The fourth installment in Rae St. Clair Bridgman’s MiddleGate fantasy series, THE KINGDOM OF TROLLS packs protagonists Wil Wychwood and Sophie Isidor off to Iceland in search of the truth behind the shadowy secret society known as the Serpent’s Chain. Regular readers will be acquainted with the distinctly Rowling-esque aesthetics of MiddleGate, with its magic, Latin incantations, crystal balls, talking inanimate objects, and august, ancient school. Bridgman’s universe, however, has a certain homeliness to it that Potter’s Wizarding World seems to lack. Perhaps it has something to do with the people who populate it: Bridgman’s usual easy facility with characterization is in evidence here, with the familiar, well-rounded main characters of Wil and Sophie, and supporting figures sketched in with enough verve to make them something more than mere adjuncts to the plot.

Cases in point include Elvis Moxley, MiddleGate’s answer to a muckraking podcaster, whose poisonous words “feel like vinegar in a cut”, or Moira Castanada, whose lust for making sales puts one in mind of a loquacious Avon lady straight out of Edward Scissorhands – either that, or Ol’ Gil. There is an art in making incidental characters people readers want to spend time with, an art to making them points of interest in themselves; Bridgman knows this, and the effort to elevate hers above caricature is ultimately rewarded. After navigating the slightly ponderous start, plotting is also artfully negotiated, with dramatic beats in all the right places.

It is also worth devoting a few lines to the appendix devoted to the interpretation of Icelandic runes, and especially to the comprehensive glossary. While scientific and specialist terms find a place here, so too do rather more commonplace words, but ones that are perhaps less known to young adult readers than they might have been a generation ago. Their inclusion underscores how invested Bridgman is not merely in convincing world-building, but also in cultivating a broader and deeper comprehension of the possibilities of literature in her young target audience.

The fourth installment in Rae St. Clair Bridgman’s MiddleGate series, THE KINGDOM OF TROLLS, is a well-paced, exciting addition to the magic-filled world of Wil and Sophie that will delight long-time fans, and may well entice a great many new ones.

~Craig Jones for IndieReader