realm from wreck and ruin is the legend of a powerful source of healing, the Everspring. Yet, greater questions and graver answers await Torin and his company on the road north through the land of the immortal giants. As long-forgotten secrets are unveiled, they learn not only the cause of the Greyraven's illness but the insidious origins of the evil that first spawned the trolls in the wild woods beyond Gatewatch.

320 pages, Paperback

Published November 23, 2021

28 people want to read

About the author

Joshua Gillingham

4 books40 followers
Joshua Gillingham is a Canadian author from Nanaimo, BC. There he enjoys life with his adventurous spouse and their two very unadventurous cats. The Gatewatch was born of his unremitted fascination with Norse Myths and Icelandic Sagas. His lyrical maritime ballad The Queen of the Rose Marie was selected for the Short Story Dispenser Project hosted by Short Édition and his award-winning essay Becoming a Resilient Writer has been featured on several sites for aspiring writers. When he is not hunched over his laptop sipping coffee and tapping frantically at the keyboard, Joshua performs Irish and Maritime music with The Ugly Mugs and designs viking-themed board games for Little Hammer Games.

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for S. Bavey.
Author 11 books69 followers
November 15, 2021
I was given a digital advanced review copy of The Everspring in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much to Joshua Gillingham and Crowsnest Books!

The Everspring is the sequel to The Gatewatch. It tells the story of an adventure which begins two years after the end of The Gatewatch. Our heroes from the first book, Torin Ten-Trees, Grimsa Jarnskald and Wyla White-Blaze have completed their obligations as troll hunters to the Gatewatch and are offered permanent positions as Greycloaks. Torin feels obliged to return to his father’s hall and so turns down the cloak but the other two eagerly accept. At this point a new adventure presents itself to Torin in the form of a quest to find The Everspring, a fount of health which is the only way to cure their King Araldof Greyraven of a deadly illness he is suffering from. Despite his decision to return to his father’s hall, Torin accepts this new challenge and Wyla, Grimsa, the nidavel (dwarf) Bari and two members of the foreign delegation who brought news of the King’s sickness, Prince Azal and his magic-wielding Loremaster, Aldrin form the company for the quest, because:

“No one refuses the Greyraven.”

As with The Gatewatch what follows is an amazing adventure filled with fun riddles, songs, lore, trolls, frost giants, a mysterious green-cloaked lady, barrow wights (including one which speaks only in rhyme) and so much more. The relationships between the main characters are wholesome and heart-warming and I loved spending more time with them.

Wyla is still feisty and brave, Torin is a natural leader with a stout heart and Grimsa is a gentle giant as loyal as they come. Bari is a useful member of their company since their map is written in nidavellish. Aldrin is a magic user despite repeatedly insisting that he is NOT a wizard and Azal is in search of experience and adventure to liven up his royal existence.

The fantastic maps included at the beginning of the book are beautifully drawn and came in very useful as the company made their way through Noros towards the fabled Everspring in the Northern Lands.

I loved the layers of rich storytelling brought to this book by the tales interwoven with the main story of Torin and company – the lay of Beoric and Fyra and then later the story of Lysa and Fyra the twin huldur, or forest spirits, told to Torin by the King under the Mountain, Thrudnir the frost giant. Adding to the wonderful warm tone of storytelling are the riddles, as Torin once again battles for his and his friends’ lives using skill with words.

The author has a wonderful way with words and his descriptions are fabulous, as can be seen in his description of the troll:

“The lone soldier struggled to his feet and clutched his arm. The troll stepped closer with a ravenous gleam in its bulbous eyes. Even from across the river, they could hear all the creature’s awful chuckle, phlegmy gargling spasms which jiggled its grey jowls.”

And equally, of the ancient frost giant, Gerd The Old:

“When he looked up, Torin found himself staring straight into the eyes of the ugliest creature he had ever seen. It had wild hair of wispy white strands that fell too far to one side and a pointed chin that had sprouted a forest of curly hairs. Its wrinkled cheeks sagged under two sunken eyes and the loose translucent skin of its ancient forehead slumped down over two bushy eyebrows. It grinned to unveil two rows of crooked yellow teeth, some of which came to sharp points and others that had been worn down into little more flattened stumps.”

I would recommend this book to all fans of the fantasy quest undertaken by a group of stout-hearted heroes, fans of riddles and rich storytelling. It is suitable for a YA audience as well as adult.
Profile Image for Blaise.
469 reviews148 followers
December 8, 2022
Classical Fantasy at its best. Full review to come
Profile Image for Bjørn.
Author 7 books154 followers
December 16, 2021
The Everspring is a very difficult book to review. First of all, it's not really trying to be a novel – which is to say, it can't fail at something it isn't doing. This is clearest when – how do I avoid spoilers – a very tall head honcho tells his family tale. Which is LONG and in a novel would be named… a very long flashback? Double timeline? Nope. It's very clearly a tale being told. Speaking of which, paper (or screen) are not the right medium for The Everspring. You should be able to rent a tavern with a bard telling it to you, often raising their voice for effect, as you progress through horns of ale. In other words, this book will probably be best experienced as an audiobook – all of it is a bard's tale.

The best classification, which I believe is not an official genre, is an alternative Edda based on alternative Norse mythology. Where Tolkien steals, Gillingham truly takes inspiration to create his own universe and lore. He has fun with the riddles, the songs, language (Tolkien from under the ground: I relate). Read as a novel, The Everspring has its problems, such as continuity mistakes. When it's a tale being told, nobody cares what happened to Azal's armour. We go "oooooh" and can't wait to see what's next.

The Everspring is not a book full of "bloodshed in a brand new, Norse-inspired universe" – it's just enjoyment. It says a lot, I think, that I felt like the audience was MG – this series doesn't follow trends, inspired by 70s/80s journey-and-artifact fantasy (I'd place its level of grimdarkness between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, actually). I can tell the author enjoyed writing it, and I enjoyed reading it. I'll be renting the tavern edition when bards get to it.

I received a free copy of the e-book, which in no way affected the review.
Profile Image for Alex (Spells &  Spaceships).
203 reviews46 followers
December 18, 2021
You know when you really fancy a particular dish and it’s just as good as you’d hoped? You savour every mouthful and sit back when finished – warm, content and at peace?

That’s the feeling the Everspring gives. It’s a real comfort read.

What is a comfort read to me? Well, mostly it has to be something imaginative and magical, that you can curl up with in a chair with and become immersed in the story.

The Everspring is the sequel to The Gatewatch and what I like is that both books are their own self contained stories, so you feel like you’re beginning on a new exciting adventure for both. There is of course continuity and a wider story at play, but I enjoyed being able to just pick this up without feeling like I’m being dropped back into the middle of something.

Gillingham bases the world on one of Norse mythology, but with his own stamp. There is no mistaking who wise Odd and thundering Orr are, and the Jotun are self explanatory.

By not actually specifically referring to the real spellings and in some cases names of people and aspects of the real mythology, the author gives himself some creative breathing room. We all know who the namesakes are (or are heavily inspired by) but it keeps you immersed in the world of the story, when there are deviations from real world mythology. It just works. You get a feeling of it being different but noticeably familiar and I think that adds to the comfort read aspect too.

If you are familiar with some of the Norse stories, you’ll also notice some borrowed elements turned on their head or subtle changes and I enjoyed this creativity.

This technique also means someone will still really enjoy the book who has absolutely no knowledge of Norse mythology – they’ll actually enjoy it in different ways as although they won’t pick out the references, they’ll be able to experience this Norse inspired world completely fresh.

I enjoyed how the author has captured the Old Norse mindset and woven that into the culture of the madur (humans) in our quest, best summed up by this quote:

The faint may flee both sword and spear

And run when battle’s roar draws near

Yet still the swiftest Time shall slay

So grasp at glory while you may

The majority of the story and it’s strengths come completely from Josh Gillingham’s imagination though, before you start to think the borrowed elements are what holds it together. The glue that binds it is the great group of characters, beautiful imagery and sense of grand adventure – which has been perfected here.

It helps having read The Gatewatch too, but it was in The Everspring that I really started to love the characters and get a feel for who they are and what’s going on in their heads. Grimsa again provided the comic relief, but I felt there was more depth and sense of camaraderie to the characters relationships with one another, which made them even better to spend time with on the page.

One of the big strengths of the book is the pacing. Everything you read is interesting, entertaining or necessary. This in addition to chapters that aren’t overly long means the book just feels really readable. It certainly flew by for me and bore the mark of a good book – I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it, looking forward to getting back to it. The added presence of the Jotur and an expansion of the history, races and cultures in this magical world added that extra sparkle, as did an exciting and intriguing quest to find the Everspring. Despite the pacing being finely tuned and well controlled, there is still space for lovely passages that really make you feel the northern cold, taste the enticing feasts and smell the forests. Gillingham is adept at being able to immerse you in the world and transport you to the setting. I never had trouble with my imagination when reading his prose and this really helped to make the book such a delight.

I couldn’t write the review and not mention a superb return to a battle of riddles! It was something I adored in The Gatewatch and is again fantastic here – the riddle chapters from both books are two of my favourite scenes from any book and are so well written. This scene, but also the overall style, just gave me that warm fuzzy feeling of fully being able to relax in a book and just enjoy it. I loved spending time with Torin, Wyla and Grimsa, I loved the magical feel and the atmospheric descriptions. I loved the extra layers to the overall world yet a fully rounded and satisfying story arc.

Sometimes you don’t actually notice something about a book until you come to review, and that’s certainly a benefit of reviewing. Here, I realised I thoroughly enjoyed a book that didn’t really have any adult themes. No swearing, sex or over the top violence. I’d feel perfectly happy recommending it to a 12 year old, yet it never feels like a children’s book. It’s just a great read, regardless of labels. I guess I can only compare this feeling to the Hobbit – the magic and the story, just the whole feel of it is enough to make it a great read. It’s a book I remember likening The Gatewatch to, and although I’d generally prefer not to compare, I do feel it’s necessary to offer a favourable comparison to the same book with The Everspring, too. In the best possible of ways.

Before I finish, I just want to comment on what a fantastic cover this is. I loved the cover for The Gatewatch but love this even more – it perfectly sums up the book but looks absolutely fantastic too. I read this arc on ebook, but I know buying the hard copies is only matter of time, because these covers are so beautiful.

Overall, The Everspring is a fantastic book that keeps a tight hold of the most enjoyable elements of The Gatewatch and builds your love for this series with depth, craft and the book equivalent of sitting in a soft armchair with a warm blanket and a nice drink while it snows outside the window. Excellent stuff.

Profile Image for Aaron.
22 reviews
November 8, 2021
I would like to thank Joshua Gillingham and Crowsnest books for providing me with the opportunity in being able to read this book early and in return I will provide an honest review.

I can't think of any better way to start this review by saying how fantastic this sequel is! I had the pleasure of reading The Gatewatch, which is the first in this series of novels, and I was instantly excited by a novel filled with Norse mythology and riddles! I was instantly taken back to the first time I read the Hobbit, reflecting on the brilliant scene with Gollum and Bilbo Baggins. My excitement was furthered when Joshua told me that the sequel would be filled with even more riddles and I was not disappointed in the slightest. Joshua has managed to craft a sequel that in my opinion surpasses the first novel and delivered mightily on the level of riddles. Future books might be penalised by the lack of riddles.


What binds these novels together is the Norse mythology and lore that runs throughout these novels. Joshua has clearly devoted his time and passion in building his knowledge in this area and it shines through across each and every page. The more I read, the more I appreciated how important crafting an interesting and diverse world is in fantasy reading. Joshua has infused his world with a magnificent level of detail; from the use of Scandinavian terms, classical written Norse-based riddles and the stories which are at the core of the characters and world. The riddles within The Everspring were an absolute highlight. Each riddle was well written, feeling almost like I was solving each riddle alongside the characters within the story, feeling a a sense of accomplishment when I actually managed to solve one. I have enjoyed my tour through The Everspring, as a fan of Norse mythology, I have learnt new tales and folklore that I had never heard before, which was refreshing. Reading through the tales of Torin, the world feels alive and I am excited to see what I am introduced to in the sequel!


Fast-paced is how I would describe Gillingham's styles of writing, which again is reminiscent of The Hobbit, where the story bounces swiftly between the different story elements. What I love about this novel, is that despite the fast pacing, the novel never feels rushed. I always felt that I got just enough time within a moment before it moved on to the next event. I got to know each of the characters well, even delving deeper into the original cast of characters backstories and providing further character arcs for each of them. Through the fast pacing, their is never a truly dull moment, with every twenty pages holding something new and exciting to discover; it was no wonder I flew through this novel in a matter of days. I really feel connected to the characters within the story: Torin, Grimsa, Wyla and Bari have made me feel welcomes almost like I am an official greycloak myself (and I think I would make a rather talented troll slayer).
Profile Image for Fraser Coltman.
152 reviews4 followers
February 26, 2022
This second volume of tales (The Gatewatch) inspired by Norse myths expands our knowledge of the lands surrounding Gatewatch and introduces us to more of the history and peoples of the imagined world. Torin Ten-Trees and his troll hunting friends are joined friends new and old on a quest for a draught of water from a legendary spring far beyond the territories known by the adventurers.

The author’s gift for descriptive story telling makes for a vivid read. I look forward to the final book of this trilogy.
2 reviews
September 18, 2023
I was so excited to read this book immediately after finishing the first in the series (the Gatewatch), and it did not disappoint! Set two years after the events of the last book we are seamlessly brought right back into the world as we embark on a new epic adventure with all of our friends from the first novel! Even more excitingly, we get a taste of the much broader world in this book. My only wish is that I could join the companions for a feast at Fjellhall! I truly can't wait for the next book to be released! Kudos to the author on another fantastic book!
Profile Image for Rebecca.
264 reviews45 followers
November 1, 2023
I loved the first one, The Gatewatch, as a superb Tolkein inspired fantasy, full of adventure, magic, riddles and danger. The sequel, The Everspring, did not disappoint. With new characters, a new quest, new lands to explore, new beasts and enemies to survive, all in aid for an ill King, it definitely felt like a unique type of Fellowship of the Ring adventure. I loved every page and chapter, the cover illustration is perfect for the type of adventure readers will embark on. I can not recommend it highly enough, do genuinely hope the third tale of Torin Ten-Trees comes to my bookshelves soon.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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